Will the transition be a bit awkward? Probably. But your house, your rules. If you want to use the darker stain downstairs, I'd recommend also staining the stairs and railing so that you only see one color upon entering the home. Have you considered refinishing and staining the upper floor as well?

I think that the stain being different between the different floors is alright as long as you like it.

You are welcome to have two different wood colours on two different levels. You can get them to "work together" by changing the stain on the BANISTER and the edges of the treads.

Yah. I know. You don't want to touch them....but the problem is the the banister/treads BELONG to the MAIN LEVEL flooring. Remember: anything that a "visitor" can see from the "public" level of the home (bedroom levels are normally private areas = often the upstairs areas) SHOULD BE coordinated.

If you want a darker floor but do NOT want to change the banister/stair treads, then it is logical to change the UPSTAIRS floors and not the main level floors. Why? Because the banister/treads belong to the main level = public areas = needs to match.

The choice is yours....but please be aware that the two colours you have are showing above, do NOT blend well together. That means the main level wood is going to CLASH with the banister/tread colour. And that is normally a "no-no".

If you want darker, then I suggest getting a darker version of the UPSTAIRS colour. The gray/black is going to cause a BIG clash with the warm brown. And that clash will force you to change the stairs.

The color in the kitchen, matches the bannisters etc. It is perfect, why would you even want to change it, and have a mix of stains.

I would probably do them all the same color.

Just because you like something and it would look nice doesn't automatically mean you should use it. Sometimes you have to respect the whole.

I would have to have to have a dozen houses to do everything I liked.

I like the darker stain for the floors, but I do think you should either stain the bannister to match, or even paint the bannister black. The contrast between the dark stain and white railings will look very elegant

When we were home buying recently, a big red flag was different flooring throughout the house where it seemed unnecessary (we counted six different types of flooring in one house alone - marble, wood, and various types of tile). It seemed lazy, and we wondered if they were just buying discounted flooring as they went room-by-room.

A well-designed home has consistency throughout; if you love the darker stain, you'll need to redo the stairs and second floor. (But I'll tell you, as someone with darker floors, they're a pain to keep clean since they show every speck of everything.)

I would keep the current color. Lovely, natural, timeless color that matches the stairs and the rooms upstairs.

Going with a dark color stain is chasing a trend, IMO. Dark colored floors show every speck of dust & lint and eat up light. You'll likely need to increase lighting if you chose a dark stain. Any scratches in the wood will show more with a dark stain and, if the scratch is deep enough to reveal unstained wood, it will look even worse.

Thank you all! I'm keeping it consitent per everyone's comments. Really appreciate this great houzz community!

Darcy, one single type of flooring thruout the house is kind of a recent thing. I have 6 different flooring types in my main level. And frankly, I like it. Not because I am lazy, but because that is what was done when we built our house. It is not because we were lazy or chose discounted flooring.