Are all the nails "set" really well (deep) into the wood? If they are, than they look small enough to put a bit of wood filler in them. And YES, you have the right idea about the dark stain. That helps a LOT in hiding discrepancies.

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Thank you for your response! Do you suggest pulling them out? Or setting them even deeper into the floor, and then filling up with wood putty?

def set them deeper, if you cant see the metal head then dont worry about them.

depending on while they are there in the first place, they might have been the attempt to quiet a squeeky floor, and while its over kill, pulling them out may bring the problem back or make it worse, plus its too much work it looks like. set, fill with filler, and then stain a color you like, darker the better they will hide.

This is a natural color wood, what kind of stain might hold up good for longer use?

What you have is Not a natural color. You do have a lighter stain on your floor currently.

As far as durability, thats going to come with the urethane coats of finish. the stain is a sealer/gives the wood the color.

on that note, going dark has advantages and disadvantages. it does show dust and harder to keep looking clean, but on the flip side scratches are a bit easier to hide, with simple tricks like using a sharpie or a stain pen to color the scratches in, those are just a few.

I use duraseal brand stains, so the names i throw out there are based of that.

I believe you have something around a nutmeg/chestnut tone, which is in the lighter spectrum. If you went somewhere around a dark walnut or an Antinque brown or darker the nail holes will begin to fade into the stain color.

when you have the old finish ripped off, throw down some sample colors over the area and see what you like, and see how well you can see the nail holes, then go from there.

Ponder how you would remove these nails and I think you can answer your own question. If you're still undecided, try pulling one out.

As gregmills points out, someone may have done this to eliminate squeaks. There is some older wood that is quite thin and is commonly face nailed. What width are your boards? Can you see an exposed edge to determine the thickness of the boards?

As to color, medium colors will generally be more practical than extreme light or dark ones. They show less soil but as was pointed out, the ultimate durability is determined by the quality and amount of surface finish applied.

Thank you gregmills_gw & jfcwood. Dark walnut stain in Duraseal (171) is very close to what I was thinking about. My previous home had floors similar to Red Mahogany (125), and my wife and I loved those floors. Will try the samples out after ripping off the old finish (DuraSeal Color Card). As for ths thickness of the boards, I think they are 3/8 ".

Be cautious sanding that wood. The amount of wood above the t&g is probably quite thin. Start with the finest grit paper and don't linger in any one spot while sanding. Good luck!