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Home Decorating Flooring Design Dilemma

Help picking floor stain for red oak floors!

last year

I am having a really hard time deciding what color to stain my floor. I won't have time to try samples after the floor is sanded and have a contractor coming next week to start the project. I've been watching YouTube, scouring Pinterest and I can't find a straight answer! I have young kids and a dog so would prefer something that hides dirt and fur. In our last home we had dark walnut and I liked it, but now also loving the lighter and bleached floor look. However, we have 2" wide planks on red oak and I just don't know that will look good? All of the lighter floors I've seen recently are 4" planks and on white oak or other. This is a photo of my entry way and kitchen which has been remodeled. I like neutral tones.

I've seen lots of mixtures like weathered oak & classic gray and provincial, or even sun bleached. What is going to be on trend that goes with my style/tastes?

Featured Answer

kempek01

last year

I like the color you have! It is classic. Maybe not "on trend", but it won't be the gray floor of 2017 for the next 40 years either. Anything "Medium Brown" will be classic. Achieving that on red oak is not always easy due to the red part of red oak.

Seriously, though, there is no easy answer to this without samples on your floor in your lighting. You can't make your decision based on pictures on the internet because of the variations in lighting and whatever your monitor does to colors, too.

If you can't slow the process down to get samples, I would make my own samples by getting some unfinished red oak and staining it yourself. Be sure to add the top coat to get a realistic idea of what it will look like. Then you can move the samples around. However, you need to know what brand of products your flooring professional is going to use. If you have that information already, please share it and the professionals here will be able to give you some input on the quality of the product.

Comments (9)

kandrewspa
last year
Red oak needs to be stained or else it ends up looking pink, so you're not going to be able to get a light natural look. I agree with @kempek01, a medium brown would look good with your kitchen and stairs, and it's classic, not trendy. Not something as dark as the stairs. For floors, Bona products are usually used. They have a Medium Brown and Provincial is also popular. You don't want a color with any red like Cherry since you already have red in the floors.
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PRO
BeverlyFLADeziner
last year
last modified: last year
a classic tone but less orange than what you currently have on the floor. IMO your floor might have a resin-based poly and they have a tendency to turn everything orange.

This is not a great illustration but you get the point.
Lisa Sinclair
Original Author
last year
Love those samples what colors is that?
Kat Loop
last year
I love your floors as is - unstained - as others have said, it's a classic look and I think it looks especially amazing in your hallway with the green credenza you have. Honestly I love it in your kitchen too.

If you do want a change, I agree with medium brown. We have smoked/fumed oak floors in our place with a medium brown tone (like walnut floors) - I feel it's a classic look as well.
KH 888
last year
I have red oak floors and love them. I would stay away from gray stains because that is trendy and go for a classic look. We stained ours Early American 15 years ago and it is a good mid tone brown and have loved it.
Sandra Lopez
last year
We had the same dilema. went with weathered oak by Duraseal. very

happy light floor w a tad of darkish tones.
Jess Renn
last year
I am curious as to what you ended up doing - do you have new photos
jessicaspy
last year
Following, as we have floors/layout close to that!

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