When we had our hardwood floors refinished we elected to just have them sealed, not stained and sealed. I love the color. I personally don't like the dark floors for myself but they are pretty. I think my house is too small for such dark floors.

Nephew and his wife build a brand new house a couple years ago. He said whatever you do, don't get dark hardwood, it shows everything! We have to dust mop it every single day. That might not bother you though.

Personally, I do not like super dark hardwood floors. I do think they are trendy. But then again our floors are red oak which we love, but a lot of people do not like because they seem "dated." Are your floors a more golden oak?

I can't tell if your cabinets are wood or painted, but a dark floor would be too dark. Could you maybe look into painting the cabinets? I'm sure others here will have some other suggestions on colors.

Katlan, love the shading in your floor.

If you like something, go with it. I will say the darkest and lightest floors will show the most dirt/dust/pet fur.

"Trendy" is often a silly state of mind, promulgated by the shows on HGTV. If it's functional and you like it, and you understand pros and cons... go with it.

I think they're trendy. If I absolutely loved the look I'm not sure that would stop me from doing it, but if you prefer classic I don't think you'll regret keeping the lighter hardwood flooring you have and continuing that through the areas where you want to add wood flooring.

I remember pausing over the decision when we had our house built 11 years ago and dark stained wood, along with reclaimed wood, was becoming more popular for flooring. We're still in the house and I've never regretted going with classic red oak flooring (no stain). I think dark flooring limits other design choices, and if you're already concerned about the darkness of the kitchen, and like the other elements in the kitchen enough to keep them, dark floors are probably not the best choice in your home. They look great in lots of homes, but if your gut is telling you to question your realtor's advice, I'd listen to your gut.

Disclaimer: I'm not a design guru, just a regular homeowner with lots of opinions ;)

I had jacobean stained hardwoods in my last house. And I liked the look, but they did show the dirt, and my old house was much lighter than this new house. I'm primary concerned about putting in dark hardwoods into a kitchen that is already very dark (I'd love to have the cabinets painted as well, but i have no idea what color to paint them).

And the current wood floors in the kitchen are 90's honey/golden oak. I'm not a fan of them, although if they flowed into the dining room I wouldn't change them/replace them. However, my kitchen opens up to the dining room, which is carpeted. I do not want carpet in an eating area.

The dining room furniture is very 90's, but despite it being ugly it has sentimental value to me, so it stays :)

And mostly I want to find something I like, that I feel works well with the space, that won't scream 2016 in 6-8 years (as I'll ready be dealing with that with all the ORB fixtures I have!)

I think the tones of your floor do not work well with your cabinets but you can correct that without going dark. I am not a fan of dark spaces so I agree with your inclination to not follow the realtor's advice. How can she predict what will be popular in 7 years? I think dark floors look great in some houses. If you don't like them and they don't work for your space then you should ignore the realtor.

What color would you suggest for the floor? And/or what color would you suggest if I was going to repaint the cabinets? I hate how dark the kitchen is, and I'm hoping at some point to replace the back spash and paint the cabinets, but I think the floors are probably going to need to take priority as the carpet in the dining area is my least favorite thing in the house.

Sometimes changing the colour of one thing means the colour of the surrounding area might need to be changed as well. I would love to see your cabinets and island painted a soft cream colour, to brighten up your kitchen, but then the wall right near your cabinets (with the sliding glass doors) might blend in too much. I'd happily repaint a few walls in a different shade if my kitchen would look a lot brighter by lightening the cabinets and island.

As for flooring, I don't really know much about staining hardwood. If you could find a medium brown shade of hardwood, to replace the carpeted area, maybe someone can answer if it's possible to keep your current golden oak floor, but sand it down and stain it the same shade as the new medium brown hardwood? Or is it not possible to really change a golden oak by just sanding and restaining it a different shade?

I could sand and stain the existing hardwood floors, if I go with site finished hardwoods for the rest of the area. However, I really don't want to live through that mess, and I think it would be about the same price to rip up the existing hardwood and replace with new hardwood (and then I'd know it would all match).

I really prefer not to paint the walls, as the kitchen and dining room is open to the living room and they have 20 foot vaulted ceilings, which makes it tough for me to repaint myself (if I can do it myself I don't mind). And the wall color is one of the few things I like right now.

Never mind what the flooring fashion will be in 7 yrs, what stocks does your RE agent recommend?!?!?! Much more profitable to forecast that than what colors will be "in" or "out".

You are correct in your assessment. Dark floors are trending now. But it's women who generally do housework, and realistically speaking, dark floors are a pain-and-a-half to keep dust-free. And....well, they're dark.

In my home, with 18' vaulted ceilings and ivory wall/ceiling paint, in addition to huge glass windows and sun coming in everywhere, dark floors would be fine. Oh yeah, and I have super-strong lighting because my legally blind DH is always complaining he can't see anything even with his glasses on, LOL.

Neither you nor me nor your RE agent can tell what's going to be super-trendy in 2023. I wouldn't even use an agent who started off by giving me bad advice.

Our house was built in 1959, and when sold to us by the 91 year old owner, it had dark hardwood flooring that was many, many years old. So there was dark flooring around before the current "trend." I might have picked something different if I were redoing all of the flooring, but somehow it fits the house. Pick a stain you like that also goes with your furnishings and decor and don't worry so much about what is and is not trendy.

Thank you gsciencechick! Very kind of you. mrsshayne, your kitchen redo is wonderful!

Trendy and past its peak.

In fact, in my area (DC, high cost), trend is towards light/natural floors in more contemporary homes, and medium in traditional homes.

Oh, and the greyish kind of pickled look.

Condo 2.8 mio

Dark floors are so trendy that I had them in my house that was built in the early 70s and one that was built in 2003. That said I prefer wood floors that are the natural color of the wood. They wear better - you only wear off the clear finish, not the stain - so it's less noticeable. I think dark floors are often stained to be dark, a naturally dark wood isn't used often. Also having had both light and dark, I think light shows much less dust and pet hair than dark.

We got a lot of negative feedback on the dark floors in our house when we just sold. Mostly from realtors during realtor open houses!

Sadly, my realtor is family so there is no firing. But all of have confirmed what I was thinking,. Don't pick a flooring color based on his recommendation or resale. Pick a color that works best for the space.

With that out of the way, based on the photos above what color hardwood would you recommend? I generally know what I don't like, but I never know what looks good and what I will like.

Honestly, I think you pick the type of wood you want and keep it natural.

When we installed new hardwood floors here about 5 years ago, the PO had pickled floors, I could not abide by them but I think they may be back now!?

We put in wide plank pine that would have been appropriate to the house when new, in CT in 1904. It has a medium warm stain that we felt looked period appropriate.

I like dark floors but they are tough to maintain and to decorate around and for that reason they may have peaked.

Yep, more greyish pickled look though, plus they are now called ceruse :)

And once they show up on IKEA, you know that they're on trend.

I think what's trendy is hand-scraped floors. I don't remember seeing such a thing when I was floor shopping 15 years ago.

I ended up with Brazilian Cherry - naturally dark, and (IMO) beautiful. Our house has a ton of natural light, so we can handle a darker floor. Yep, it does show dust and dog hair, and perhaps if I did it again I would go lighter, but because of upkeep, not because I thought some mythical future buyer might prefer it.

I agree that dark wood floor are a past trend. Lighter, pickled wood is the current trend.

We opted to go with a wood that doesn't follow the trend at all...natural acacia. We love it.

When we bought our condo, we thought we loved the very very dark hardwood floors. But wow, did they show every speck of dust. Since we were remodeling anyway, we decided to have them refinished in a medium color, and we adore the result.

Final result:

We first saw hand-scraped wood floors in my area at least 20 years ago, and they continue to be popular. I'd say they've become classic and are definitely not trendy. I wish I had them in my current home, but I have a darker hardwood that does indeed show every little speck. Oh well.

Any hardwood will always be classic. Yes, it's trendy, but that's because people are waking up to how sanitary/less allergies they are compared to carpeting.

I have dark hardwood, and yes it does show dust. But I keep a dust mop hidden in the LR, and since there's also two rugs in there, it takes all of 2 min. to dust the floor.

Liquid spots will show on all color floors.

The bad thing about light colored flooring is you have to have the right color furniture to go with it. Darker wood gives me that warm feeling, light wood seems cold, unless the house is perfectly decorated.

If you go dark, all you need to do is buy a colorful area rug for the kitchen. Maybe an indoor outdoor rug so they'll be easy to clean? Or go with tile.

I won't do wood floors in the kitchen because of water damage. Our hot water heater sprung a leak in the utility room a couple of weeks ago, and there was a puddle of water in the office on the other side of the wall. We thought the dog did it, but it was the hwh. Well, in the short amount of time the water sat on the floor, it ruined the area. Thankfully you can't see it because it's under a desk and next to the wall. :)

Right now I much prefer the light floor look, especially given how dark my kitchen is. I'm thinking red or white oak that isn't stained. I'm assuming my kitchen is probably red oak (as it's more common and I assuming more builder's grade), and so it might be easier to sand, seal, and match with the new flooring.

I've had red oak natural wood floors for 20+ years. Still like them a lot. The only problem is that they really don't show dirt (but that's something I can live with :)

I have red oak natural wood floors too. No stain.

My former boss built a VERY elaborate home about 10 years ago. Kitchen cabinets are dark and the floors are very very dark hardwood. A bit darker than Hershey bar chocolate. But they always looked dirty! I know he and his wife are very good housekeepers (empty nesters) but my how I thought that floor looked bad. If you walked across it barefoot you could see every track, no matter how clean it was. And don't even think about not mopping every day.

Not trendy or classic. Just another color option.

katlan said exactly what my hardwood guy says. Dark hardwoods show everything. And require constant dusting and vac'ing. He said he'd had a couple of quite wealthy clients have them all ripped out again they got so aggravated. Personally, I am not a huge fan though I have seen them done well.

Our floors are almost 100 years old and when we refinished them we just put the sealer on them and didn't stain them. Interestingly, it is hard to see where the refinish floors end and the original floors begin (in the closets). I don't like dark floors because they show every little speck and would drive me nuts!

If you want to get new wood floors, I'd worry less about stain and more about species. The 2 1/4" red oak floors have been a staple for...ever. If anything, an updated house needs wider plank floors in something...not oak. There are so many hardwoods that are harder and wear better than oak. And unlike wide plank floors dating back to 18th and 19th century homes, today we expect wood floors to be smooth and gleaming as well as hard-wearing. Something like cumaru or the Brazilian hardwoods would make sense if you're going to put in wood floors.

Style is subjective, but quality isn't. If you opt for new floors, don't go cheap, and don't take a real estate agent's crystal ball opinions as gospel.

Bamboo is light in color & it's just gorgeous,

dark colors make things look smaller, & you do not want your floors & rooms to look smaller,

& the posters who mentioned the ever-linty look of dark floors are exactly right.

I once had a car with a beautiful dark blue interior;

that car was linty from the time I drove it home from the dealer until the day I sold it.

Life is too short to spend it with a dust mop in your hands!

In my present home I have dark hand scraped engineered flooring, which does show every dust bunny and animal fur. What I really love is site installed Heartpine! To my knowledge i've never seen it here in TX, but it's very popular in NC where it's milled and probably more ofter used in areas in the south.

http://www.heartwoodpine.com/why-heart-pine/

I think all wood floor colors are beautiful. My floors are a dark hickory, and it lends a richness to the space. I have a lighter area rug in the living room for contrast. Light and medium stained wood floors are also a great choice (I love the Houzzer's mahogany stained floor with the white cabinets...kudos...) In the case of dark wood flooring in the kitchen above, the cabinets would need to be painted or it would look gloomy and lack variety. Could you consider pulling the grey from the granite and painting the cabinets/ island base a light to medium dove grey; or the cabinets and island could be painted an off white . Either way the floor could then be darker or lighter ,depending on your preference.

I would go with a light color now and expect to redo the floors at the time of sale. At that point you could decide if dark is appropriate. If you go dark now you have to go dark later.

You will have to deal with cleaning these floors for 7 to 8 years and reportedly dark floors show everything.

I have medium floors-still show everything, lol. Sweeping every day, religiously.

But I must say-I'm slowly moving onto the side of people who want the dirt to show as to be able to take care of it right away; because my light cabinets didn't show dirt, and I wish they were, so I could take care of things on time..

Generally speaking-the medium tone brown wood is easier to play with every style and every color

But I think as some people commented already-wood is so beautiful, most of it..go with what you like if you like it. Just know what you deal with when choosing. Hard or soft, dark or light..know what compromises you'll have (if you'll have) to make, and if you're fine with it-go with what makes you happy, and makes sense with your style and your house.

For example our current place-I could go with any color, Light or dark or even zebra.

The next one-light wood flooring would look totally out of place.

PS really liked the comment about stocks, lol

Dust on dark floors only show up if bright light shines on them. This time of the year I don't have direct sunlight because of the trees, and when I dust mop, I'm shocked at all the dust and dog hair that was on the floors which I didn't see. This is when I go a few days and don't vacuum/dust.

I do think dark hardwood is a trend, but its a trend that has come and gone before, as most trends do. I think hardwood floors, any shade, is a plus to prospective buyers.

I have very dark stain on the floors in the house I bought last year. It's almost black! I hate them. It shows dirt all the time. Always. It's a very sunny house with loads of light. If I had picked the floors, I would never have picked such a dark stain.

I hope that floor finishong techniques have progressed since the last time those pickled floors were "in"!!! We were home shopping during that time, and the finish on every floor we saw was horrible!

I have had theseinexpensive hickory floors for 5 years now, complete with " cabin grade, (no warranty)" finish, and I cannot complain about them at all.

Everyone who comes in comments on them, and my realtor cousin's FIRST comment was, "These floors alone would sell this house!"..... So maybe they are trendy....all I know is, I like them!

I'm curious as to why the realtor told you to select dark wood. I think I would have asked why? I would think dark/light wood is all in the preference. However, the realtor is selling houses regularly so perhaps that's whats selling in your area at a high demand. What ever you choose I'm sure it will be beautiful - congrats on the new home & good luck!

I have 5" red oak, unstained. It shows nothing, including dust, dirt, cat claw punctures everywhere, dripped coffee. I forget to clean the floor.

Honestly, my realtors suggestion didn't surprise me, as I used another realtor to list my old house and she told me to refinish my hardwoods dark. I took her advice because I was doing in prepping for sale. I like the idea of going like now and then worrying in 7 or 8 years about what is in style. As long as I stay with solid hardwood that won't be an issue.

I love heart pine, even though it's a softer wood. I just think that they work better in old houses, and my house is newer construction (20 years old).

I think dark wood is classic. Yes it's on-trend currently, but it's also a classic that will never go out of style. Kind of like marble. Or herringbone. What I do think will absolutely time stamp your house is the gray wood shown by a few posters above. Don't get me wrong, it's a beautiful look! I almost went with it in my home as well. But I think it will be dated at some point whereas darker wood will not.

Do you have another picture of the kitchen floors from a different angle? It may help with figuring out stain color. It is hard to see if there is any grain showing, or other details that would help. And as for dark floors, my BFF installed them (even though I told her that they showed dust) and her OCD has her dusting the floors 2x's a day. She regrets it. Personally, I have red oak, with a natural satin finish. I think they are very classic.

I have cats and amazing, wild and inquisitive grand girls so a dark floor would not work for me! Also I like many furniture wood types, painted white chalk paint included! My 1950 ranch home came with golden oak floors so I embraced them! I personally would Paint the kitchen cabinets white which I did in my home and I love it. Also I included a picture of my bedroom which we put in new golden oak flooring when we enlarged the room and couldn't save the existing flooring.