HELP! Flooring dilemma - don't want to rush the decision. Need advice

5 years ago

last modified: 5 years ago

My kitchen was renovated. New wood laid to match the rest of the first floor. Flooring person did a lousy job with the finishing. After doing a lot of research and having many different flooring people come out to offer their opinions, the best way to fix the issue would be to refinish the entire first floor. Here's my dilemma. I don't want to spend all the money to do the first floor and keep the same color. The issue is I can't really decide right now what that new color would be for this reason- my kitchen is white. It is rather open to a smaller family room that has dark wood built ins. Now that the kitchen is close to done, we are starting to think those built ins in the neighboring family room might need to change in color. Go lighter. I need to bring in a designer to help me figure that out. Depending on what they end up to be, would really determine what new floor color I would choose. So it's a snowball effect. One decision affects the next. Here's the reason I feel rushed to make this decision -- cabinet people want to finish. They want to install the toe kicks. I can't make a decision on the builts and new floor color in just a few days. I haven't even called a designer yet. Would it be a mistake to just let the cabinet people install the toe kicks? Will they get ruined if I finish the floor down the line? It might take me a few months to figure it out all and I doubt the cabinet people want to wait on me. Thoughts ? Suggestions?

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Beth H. :

5 years ago

I like the current floor color. if you want to go lighter, then perhaps a walnut shade? or is that what you have currently? as for the built-ins, I think if you did them the same color as your kitchen cabinets, it would tie in beautifully. Right now the reddish cabs seem to fight w/the warmer tone of the gold fireplace surround, and the darker java colored mantel. White would look perfect next to both of those. But I would change the color of the of the wall that the tv is on to something darker.

Comments (14)

K R
5 years ago
Post some photos of the spaces in question. A designer could be a good idea...
Sandra Durante
Original Author
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
Karen Rose here are some photos.. **Somehow family room photo got deleted when I went in to edit my post and correct spelling mistakes. I will post it again below***

Don't mind the mess. We've been in construction mode since July! We threw out the couch. Plan to redecorate this room and brighten in up, but hadn't thought about changing the color of the built ins until now.
Color of floor is currently a medium toned brown. I like the trend of darker floor colors but I wouldn’t make the change if I kept these built ins dark. Would look funny. See my next post for kitchen
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Thanks. Some good news today. The cabinet maker came back with a new delivery date. (spare you the details). They phoned while I was out looking at granite and marble. I saw a slab of gold calcutta.(I know, I said I was not going with marble but still weighing the options) I thought that the grey color read green. And it looked better with a creamier white as opposed to a soft white. I will start a new thread asking about that. So here I am with another major decision and time ticking. Just let my remodel be an example of why one shouldn't rush!
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And cork is NOT allowed UNDER VINYL. Vinyl only allows hard/flat/smooth underlayment (there are minor exceptions...but they are WAY outside your budget). A decent vinyl starts where your budget ENDS. Yes vinyl can be loud. Yes it can bounce and move. That's why you spend +++++ time (you won't spend money....so it is your dear ol' dad who will spend the time) getting this space ready for vinyl. Vinyl is VERY picky. And carpet hide THE WORST subfloors in THE WORLD! Which means the effort to get the hiden subfloor up to snuff for vinyl is going to be extensive (and if you paid for it...expensive). I would have a strong healthy look at the kitchen and decide WHEN you are going to remodel that 70's homage. The INSTANT you touch the kitchen, the flooring IN THE KITCHEN is going to have to come out or be changed out because of changes to the foot print. If you change the foot print then the LIVING room flooring may have to be dealt with (again) as well. Sigh. I know you want the "same floor" throughout, but it isn't necessary at this point. I would suggest you work with a "nice" laminate (and yes a 12mm laminate for $3/sf is BETTER than LOW GRADE vinyl for $3/sf) in the living spaces and leave the kitchen/entrance areas in a water proof floor - like tile. That way you can do the entrance/kitchen at a later date....when you are READY to deal with the kitchen. Because we can all see the kitchen is ready for an update. In fact, it has been ready for it's update for 20 years. Start at the start....the kitchen and foot print. Then move to the flooring from there. And your flooring budget is low. Please be aware of that. And low grade vinyl is NOT fun to live with. Especially in front of old windows that allow the floor to HEAT UP on sunny days. Vinyl will wrinkle and pucker when hot. And hot for vinyl is anything above 85F. When it comes to old windows (no UV protection, etc) a pool of sunlight can hit 100+ F inside of 1 hour!!! Now imagine how much vinyl that is going to destroy. Laminate doesn't care. For your budget, and situation, I highly recommend working with laminate in the living areas and tile in the wet areas.
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Sandra Durante
Original Author
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
Kitchen is white. Again don't mind the mess. Kids made tacos for dinner! Please note I am planning to refurnish the small room (and brighten it up)and also get a new kitchen table. Just not sure if I would lighten the built ins or not . If I can give myself time I’d be happy. Just wondering if putting on my new toe kicks and then potentially having them get stained or banged up would be upsetting.
Sandra Durante
Original Author
5 years ago
Here is family room
K R
5 years ago
I love a good taco bar! :) I would get your kitchen finished up first and foremost. You can always touch up white toe kicks down the road. Think about it all a little while. Get a new table, reorganize all your stuff, get back to normalcy... (having just gone through a remodel myself recently I know the stress it puts on you). It will give you a fresh perspective. It all looks good now so I’d give it a little time.
Sandra Durante
Original Author
5 years ago
Karen Rose - thanks for commenting. I’ve been SO stressed the last few weeks. I think I will wait
Sandra Durante
Original Author
5 years ago
Beth H - thanks for ur suggestions! If I decide to redo the wood floors, would my kitchen cabinet toe kicks get ruined? They are factory finished. Right now they are sitting on the floor on my family room. Cabinet maker will want to finish in next 1-2 weeks. I won’t be ready with my floors.
Sandra Durante
Original Author
5 years ago
Beth H - one more thing. My floors look darker in photo than they really are. If they were actually this color I would love them. But they are not ... hard to capture in a photo
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Beth H. :
5 years ago
i'm sure the flooring guys could tape off the toe kicks, but sanding off the current color with those in place would be more difficult. I know your cabinet guy wants to finish, but is it really that much of a hassle for him that he can't come back after the floors are done to install them? would you be willing to pay him a little extra for his time if he does come back? I can understand his side of it. he's already there and wants to finish. to come back another day means extra hours and a trip he has to schedule. so, compensate him for it if that's the only issue.

You can also ask your flooring guys if having the toe-kick in place is a big deal. they would know the answer to that better than us.

Is the wood red oak, white oak? have you sampled any other stain colors?
Sandra Durante
Original Author
5 years ago
Beth H - final payment (which is a big chunk) is due to cabinet maker when he’s done. So I doubt he would want to wait a while. I have to set up a meeting with him to discuss. Maybe he would let me pay all minus a small part or maybe I would have to pay him in full and then have him come back at a later time for a small fee I guess. I really don’t want to rush to make a floor decision. So many factors come into play, and I really want the help of a designer. I’m just making phone calls now so it’s not going to happen overnight. I will also ask my floor people about the toe kicks being in place. Thanks for your help!
lizbeth-gardener
5 years ago
I like Beth's idea of painting the built-in bookcases/cabinets to match the color of cabinets in the kitchen, then bring some color in with wall paint. I prefer a warm color for floors with white or light cabinets. Your floor color looks good on my monitor, but it might not show the true depth. Remember that mid-tones tend to show less dust than dark color floors. I would talk to your cabinet man and explain your dilemma;don't allow anyone to rush your decision. He can always come back later to install toe kick. He may need all or most of the payment now, but you don't want your toe kick marred with a sander.
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Oak & Broad
5 years ago
Sandra D , this sounds like a stressful situation. Hopefully they can do the toe kicks later!
Sandra Durante
Original Author
5 years ago
Good news! I had an interior designer here this week who said the floor does not need to be sanded down to the bare wood again. Color match is pretty good. Just sheen is off. Can be screened and recoated. Meeting with a few floor guys to confirm this. Hopefully will be a quick fix and cabinet guy will wait till it’s done. Nice way to start the weekend. Renovations are stressful!

HELP! Flooring dilemma - don't want to rush the decision. Need advice

Beth H. :

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