If you found it at Globus (excellent company BTW) then you will purchase from Globus. The cork dealers keep their colour line-ups a little different. In your situation, you can use a floating floor to save some money...but the glue down tile (which is a Globus specialty) is the way to go. A properly installed glue down cork tile WILL COST the same amount as a STONE or HIGH-END tile installation. The TOTAL cost of the job will be equal. The 'issue' with cork is it is a STRONG yellow. Gold/brass is really it's natural colour. To get RID of those tones and create a gray, you MUST use a deeper gray. As soon as you go LIGHTER you go YELLOW. And I've seen it. It is DISTURBINGLY UGLY....like FUGLY type ugly. The COOL thing about cork, even with HEAVY STAINING is it LIGHTENS. Yes. That strong gold/brass turns BLONDE. As in Lady Gaga blonde! Marilyn Monroe blonde! Gwen Stefani blonde! Now imagine the deeper gray sitting on a very pale wood....it is LIGHTER. Globus is a company that is IMPRESSIVE. If I could afford Globus (I'm in Canada so I would go with Duro Design Cork = same type of product/line/colour options) I would go with Globus. A properly installed Globus cork floor = 150 years of service. Only STONE has that type of durability.

Oak floor.....and the statement about vinegar "wearing away the finish" depends on the finish. shellac probably will...solvent based poly won't be harmed by a weak vinegar solution and it will remove some dirt. I have lived with wood floors all my life. Varnish and paste wax when I was a kid, Had Bruce prefinished floors in the first house which had to be paste waxed every 6 months....and one drop of water left too long left a black mark....then on to oak with a shellac finish which wore easily....and finally to oil based poly. best yet! Oh and i am talking about a long time frame, I am 84.

I’m used to seeing birch as a more uniform color, not with all this heartwood and variegation, but it probably is birch after all since it has a quieter grain pattern than hickory. Either way, I would suspect the finish more so than the wood itself. Can you lift a floor register to find out if this is solid or engineered? The narrow planks makes me think solid. If solid, you’ll be able to refinish easily.

Jenn, it definitely didn't for me!! I think it wanted to find some weird thing, like 'decorative' ?? Even when I put in wallpaper, Jacobean, it didn't come close. I got closer with a simple google search with Jacobean and the colors, but not THE one. So, I'm impressed!