sc Kathyc - We originally were leaning toward going dark with the floors until they were installed. They are just so beautiful unfinished aren't they? When we went with darker stains we lost the color variations and gained more grain activity. We had a lot of different stain colors and combos, but ended up going with 2 parts natural and 1 part chestnut stain (I think). You can still tell it's hickory, yet the color variations aren't too demanding in the room. One of the toughest decisions on our build, but I'm very happy with how they turned out.

Gregmills, thank you for replying to my post. In 2009, I had several installers take moisture readings and my floor was dry. BUT since 2009, I had the water damage from the water heater on 3-20-13 which damaged the 5" wide BR-111 Brazilian Cherry engineered wood floors which have not been removed and are over the Floor Muffler Ultra pad that they were floated on. I had to buy area rugs as the planks had cracked and lifted. I was waiting to have the insurance claim settled first before removing the floors. My little 6 lb Maltese got her foot caught costing me over $300 with the vet bill, X-rays and pain medicine. Thankfully nothing was broken when she was running and got her foot caught in the floor and was whimpering and carrying on. That is why I bought the inexpensive temporary small area rugs to cover many of the damaged areas until the insurance company settled with me. I had chosen to install the same Brazilian Cherry Wood but now sold directly by Triangulo to stores rather than first sold to BR-111. I just want to change my width to 3.25" from 5". I would prefer a floating floor again as it felt like a solid wood floor but was not so hard on my feet. The store had bought a large lot of 3" Solid Indusparquet Brazilian Cherry Hardwood so can give me a very good price on installing the solid wood by gluing it down using SIKA 2. I did look this product up and they are saying 3/4" solid hardwood can be glued directly to the concrete since it has a moisture barrier and good holding power but flexible. I did call the manufacture of this wood today and Indusparquet will not warranty the solid wood unless it is nailed to plywood floors. I have get to go to the store to discuss the estimate he prepared for me but I am feeling I need to tell him that I really prefer the 3.25" engineered wood downstairs and upstairs. In the summer time, the air conditioner keeps the humidity level down and the house is maintained at 36 - 40% humidity. In the winter time, the dry air is a problem with my forced hot air heat. I used humidifiers downstairs in the day time in my home office and upstairs at night. I have never had a problem with the 5" engineered wood floors until the water damage so I feel I am OK with the engineered wood floors. But when I go upstairs at night, it is very dry and I have to run the humidifiers on a long time to make my bedroom humid enough so I do not get nose bleeds. This is what I am afraid of with the solid wood. I am also afraid of the install failing downstairs where the concrete floor is not flat/level. I filled the large cracks I found when the carpet was removed in 2009 before the installer arrived to install the floor. I will not use him again as he told me to use 2 less boxes so I changed my order and we ran out of wood and he never came back to finish the job when the wood arrived. I want someone to do the full job and charge me extra for moving the heavy cabinets. I have bought so many stackable crates since I will empty them. I have called moving companies to get prices and in case a store does not want to move the cabinets into my garage themselves and to put them back on the floors.

Diane McGaw , We do a TON of projects in South Florida and in coastal California. You want to find a high quality America made Engineered floor. White Oak is ideal for coastal decor. I would suggest a light whitewash or similar finish. We use Bona with good results. Let me know if you have any questions. joel@oakandbroad.com

Elizabeth Turton , American White Oak can look very similar. All our floors are made to order to both 5/8" and 3/4" Engineered are available.