Dark Hardwood Floors
We have almost resolved the Great Floor Debate (read about it here and here)...not the actual work, just figuring out what we are going to do about it. So, since I'm pretty sure we are moving on to dark hardwood floors (more to come when we've really decided), I went in search of some inspiration pics. Here's the first few I found on a quick spin through DecorPad and Country Living.
{decor pad...Candice Olson living room}
Do any of you have dark hardwood floors? Care to direct me to some pics? Have any complaints or do you love them? Thanks!
{decor pad...Candice Olson living room} 
Do any of you have dark hardwood floors? Care to direct me to some pics? Have any complaints or do you love them? Thanks!
Great pics! We have dark hardwood floors - there are pics under the Home Tour tab on my blog. I love them. They show dirt easily, but I'm such a clean freak that it doesn't matter. :)
ReplyDeleteUm, gorge. All of it. If I had it to do over again, dark it would be.
ReplyDeleteWe have dark floors...love them and I would never go back. When we move, our house is currently for sale, I want them again in our next home. Hopefully, in more rooms than we have in this home. I'm constantly taking out the carpet and continuing the dark floors, in my mind! I have a design blog and the following link is the post that shows are flooring (they're in our living, dining, and kitchen). Enjoy!
ReplyDeletehttp://bananasanddamaskinteriors.blogspot.com/2010/01/portfolio-1-kintigh-home_18.html
Thanks,
Anna
Sorry I have lighter wood floors but I do love mine. All of your pictures are beautiful. I have heard and only experienced for a short period of time , that dark does show footprints more easily. But if you love them you won't mind keeping them clean. I would go for it ,if that is what your heart is telling you, Kathysue
ReplyDeleteGreat pictures Sarah! I definitely want dark hardwood (distressed too) when we decide to redo our floors. Right now we have a lighter colored soft wood in a few rooms but it's not consistent since the house has been added onto in the past. Thanks for sharing those and good luck!!!
ReplyDeleteThe darker the better. Looks so rich and just reminds me of home.
ReplyDeleteI like dark hardwoods very much. A friend of mine has dark oak that looks stunning. I went with wide plank cherry that has significantly darkened over time. Nothing is better than hardwood floors in my opinion...and I had tile...which I grew to hate in my kitchen.
ReplyDeleteI have dark hardwood floors on my entire main level. I love the way they look, but they are impossible to keep clean. I have to sweep and mop daily to keep them looking nice!
ReplyDeleteHere is one picture from a party I held, that shows the floors well: http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_o5jw0Z2JuQE/S43p0pbIfmI/AAAAAAAACEA/rLgF9I00wKg/s1600-h/7.jpg
Wow, thanks, everyone for all the great feedback! Can't wait to go and check out all your photos! I have heard about the cleaning issue..hmmmm...I'm thinking we won't let this stop us though...Paul wants even darker stain than I do - I told him he'd have to clean it!!! You guys are the best!
ReplyDeleteMy entire first floor (save the bathrooms and kitchen) are a very dark wood -- almost an ebony. And while they're GORGEOUS, they show ever speck of dust, every cat hair...it's insane! That said though, if you're not too finicky about that and/or willing to clean your floors every other day, it's a small price to pay for how well EVERYTHING looks on them.
ReplyDelete(I will say though that I'd classify most of those floors as "medium" in tone -- and I think that's a good thing. That tone is classic, incredibly forgiving, and really would go with just about any style.)
Yay for dark wood! It is oh, so very lovely contrasted against lighter walls and trim. We have a dark stained ash throughout our home, except for the bathrooms. It has stood up so well to 3 kids, and we even have it in the kitchen. I sweep and use a steam mop. Still gorgeous! And, maybe it's just our house, but I think it actually hides the dirt...We have a matte, rustic finish on our's, though. We got it from a company in California. I can email pics, if you'd like. :)
ReplyDeleteJenny
Gorgeous, I wish we had dark wood floors!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful inspiration photos. We're building our own home & are going to put in dark hardwood distressed floors in every inch of it except the bathrooms. I LOVE the look of it, and am so excited that's what you've chosen! Might I suggest a website? We're planning on ordering from builddirect.com. They have fantastic prices on wood if you're going to buy in bulk. One other suggestion would be considering engineered wood. Most good contractors will tell you that engineered wood is much less likely to expand/contract over time. Solid wood floors have a tendancy to shrink up a bit, especially if they're exposed to much sunlight, leaving little gaps for dirt to get stuck in. If you do get solid hardwoods, just make sure you get prefinished & kiln dried- that will decrease the chances of shrinkage. Okay, enough rambling from me! Definitely let us know what you choose!! :)
ReplyDeleteI have darker hardwood floors (walnut finish) throughout the main floor of my house, and while I love them – every single speck or dust and dog hair is visible on them.
ReplyDeleteIn my last house, I had the classic golden-color of hardwood floors – and they were much easier to clean.
That being said, I absolutely love the dark color of my floors, and think it's worth the sacrifice.
Averill - Yes, I totally agree with you about these colors...they are on the light side of dark, lol! Paul would love to get them really dark, like ebony/almost black. I think that's too dark for me, especially with the cleaning issue and the fact that we have alot of dark espresso and black furniture already, and I want there to be some sort of contrast. Good to hear you think the medium tones will be classic, I wonder how long the dark dark floors will be "in"?
ReplyDeleteHey, Court!!! Thanks so much for all the tips, I definitely don't know that much about all this! Awesome to hear you are going with the dark distressed throughout...that is going to be gorgeous!!!!
Not only do I like the dark color, but I like that wormy old "I have stories to tell" look that these wider well worn boards have.
ReplyDeletePam @ http://becolorful.typepad.com
Tell Paul to shove it, he's not in a bachelor pad anymore. Def stick with the lighter dark wood, it'll go nicer with all your pretty and soft wall colors. Distressed would be nice too, want me to come over with a hammer?
ReplyDeletelove your blog- new follower
ReplyDeleteOh lovely. They are going to look amazing! How great are those images from Style at Home. I'm in love with that home.
ReplyDeleteI have very dark floors (home and office) and I use them very often for clients. I get the same complaint - scratches and dust shows too easily. But it hasn't bothered anyone enough to change it. Probably because they look just too darn good!
ReplyDeleteI do like the floors in the images you chose because they are on the darker side but not totally dark or ebonized. I am seeing (and doing) more and more of this lately. Works really well with light AND dark walls without being to severe. Marija
we have dark floors and i would never choose them again. as beautiful as they are, they're impossible to keep clean. we live in a dry, dusty climate and also have a dog and a toddler...our floors are more of a hassle than they're worth, sadly.
ReplyDeletethis will be beautiful and classic! I agree, if Paul wants to go darker, he can man the swiffer!
ReplyDeleteAll of your pictures are awesome. As an Express Home Services expert i appreciate and i will suggest It is more difficult to maintain, expensive in most cases and is harder to keep ever green because it requires regular care and maintenance,so take care of your flooring.
ReplyDeleteI love every one of those. They are so beautiful. Hopefully one day I will get to have nice, thick, dark hardwoods. I can't wait to see what you come up with. Congrats on the pregnancy.
ReplyDeleteWe stained our hardwood floors "dark walnut" ... we LOVE them!! I am a bit nervous about the floors once we have a baby (then toddler) in the house as all their toys will be thrown and dragged around. It is very obvious when they get scratched up (also if we have a dog we will need to keep their claws trimmed short!!) Dark floors show dirt easily as well - the swifer wet jet is used a lot!! But we really do love them and I think it's worth it. If I did it again I would do some research on a thicker, more 'industrial' poly so it would be more durable. Since you are in the Boston are, if you need a recommendation for a hardwood floor guy I can email you our guy's contact info. He was EXCELLENT and a had a very fair price.
ReplyDeleteI had dark hardwood in my last home and opted for light in my current home. I loved the dark- so rich and really grounded the space... but the dust was out of control. They showed everything! At least mine did. I always wanted to clean them! I do look at my light floors and dream of staining them a rich charcoal though :)
ReplyDeleteCool! These are great ideas for our new house. My wife and I also want our living room and bedrooms to have dark hard wood floors. Los Angeles homes are the inspiration for our project. But we're not yet done with the whole flooring. Redondo Beach rest houses often have these beautiful looking floor designs, and that's what we want to achieve.
ReplyDeleteI had dark hardwood in my last home and opted for light in my current home.
ReplyDeleteFlooring company
Hard wood flooring is a great choice. It can be direct glued-down over concrete slabs above or below grade or stapled down over a wood subfloor.
ReplyDeleteWe have dark wood floors throughout our home. We get to do a total pack out again after just three years from our front load washer opening during operation and dumping gallons of water all over the new floors. That is after the first disaster three years ago when the water heater exploded. So, we're never doing wood again...dark or otherwise. We're doing Daltile in a marble finish, going with a neutral that never goes out of style...or gets ruined with a water spill.
ReplyDeleteOh, I forgot to mention....Unless you're cleaning them everyday, forget it. They only look good on cleaning day.
ReplyDeleteYes, I have been looking for this all day better now
ReplyDeletethan never!
You can also visit this site for Hardwood Flooring Services I hope will be help full
Platinum Flooring Company
You should make this post like into a definitive guide or something. I bet a lot of your new readers that come to this site would want to be able to find this post. It's too good to keep secret!For more knowledge about hardwood floors you can visit http://store.platinumflooringcompany.com
ReplyDelete