Sample board and Inso pics (from some angles it looks ok, but trust me, from some it looks so outdated to me) And I know that paint and other details will help, but not enough for me:

Our floors :(

I like the results ( if that’s what’s in pic 2 & 3 ) better than your first (?) picture in the sample board.

@K Laurence, first two pics are what I wanted, last three or how they turned out.

I'm not following what your concern is... picture 2 and 4 look very similar to me and I thought 2 was your inspiration and 4 was the finished product. Is it not dark enough or is the caramel tone you don't like? Oak will always have a lot of show on the grain. We recently stained our Jatoba (Brazilian Cherry) and found that water-popping helped keep our color a bit more consistent but still enjoy the graining. Not sure if that works with Oak or not.

For what it's worth, I think your floors looks nice, but I definitely understand how frustrating it can be to have a certain look in mind and have it not work the way you were hoping for it to. I'm sorry.

@mnmamax3 thanks, the problem is that from some angles it's passable, but when your are standing in the entire room, it is too light and yes, too Carmel brown. Waterpopping would have helped if the stain had been spot on, but it wasn't looking right in the samples. Thanks for the feedback, appreciate it.

To me dark floors are ugly as hell. If your floors have knots in them, they are far from "select" grade. This is the reason why these manufactures love this whole stupid dark floor trend. They can use low quality grade wood cause they know its gonna be covered up by the dark stain. And still charge a premium price. Most of them do this.

Lol Chess ... yes, lighter wood floors are definitely the trend where I live ( coastal So California ), maybe it’s a regional thing idk.

To each their own. I personally love dark hardwood floors. I like light colored hardwoods too but the room has to have some nice contrast. I can't stand houses with white carpet (and really I'm not a fan of carpet in general) or houses where everything is white/beige. To me that is so boring and cold. Like living in a hospital.

But to the O.P.: I agree with Tony, if your floors have lots of knots, they aren't select grade.

Your room and floors are gorgeous to my eye! The stain certainly did achieve a cooler undertone that would be expected from this species. I know it's painful when the result is different than the expectation, and only you know if you can embrace it.

@Raina Townsend, I'm right there with you, to each their own, especially when you're spending so much $$$! I also love light floors, when they first put the white oak in I tried to picture just leaving them virgin with no stain because they're so gorgeous, but light floors work best in the right home and setting, not ours with how much white we'll be using.. And it's not as if I want to go super dark and trendy (the previous owner did that with the engineered wood floors, they were nearly black)! I just want a darker hue with charcoal undertones as opposed to so much brown. Just a preference. I've always preferred that over golden brown hardwoods-I grew up with both natural oak and brown stains, I just prefer a different look- regardless of what's in fashion, to each their own!

@Chess @ K Laurence, you two are so right! Light floors are the trend in the PNW too now, people are designing old craftsman and tudors with bleached out, wide plank floors and mod furniture, crazy wallpaper, and it can look if done right-but not timeless. Our house is a colonial "bastard" as one architect put it, it has greek revival, colonial, and some other features. I'm just trying to do a remodel that reflects a bit of our contemporary/transitional style, but is still warm and traditional and respects the integrity of the home.

emlouhall "Just a preference. I've always preferred that over golden brown hardwoods-I grew up with both natural oak and brown stains, I just prefer a different look- regardless of what's in fashion, to each their own!"

Everyone surely has their own preferences, and if truth be told, most of us don't really give a rat's pattooty about what some designer says is "in fashion". We like what we like, and there is nothing wrong with that. FWIW, I have never loved the brownbrownbrown of wood flooring. Or orangy/gold/red. Never wanted it in my house, although I often appreciate the look in other's homes. I do find the much lighter gray tones of flooring to be a more appealing, cooler-toned look for a floor - for ME. So I totally understand your not wanting the endless browns. I am with you on that. :-)

In your pictures I don't see any knots. Are you thinking the large swirls and waves of the grain are knots? They are pretty typical of every oak floor I've ever seen.

I am sorry you are disappointed, it seems you wanted a more gray based brown. I think they look lovely.

@emlouhall,

You do not need a custom mix stain. The stain color you want to use is Bona: graphite. This will give you a dark floor with gray undertones. See the image in this link. Using rift and quarter sawn will give you a less busy looking floor, compared to plain sawn.

https://www.bona.com/en-US/Bona-Professional/Products/Coatings/Stains/Bona-DriFast-Stain3/

@G & S Floor Service, thank you! I have seen that and considered it, wasn't sure if it was too dark. We can't do rift and quarter sawn now that the floors are in, I thought that's what we were getting but they installed plain sawn.

@Raee_gw, you can't see the knots in the pictures, I think they strategically placed those boards toward the corners of the room, the knots were small not huge, but they were there. The big swirls were unexpected, or at least that many detailed boards...I thought I was getting more the rift and quarter sawn style, but it is what it is now. Thanks!

@Chess, right!? thank you :)

Also, any advice on what to do with furniture that now smells of Polyurethane? I know the smell sticks around for a few days in general,, but it's like it soaked into our memory foam mattress and pillows in our bedroom, two floors above! I've had the windows open for a few days now, all day, not much improvement.

It shouldn't smell but your also not supposed to let the poly dry so fast. If it dries to fast it can leave a wavy finish. If it still smells real bad the only thing I can think of is he use the real cheap stuff. like minwax or something. Its gonna be a while.

If you do decide to restain, I would suggest using Bona Traffic HD Satin instead of poly. Dried super quick, hardly any smell (though the stain itself did smell)..

Your floors are beautiful as is your home. I am sorry you are not happy with them. I personally love them. Maybe after you add furniture and decorate and live with them for a while your feelings will change.

@mnmamax, I used Bona Traffic HD Satin on my floor. I personally think thats the best stuff on the market. Very durable and not sun fading. Its a commercial finish. Its a little expensive but totally worth it! I did mine 3 years ago and it was about $130 a gallon rather than the $35-$50 per gallon with the other poly or water based stuff. They'll also charge more labor cause its a 3 step process buffing between coats. Its been 3 years and it still looks like it was installed yesterday.

BTW, you can't just go to the store and buy that stuff. Either a contractor has to get it, find a warehouse that will sell it to you, or find it online. The only bona stuff they sell in the store is the cleaning stuff. I just use apple cider vinegar. Works awesome.

@Tony Montana, pretty sure it was Glitza (sp?), we finally broke out the air purifiers from storage, that has helped a lot.

@emlouhall...you mentioned in your other post that these were Swedish Finished floors (Glitsa's original formula is Swedish Finish). If you received the original formula, then you have just run into the *problem with Swedish Finish = THE SMELL!

Holy Hanna it can be STRONG! Yes keep those purifiers going! Some people have said the smell from Swedish Finish takes more than a MONTH to go away. Again, I'm assuming based on your other thread and your statement that it may have been Glitsa that was used.

The odor is a long-term thing...more than a month for some. If you want this floor refinished, you might want to go ahead and get the finish off NOW so that the odor goes with it - out the door into the dust collector.

If not, you will be looking at 1month+ for THIS coat....and then another 1month+ for the NEXT refinishing. Of course you can get rid of the issue by working with another product such as the water based products like Bona or Loba, etc.

Water based products are KNOWN for their low-odour/low VOC content. That's why so many people use them....Low VOC, Low odour, fast cure times.

@SJ McCarthy, that's the plan! Holy cow does it smell strong, and I'm cursed with a super sensitive sense of smell which = migraines! If all goes as planned, they will be sanded down and re-stained, with a water based product the first week of April!

We just had White Oak installed and I believe your issue is that it is plain sawn. We did 5 inch rift and quarter sawn but it was a hard decision whether or not to go with more character. Many modern/transitional homes still use plain sawn, it is a good way to give a modern look more character and warmth. So I bet you will be happy in the end. I think your floors look good and will still work well with your style. I know what you mean though about wanting a darker stain with a touch of gray. That is what I want and I am hoping it works out that way when they stain it. I do not like the natural white oak color in my house with my colors so I can't wait to stain it. I don't want it too dark though, more medium.

@afcgirl, very jealous of your rift and quarter sawn :) definitely wish we had done that but I do think the plain sawn works fine with the era of the house, just need the right color stain so it doesn't look too rustic... let us all know how your stain turns out and what color/mix you go with, good luck!

@afcgirl, real quarter sawn wood is extremely expensive. Its expensive cause they basically waste half a tree to get that grain pattern. Engineered quarter sawn wood is not solid oak. Its just plywood with an oak veneer. They call is solid wood floors because it technically is but its NOT solid oak. Great loop hole they found but its cheap stuff. I don't think quarter sawn is "more modern". My fireplace is probably 30 years old and has a huge mantel from the floor to the ceiling and its all made out of real quarter sawn oak. Back then quality mattered more than trends. LOL

@emlouhall, I am having a decorator help us next week pick our stain. It might be a mixture of a few colors, but I will let you know what we end up with! The Graphite stain color by Bona that someone linked above is one of the colors she had my contractor pick up, so that may be part of the mix. I am thinking they will also have to water pop the floors before staining. And you should be thrilled with your floors, as I said many more modern/transitional rooms use plain sawn, in fact I have trouble finding rooms that I love with the rift and quarter sawn. So I hope I end up liking mine. Good luck!

@tonymontana, we did not do engineered, we did real hardwood. Yes it was more expensive but it is not all quarter sawn, it is mixed with rift sawn, so it has a less busy (and therefore in my eyes more modern) look and was not as expensive as all quarter sawn. They had to glue and nail it because of the wider planks (and since it is not engineered).

@afcgirl, what stain did you end up selecting? Are your floors done yet, any pics?

Curious too? Let us know how it all turned out.

hi emlouhall, our number one choice right now is a mix of antique brown, graphite and gray. It is a gorgeous brown with a touch of gray but still timeless. The floor will not be stained for a few weeks (long story) but I will post pics when it is done. Hopefully it looks as good as the sample on my floor. I am very nervous. They will be water popping the floor before staining, which should enrich the color further. We shall see! Did you keep the stain in the pics? Attached is my floor inspiration pic, although ours will be a tad darker.

Newly Built, Lavish Hinsdale Home · More Info

Clean-lined, Transitional Kitchen in White & Grey · More Info

@afcgirl, our floors our being sanded as we speak, we are re-stainig, still working on the custom stain, our guy uses sherwin Williams wood classics so the names are a bit different, we have a few custom options right now to thrown down once their done sanding, "new ebony" mixed with some white and gray, "charcoal", or "new ebony" mixed with some gold to warm it up a bit....we're still playing around. At this point since it's plain sawn oak and not what I had originally pictured, I'm just going for a nice deep charcoal brown that isn't too red. Fingers crossed, I'll post pics once their done.

Update on our floors: we had them sanded and refinished, went with a custom SW wood classics stain, base was "new ebony" tweaked a bit to lighten up and avoid any reddish undertones. See pics below, water popped, stained and one coat of water base finish-they'll be covered with ram board until end of project and then floor guys come back for second coat of finish and any buffing (I think, if necessary), we might do a third coat for extra durability with the dogs. We'll see how the finish lasts over time, but there was barely ANY smell, that Swedish finish from the previous installer was horrific.

In the end, the color still didn't turn out quite as dark as I wanted or how I had envisioned, however I think we ended up with a nice warm, deep tone that will be timeless, but still fits within the realm of what I wanted, within reason given the fact that I had envisioned rift and quarter not plain sawn. Regardless, they are sooo much better than the first go around, in my eyes, and well worth the extra cost. I'm sure this is nothing new to those who have already commented, but for anyone going through something similar, take it from me... nothing will ever look exactly like the pictures you use as examples (no matter how many times people warn you), you can get close, but even our new stain looks totally different when you're standing in the room vs. taking a pic, the pics show much more variation and make the floors look lighter, they're more even toned and charcoal in person, pics make them look more brown. And it changes in various light, you can tell from the pics below that it changes depending on where you're standing. These were all taken at the same time of day.

Great learning lessons here for anyone installing new hardwoods, be sure you know the ins and outs of the species you are selecting and know that given the variability in the boards, the floors overall will never look exactly like the sample swatch they do on your floor. No matter how many times they tell you that, it doesn't sink in until you see it all finished. If you have your heart set on a consistent color/tone, I would highly recommend pre-finished wood floors based on my experience. As much as I don't like the engineered look (having had it before), you can rest assured that what you select will look exactly the same once installed.

Thanks for all the help from folks who weighed in, and if you have any critical comments on the outcome or process-please just keep it to yourself :) I'm exhausted from this ordeal and am ready to move on and what's done is down at this point, just wanted to update folks and say thanks for the earlier feedback. Can't wait to paint lighter colors and get all of our belongings in there to pull it all together!

I really like what I see in the pictures, very handsome! Congratulations!

beautiful

Why are your floors so dirty? EEWWWWWWW!!!!

emlouhall.

I think I am going with this floor it looks so much like yours. You inspired me.

The floor on the right side is the one I like the most.. Your post helped me realize the other option would be tooo orange. Thank you.

@boxerpal-so so so glad my post helped someone else!! I love the tone of the floor on the right, deeper and richer than the other one, good choice! It will look gorgeous with your countertop (Assuming that's the slab behind the samples)....:)

Quick question. As you know, we had our floors re-stained about 6 or 7 weeks ago, they stained and did one finish coat, and then came back once the project was done to buff out any imperfections and put the final coats on. They say to wait 30 days before you put down any area rugs...I know part of this is to protect their business, but if it was just the clear coats is that still applicable? I can't go an entire month with our dogs and no rugs, and we want to move back in!! How imperative is this, the rugs will always be in the same spots with our floorpan layout, so if it affects coloring it won't matter really....thoughts?

Emlou, I can't answer your question about the rugs, but wanted to say I think the floors are gorgeous! Good job! I'm putting down hardwood in my master and have chosen a pre-finished oak that I just love. It is not engineered - but full-on hardwood planks in a darkish brown color. They just happened to have a color I fell in love with, so it's saving us the hassle of staining and finishing. Enjoy your new floors!!

@Jane-so smart to put a pre-finished floor in, you know exactly what you're getting! Post pics when it's done :)

@Lynden Lee, the ram board was down after about a week of the stain curing and was down for the last month of work, they did not remove it at the end of every day...which I've heard is fairly standard Can't change anything now from that perspective, floor looks great so I'm not too worried.