We are having this dilemma in real time. they just stained the 1st floor of our 2013 built home. I wanted to refresh because the kids beat them up with scooters, etc when we first moved in and also the color ambered a lot over the years and was looking VERY orange... so we said let's just do the first floor since the 2nd is in relatively good shape but does have that more warm/amber tone. So now we have a custom blend downstairs going up the front stairs and the existing Early American on White Oak on the 2nd floor. See pics... I thought I could live with it, but now I'm 2nd guessing and wondering if we need to do the 2nd floor too... thoughts, photos welcome!

Have you looked at the stone patterned engineered tile, like Alterna (made by Armstrong), Supreme Elite, IVC or MetroFlor ? I do think they can look very good against natural wood -- because they have more substance and a different finish, they look much better than any sheet vinyl and many planks, also are warmer and more comfortable than tile. There are several other brands. I have a (now discontinued) Metroflor product that I think looks really nice next to my old red oak floors. You do have to be sure that the tones are compatible with your wood. I have seen some wood grain vinyl planks that are really lovely and durable, but to my eye they just never look right next to real wood -- especially an older wood floor. Have you considered cork?

Your stair treads appear to be stained. Simply sand them and then refinish them in a natural finish. Be aware that the stair treads MAY BE red oak (which is CHEAPER than white oak). If they are white oak, a natural clear coat (water based polyurethane) will NOT amber or turn a deep orange. I think this has happened to the stairs...or they have a medium stain added. It is hard to tell from your photos. Please add a close up of a stair tread. Please try to photograph a step with the bamboo showing as well as a tread with the upstairs oak showing. That way we can see what is happening. Normally you try to match the stair tread with the PUBLIC area flooring - which I'm assuming is the bamboo. The private areas (normally the upstairs where the bedrooms exist) are stand-alone areas and do not need a match to the stairs.

Oh dear. The issue with factory finished products strikes again. Man-made finishes (wood, laminate, vinyl, etc) have a shelf life of 2 years (or so). I'm sorry but you just discovered what happens when things are done 'one at a time'. You can bring in a wood (not laminate) that is the same species and WIDTH but a different COLOUR (please try to compliment the hallway) and then run it into the bedrooms. At least you will get SOME semblance of order. But the IDEAL = remove the hallway product and refinish EVERYTHING in the same floor. Personally if I were a home buyer, I would rather see carpet in bedrooms and then wood in the hallways...I'm a flooring snob who would wrinkle my nose at a poorly matched wood+wood install on the same level.