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Dana Nichols Beautiful isn't it? The flooring pictured here is Provenza, African Plains in Black River, 5-inch hand distressed planks. Hope that helps!

carleeb12 We are considering putting this exact flooring in our new home. Do you like it? Is it well-made and durable? The sample we have looks almost like it has a blackish/gray stain on it....however this picture makes it look kind of red. Is the coloring a little off? I hope it is more gray, as we are doing gray paint and a gray painted island. Anyway, any info you can provide on this flooring would be greatly appreciated. Most people seem to be unfamiliar with Provenza, so I am really hoping it is a reputable brand and a good floor.

cookiemaker Did you go ahead with the Provenza African Plains floor? We are also considering it for our entire home and want to know if it is reasonably durable. The type of wood is Hevea which rates very low on the Janka scale, around 800. Yet, the sales rep we talked to says it is really closer to 1300, still soft, but better. The varethane coating should add some protection. I think the distressing will allow for some dings and scratches, just adding more character, but I don't want the floor to really get beaten up and damaged. Any comments from people who have the floor?

carleeb12 We are putting it in. In fact, it is being installed tomorrow. I have researched this a ton and finally came to the conclusion that the distressing, added with the coating would make it okay. It is 995 on the Janka scale (http://ejmas.com/tin/2009tin/tinart_goldstein_0904.html). Walnut is 1010, which is barely higher than this, and I know tons of people who put non-distressed walnut in their homes, so I figured it would be fine. Here's hoping I guess. :)

cookiemaker Good luck! The product is beautiful! Still debating between it and another option. Could you please update me with comments after the installation? Would be interested in hearing how it looks "en place", as they say. You certainly won't walk the finish off, but curious as well about everyday wear and tear. Certainly the distressing buys you some wiggle room in terms of discernable dings. This is one thing we really like about the floor.
Are you using the flooring on stairs? Our plan is to do just about our entire 2400 sq. foot house, including a stair case.
Hope your install is a success and that you enjoy your gorgeous new floors!
With thanks for your input.
Laura
P.S. There seem to be a few different Janka scales out there. Thanks for including the link to the one you referenced.

carleeb12 I have called TONS of different flooring companies inquiring about this flooring and all of them say it is some of the best they offer (the Provenza line). I have talked to two different people who have actually had personal experience with this flooring. One was a man who works at one of the flooring companies I called. He has it in his home. He said he has 4 boys and they have had it for 6 years and he said it's held up great. No complaints. The other was the owner of a flooring company. He said they had it down in their showroom and office for 6 years, which included a lot of foot traffic as well as chairs rolling across it all day. They just barely tore it out, not because it was worn out, but because they were just remodeling the place and needed to do something different in the space. I also talked to a few flooring companies in CA, all of which said they sell a lot of it and have never had a claim or anything. So, I guess based on that info, I kind of decided to just go for it because I like it more than any of the other "boring" flooring options I've seen. It has a 25 year finish and lifetime structural warranty. And I also kind of just figured I'd rather get a really distressed floor and not feel so bad denting it than a smooth floor, which will inevitably dent, and feel bad being able to see the dents in it. We have abused this sample a lot to try to see what happens. We've dropped a lot of things on it that haven't done anything to it. The can of soup left a mark, but it's hard to even see it because of the distressing. I dropped a can of soup on my mom's oak floor and it left a mark as well, so I guess my point is that no matter how hard your flooring is, some things will inevitably dent it...perhaps not as deep, but they'll still leave a mark. Who knows if I'll end up regretting it later. Oh well if I do I guess. We are installing it throughout a lot of our main floor (about 800 sq. ft). We are carpeting our living room and office, tiling the mud room and 1/2 bath, and then putting wood in the front room, entry-way, kitchen, and nook area. We aren't putting it up our stairs or on the top floor. We live in UT, which is really harsh on wood floors, so I wanted to keep it to a minimum, even though I LOVE the look of it throughout homes. I will let you know how I like the look of it once it's all installed.

cookiemaker That's very helpful information; thank you.
We have narrowed our search to two favourites: the Provenza African Plains and an oil finished birch with character (knots, grain and a gorgeous grey/brown interplay of tones). LOVE them both; thinking the birch may be a bit more classic and better for resale value in the future. Wondering how long the distressed theme will be appealing, though it certainly has tons of visual appeal now. It is indeed way more interesting than many of the humdrum hardwood products on the market.
Is Utah dry? We live in Calgary Alberta and it is a challenge keeping 30-35% humidity in our homes in the winter, as recommended by flooring specialists. Engineered floors seem to be a safer bet for our dry climate. Also, the 5" planks are stunning and I couldn't go that wide with solid hardwood. So, we have a big, expensive decision to make!
Please follow up with reports on the installation and the fallout, meaning your exuberance when the finished product lays in your home! Good luck and thanks for sharing your experiences and knowledge.

renomama How did it come out?? I have just discovered the Provenza Aftrican Plains and the Antico lines today. We are doing 2000 sq. ft. in our 1 story home and I am toiling over hardwood decisions. I so appreciate finding all of your great information! I would love to hear how yours came out! Thanks!

cookiemaker Hi again. We are having oil-finished birch hardwod installed in my entire house virtually as we speak! It is a fabulous product from Quebec called Intemporel in a colour called Graphite, classic but modern, 4.5 inches wide. Part of the allure is that you can repair the floor in patches with a repair kit, plus you can wash it with wood soap. It is solid wood, not engineered. It was s tough choice between this product and the Provenza line. We thought the African Plains flooring was just a bit too rustic and wanted a more contemporary look. Such stunning products out there. . . . . Once we settled on the floor, everything started falling into place. How's your project going?

carleeb12 We had the African plains Black River installed in November. And to be honest, I like it more than I thought I would. After we made our decision, I started fretting that it would be way too distressed, and worrying about the softness of the wood, but so far we have had no problems. We've dropped some pretty heavy things and it hasn't done a thing to the floor. Also, there were a few scratches when we first moved in due to contractors and stuff, but we "colored" them in with black and you would never even know they were there. My friend also said her wood floor installer recommended using Minwax stain plus finish on all the small scratches, which are inevitable with wood floors. I've been meaning to buy some at Home Depot, but can't decide what color the stain is on these floors.... is it black or gray? :) The floor is quite distressed already, so you never even notice small scratches and stuff. They just seem to fit right in. To be honest, our floor is the first thing people comment on when they come into our house. They are quite unique in comparison to many of the other products out there, and so far people seem to really like them. I think if you like the rustic look, you would probably really love these floors. However, if you want a more contemporary look as Cookiemaker did, you should look into the flooring she went with. That sounds beautiful to me as well. Anyway, so far I have been pleasantly surprised by them. I guess only time will tell if I feel the same in a few years. I will try to take a picture and upload it later tonight.

carleeb12 Okay, here is a picture of the flooring in our home.

renomama Thank you both for your comments and suggestions...so very helpful!! And the picture is great! I went today to look at the various colors of the African Plains and the black river was such an interesting color, unique with some green tones, however, in your picture and the other photo of this floor, I would never guess it was that color. I love its unique character, but it just doesn't pull together with my other colors. I am actually leaning toward the Sahara Sun color. I appreciate your mentioning the rustic feel to the floors. We had not been thinking of going rustic. That concerns me a bit. We were looking at the Gemwoods Acacia floors in the San Jose color, which is more contemporary, but when I put the samples of the African Plains down, it just spoke to me:-). My husband will see it tomorrow and we will make our decision then. Our project, at least the shell, is almost done. Floors have been an major hang up for me...I want it to be as right as it can! The rock for fireplace interior/exterior and courtyard rock wall were also a bear! I ended up creating a custom blend from various colors of rock. This has been an adventure! Fun, but also the most stressful!!! :-) Thank you, again! I have never received such wonderful responses and so timely before and it has been so helpful!

cookiemaker Here is a picture of the flooring we put down, from the gallery photos on the website http://parquetsalexandra.com/site/
Looks a lot like African Plains Black River, with some warm brown notes and undertones of graphite, really modern but not so trendy as to look weird in a few years. We are loving the look, really neutral and warm. Such a great product in the pre-oiled finish, a nice matte, washable, repairable, etc.

whitingshome Hi! I'm just joining this conversation after reading all that has been written. We are looking at the African Plains Sahara Sun but after seeing picures of the Black River, I like it better! I would, however love it if you "renomama" do end up using the Sahara Sun and could post some pictures on here? Thanks!

renomama Hi Whitingshome! I would definitely go and pick up samples of the various colors. The Black River is a really unique and interesting color, much more so than the Sahara Sun, which has a particular look about it as well. I will definitely post pix once we decide what we are doing! Good luck!

renomama Cookiemaker, I forgot to mention how beautiful your floor looks! Thank you for that photo!!

carleeb12 The black river has a grayish/black stain on it. It has zero red or gold in it, which is why we fell in love with it. Our island and paint color were both gray and every time we put other woods next to it, they all looked really red or really gold, and it just didn't feel right. I like our floor down more than I even liked it as a sample. I also love Cookiemaker's floor. Super cool look, and we actually just purchased a table that looks a lot like it!

cookiemaker Yes, many woods have red or gold tones, which is exactly why I fell for our product, which has greys, taupes, and caramel tones. It is stylish, modern yet not so ultra trendy (lots of distressing, super wide planks) as to go out of style very quickly. It has a very contemporary feel to it. Loving it!!

whitingshome Thanks for all of the tips! Renomama, I would LOVE to see pictures of your floor when you get it down! Thanks! I wouldn't mind seeing some more pics of your floor (entryway, etc) too Carleeb12. :) Thanks!

hrguru Thanks for sharing your comments and pics. We just ordered the African Plains Zanzibar, can't wait to see it on the floors as I haven't been able to find any pics of it in rooms yet. Glad to hear it is a fairly strong wood as well.

renomama I am just frozen with what decision to make on the floor. I love the rustic contrast of the AP Sahara Sun with our clean white trim craftsman style home, but my husband is pushing for more of a classic look. rguru, would love to hear how you like the Zanzibar, and would love to see pix! Carleeb12, how is cleaning the African Plains wood floor? Is it tricky with all of the distress and dents??? Thanks for all the great discussion everyone!!

carleeb12 renomama, it is zero maintenance. Honestly, the cracks make no difference. i woke up in cold sweats one night prior to the floor being installed, but after it had been ordered. I realized I hadn't even thought of the upkeep of it! I started thinking about the dings and cracks and seriously had a panic attack. So I went and grabbed the sample, in the middle of the night, poured flour on it, broke up bread on it, etc. (i'm a nutcase! lol). Anyway, it all just swept up perfectly. I still worried about it though, because I was just sweeping a little sample, and I would have a whole floor to take care of. Anyway, it seriously hasn't even been a bit of a problem. Not in the slightest. I think the polyurethane is coated in the cracks and stuff, too, so stuff just sweeps out really easily. My sister has an engineered floor from a different manufacturer. It is a darker stain, but she hates it with a passion. Every single thing will leave a mark. It's really weird, like if she spills water, or water splatters from her fridge, it leaves a mark and she has to scrub the mark out. I was worried about this as well, but that doesn't happen with this floor. It must have a different finish or something, thankfully. And also, I can run my vacuum on it and it doesn't scratch. I had a friend over yesterday who just built a new home and had engineered wood floor installed and she said her vacuum leaves scratch marks on the surface. Anyway, I would base your decision solely on what floor appeals to you the most and complements its surroundings, because the upkeep of this floor so far hasn't been a problem. I will say that the darker the floor, the more you will see things. The floor always goes down darker than the sample. The flooring company told me this and it is very true. I can see every crumb, so I end up sweeping more often simply because I hate seeing crumbs. Is the floor your husband likes lighter in color? Well, I think the Sahara Sun is lighter than the African Plains anyway isn't it?

hrguru renomama-we are having the Zanzibar color put in our new home that is being built, so won't see it or have pics to share until about June. Carleeb12-thanks for sharing your thoughts and comments on the floor. I too have been having panic attacks about the flooring, but when we saw it at the design center it was so much more beautiful then the other choices. We were originally planning on a more medium brown color but ended up with the dark. The sample piece did give me some concerns though because of the hand scrapping/distressing, if you ran your hand across it, it felt a little rough, sort of like you socks or feet would snag on it. Do you have a problem with this? What do you use to clean it other than vacuuming or sweeping, special cleaners? Also, was the wood glued to the subfloor or is it floating? We don't want the echo/hollow sounding floors so were hoping they would be glued but not sure if it is based on what the manufacturer recommends or does the installer just do what they want? Thanks again everyone for the discussion and insight.

carleeb12 hrguru - we haven't had a problem with socks snagging or anything like that. And it doesn't feel rough to walk on at all. Where do you live? If you are local to me, come over and test it out. :) Chances are you live in Canada or something though. lol. Anyway, I believe ours was nailed down, or stapled or whatever. We have a wood sub floor, and I know it isn't glued...I don't think it is floated either. We don't use a special cleaner. Well, the builder left a wood floor cleaner called Bona. We've sprayed that on and used the mop thing that came with it a few times. But really, i just spot clean with a damp cloth, or you can use a damp mop to go over a bigger area. I sweep it daily (because it's dark and everything shows up!), and then I vacuum it sometimes as well. For some reason vacuuming it still scares me, but every time I have done it, it hasn't left any scratches or anything, so it probably shouldn't.

hrguru carleeb12 - so glad to hear the floor doesn't feel rough. No, we don't live in Canada. We are in Las Vegas, NV. All your good reviews are putting my mind to ease on the floor. You say you use a damp mop, I had read some reviews not to do that, but you obviously aren't having issues. I may get a Roomba for the floor, and Maybe Swiffers would be okay too.

hrguru Here is the sample for the Zanzibar that we chose

carleeb12 I love that!! I live in UT...not too far actually. :) I'm headed down to St. George in a few weeks. Too bad I can't bring my floor with me. :) I actually never saw that color. The flooring company I went to didn't have a sample of that one. I really like it a lot!

We have spilled lots of water on our floor and wiped it up and it hasn't been an issue so far. It doesn't appear to affect the finish or anything. I can't see how a damp rag would be any different, you know? I'm usually just using the rag to spot clean, but that Bona stuff works really well, too. It is just expensive, so I only use it about once a month to do my whole floor. I wonder if the manufacturers just tell us not to wipe with water because they want us all to buy their expensive cleaners. :)

I remembered something else I was going to tell you. Just make sure the floor acclimates a while before it is installed. The flooring company told me that this particular engineered wood acts more like a hardwood because the veneer is quite thick, and it has thicker core layers. So just make sure it's in your home for several days prior to installation so the pieces will fit together nicely.

hrguru Utah, we're neighbors! :). I love the pictures of both floors above. They both have nice color and variation. I think ours will look similar except darker and more brown. we are also getting dark cabinetry as well. Sounds like the flooring is really well constructed, thats great! Since we are having a new home built I'm not sure the builder or floor installer would leave the wood in the home while others are working in fear of damage or being stolen. Hopefully it will all work out. Cant wait to see it, I'll post pics after its installed.

hrguru carleeb12 - does your furniture put dents in your floor at all? Do you put felt under everything? Also, what about rugs, do you have to put something under your rugs.

cookiemaker It is good practice to protect the floors from furniture with felt protectors. Rugs need underpads so they don't slip. Wood, no matter its hardness, will scratch, though it shouldn't really dent.

renomama Thanks again for all the wonderful information. I can't tell you how much of a support this is when making such an expensive decision that is not easily changed!! I was dying laughing over your late night sweats and flour test Carleeb12~so good to know there are others like me! I feel better about the cleaning issue now. Hrguru, the Zanzibar is beautiful! I love the unique quality of the African Plains flooring. I ordered a box of the Sahara Sun. If it looks as good larger scale as the sample does, we will have it down in two weeks!

carleeb12 Yeah, we put felt pads on everything. And I put the rubber stuff under my rugs...well, the rugs with the harder backing. I have a few woven rugs that are fine. Cookiemaker's right....every wood will scratch, so always put the felt pads on. Costco has the best deal by far on these. You get a huge pack of them in all different sizes for like $6.

shellgodett Carleeb12, I just ordered the Provenza Black River. Your pic of your house sealed the deal for us. The original post on this site has a completely different color? Yours looks more gray, which is what we are looking for. Question: how long did you acclimate it for? We are close to the coast, so humidity can be a factor. Thanks so much and your space looks amazing!!

carleeb12 I think the longer it can acclimate, the better. We only acclimated ours for 48 hours because there was a mix-up and they sent the wrong wood, so then they had to switch it out for the right one. I would say at a very minimum 48 hours, but preferably up to 2 weeks. We had a few minor issues with some gapping at first because I don't think we acclimated it quite long enough and we live in a very dry winter climate, but once we got our humidifier installed, the gaps closed right up and they've been fine ever since. I hope you like your floor! We have received more compliments on it than any other part of our home! :)

hrguru Well our flooring was being installed last night. I don't think they did anything to acclimate it though. The flooring guys had all of it on their truck and they were installing over night. There are so many people working on/at our new home that we can't really get in to see anything so we probably won't see how our new floor looks until we do our final walk through next Wednesday. I have a question about putting the felt pads under the furniture. We have movers moving all our stuff over to the new house, but I don't know if we want to put the felt on the bottom of the furniture before because it might fall off during the move. But if we wait, we are worried our floors will get scratched when they put everything down. Suggestions? Thank you.

renomama Hi Hrguru, We have had our Aftrican Plains Sahara Sun installed now for about 1 month- I need to get pix up. We love it!! I would suggest putting the felt pads on before. Most will stay on and then your brand new floor will be protected. You can then just add a couple here and there that fall off and not worry about them moving and sliding the furntire across the wood. You are going to love it!!!!

hrguru Thanks Renomama! We will get the pads on, I am so worried about scratching the floors, thanks for commenting. Please post your pics, would love to see them. We are getting the African Plains Zanzibar. I will post pics as soon as I can too. :)

hrguru Just completed our final walkthrough on our new house this morning. Here is what our African Plains Zanzibar looks like. It's pretty dark, but in person it does have some light shades of brown mixed in. We're quite happy with it, sure it will be hard to keep clean and dust/dirt free here in the Las Vegas, NV desert.