How to Choose the right Stain for Wood Floors

Choosing the color of stain for wood flooring is one of the most exciting and intimidating parts of construction. Today, I want to share a few important tips to help you select the stain color for your own hardwood floors.

There are many different types of wood species to choose from when selecting a color for your wood floor – this is a blog post for another day, but one I can’t wait to share more about.   The wood flooring featured in this post is a beautiful standard white oak hardwood floor.

Before you pick your stain color for any wood flooring, you need to understand the floor material’s characteristics.

• The wood flooring used on this project is a standard-cut white oak.
• Oak flooring does not tend to change in color unless directly exposed to sunlight.
• Oak flooring – when water popped – will allow you to apply stain more evenly,  which makes the color stand out by allowing the stain to go deeper into the wood.

Factors to consider when selecting a stain color for your hardwood flooring:

• Will your flooring lighten or darken over time?

  • If yes – you might want to consider going with a shade darker or lighter.  When in doubt, ask to see projects your wood floor guy has completed, particularly showing different options for wood flooring where the color changes over time.
    

• Will the material have a high contrast range – meaning will it have dark veining or light veining?

  • consider the look you are going for. Do you want your floor to have a lot or little movement
  • For a lot of movement – select a lighter color of wood.
  • For less movement – select a mid-to-darker color of wood.
  • It is important to know that the movement in flooring grain always stays the same.  Look for how noticeable the movement is based on the stain color and product used.

• Think about the overall look you are trying to achieve

  • Before you start, make sure you have a clear vision in place for the project.
  • When in doubt, look on Pinterest for examples of flooring stains that have been used that achieve the look you’re going for.
  • Ask yourself:
    • Am I trying to match my cabinetry?
    • Do I want my flooring to be a focal point or a team player?

The possibilities of stains for hardwood flooring and products are endless. Ultimately, we decided to use a water-based product

• Two parts Provincial Bona Stain to one part Bona Dri Fast Stain – Gray.  

I hope you enjoyed reading about the Classic Transitional project. Stay tuned to see the floor color when it’s all finished!

Re-doing your floors or working on a new build? Check out my recent post about how to select tile for your home. 

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