I loved the look of the floor, but the finish cracked in several places. It also feels warped and has felt that way since it was installed. I showed the installed a few of the cracks the 2nd day he was installing and all he did was put some waxy putty on them. Also, the floor was delivered on a Friday and he started the install on Monday. The flooring didn't have time to acclimate to our home. We were told that process takes two weeks. After $8,000 and issues with the wood I'm not loving my new floor so much. I have Honey Ash and it dents easily and the finish looks blotchy and scratches easily. I guess I will have to put rugs down all over the place to protect it. I was also told the snap-crackle-pop would resolve itself, but a year down the line it still making those sounds as we walk on it. I had wood flooring in that area that was 80 year old and solid as a rock now I wish I would had refinished it. I don't want to say all of Chelsea flooring is bad, but it's not been good for me. After driving over 200 miles directly to the factory and talking to a manager I felt they won't stand behind their product. Anything that goes wrong with the flooring is the buyers fault. I was going to put more solid wood flooring in other areas of my home, but now I think I will play it safe and use ceramic or engineered wood flooring.

Your inspiration photo is not a stain. It is the colour of the wood species with a coat of finish over it. Your ceiling is probably a different species of wood. I think yours is pine (I'm guessing). The inspiration looks like fir. Fir is a much softer yellow whereas pine can be a STRONG orange. You could strip the finish (which is probably an oil based finish that turns orange all by itself) and then see what colour you have underneath. Then you can SEAL it and then apply a few coats of WATER based finish over top to stop it from getting DARK ORANGE as it is now. You *might get it a step or two lighter....but it will not go as light as your inspiration photo. And the reason you need a sealant is TANNIN PULL. Many species of wood exhibit tannin pull (the orange colour bleeds into the surface finish = turns yellow/orange). This is made WORSE with water based finishes. Therefore you will require the sealant over top of the raw wood. Then you apply a few coats of water based finish. Again, I think you will get a colour that is half way between the two photos you are showing. Whew. All that work just to get a slightly lighter ceiling. Personally I would leave the beams, paint the slatted planks of the ceiling white (after stripping and priming...and priming again because of tannin bleed). Then I would tackle the flooring. It is easier to strip down to raw wood...and then look at a water based finish that will be two steps lighter. Those two things will get you CLOSER to your inspiration photo.

Then I would say you have the two PERFECT floors for your situation. Tile in the "wet" areas and carpets in the rest. Tile doesn't really care about humidity control. Nor does carpet. To get a rigid floor in here (laminate, cork, hardwood, engineered hardwood, vinyl, etc) you might find the lack of humidity is going to be the defining factor. Any floor you put in there will lose warranty the first day of install. If you are OK with that, then go for it... I would personally install a hardwood (engineered in a narrow plank would be better, but it will not rid you of the problems of movement) in the "shoulder season". That means spring or fall. I used to live in the Okanagan Valley in BC (Canada) just north of WA state (Omak WA). The high desert = same concept. The summers have humidity around 15% until a storm rolled in = 90% humidity. And then it would drop again with forest fire season. And winter was then crisp and dry. Pellet stoves will dry out the air nice and fast. So the 20% humidity outside will drop even lower as soon as the stove is fired up. For any rigid floor (other than tile) these humidity levels are far too low. They will shrink and gap over the years...the gaps getting wider and wider as the floor ages. So long as you are OK with this and will love the wood for what it is, then go for it. But buyer beware of your home's limitations. And let me tell you it gets HOT in summer! My friends and family live through 40 C (104 F) summers every year. This is climate change at it's best. Thirty years ago, the hottest summers would be 38 C (100 F) but that would only be every few years. The average summer = 35 C (95 F). Those cathedral ceilings will help, but they won't get rid of all the heat. If your sleeping quarters are "upstairs" you will want to find a way to get the heat out. Just a little FYI from someone who has lived in a similar climate.

Site finished hardwoods are the gold standard. Using a lower grade in multiple widths will allow some savings...but not as much as you think. The concern I have would be the substrate. Is it concrete slab or is it wood joist? Hardwood over concrete is a bit trickier as it takes a LOT of technical knowledge to get it to work as a glue down install. If this is over concrete then the engineered hardwood (that's what it is called) is a better option because most of these can be floated. Traditionally the engineered hardwoods have beveled edges (the valleys between the planks) to ensure a nicer look when installed (they are not sanded like site finished which means the edges can have issues 'lining up' which makes the bevel a benefit to the installer). I prefer a lighter hardwood but your inspiration photo has a medium reddish brown finish/stain used. It creates a very rich look. I would not go any darker than the inspiration photos. And remember: a lower grade wood with multiple widths (such as your inspiration photo) will look a snick more rustic/organic than a higher grade floor with uniform width. A bit more about your substrate will help us figure out what is *better for your situation...and PLEASE tell me you are using a professional wood flooring installer and not the GC's 'guy' who does framing, drywall AND floors.