and sometimes we go dark, really dark and I love it
Thinking of going dark with your hardwood floors? Book a virtual consult with us here to learn more!
Though we live in a world of natural white oak floors right now, there is something so beautiful about a rich deep brown solid site finished hardwood floor, in the right setting. Each home is different, that’s what makes it yours, and your floor stain should always compliment the design style of your home. We actually thought we were going light on these red oak floors, more on that look here, but after much discussion and inspo sourcing with this homeowner, (more info on our virtual stain consultations here) we knew we wanted to do the complete opposite, dark dark dark.
Here is a before shot of the 2 1/4” red oak floors in this project.
and a couple more befores
first things first, sand off that orange oil based polyurethane
I love when I stop by on day one and can see the swipe of the sander stripping that wood down to its raw form. It instantly transforms from orange shiny floors to a raw state of natural unfinished wood and from there the possibilities are endless.
another shot of the before of this home
and the same view after the first cut of sanding, isn’t that just so satisfying?
told ya we were going deep rich brown on this one
We also added new red oak to all the upstairs bedrooms in this home which is quite common for us. Most homeowners are moving away from carpet these days. It’s so seemless during refinishing to add to your existing hardwood if you have solid site finished hardwood already.
A little sneak peek of the same view.
Final coat day…are you ready for the afters? Okay, here we go.
Can you even get over that matte rich brown tone with all the layered neutrals in this room?
I may have brought in my own vintage runner when we were shooting these photos because it’s just what this entry needed.
I also may have been on my stomach under a huge train table to get this shot. I think it was worth it.
You would think I would be used to it by now, but I still gasp when we go from orange floors to stunning floors.
I’m so glad we went dark! And so is the homeowner. It’s just what this beautiful layered neutral styling needed as the base.
And that’s a wrap. What’s your vote on the deep dark or light and airy red oak floor stain?
design, styling and photo editing by Michelle Rhodes