SFGate

peetsoo My vote is with you.

yfuoco I agree, I like the walnut stain better too!

Sadiesammie I agree with you as well

Judy M I like either, but not both on the same level of the house.

Jayant Ashutosh go for one colour solid wood floor . now a days the strips in the floor are gone .

woodstoneandfiber I am not opposed to mixing woods however, I think in this situation there is too much contrast. If you want to maintain a sense of continuity or flow from room to room I would stick with similar flooring or coloring. Being that you have two kinds of wood it may be difficult to match the two exactly. In trying to do so you may end up with it looking like you tried but got it wrong. So keep the colors close with tones that are similar. I personally like the oak flooring and think it provides a nice contrast to the dark kitchen cabinetry. The walnut flooring doesn't look nearly as dark in the second photo. Not sure if you are going to be using hardwood floor professional, but they can easily sand an area adjacent to the walnut flooring where you can try a few different stains on the oak. They can sand then off when you are done experimenting.

curacaoblue I like having all floors match so this would bother me. Sorry...

Darzy I agree with you to match wood floors. But, if there is a transition from wood to tile, I like to see a contrast. If you can't match a floor, then a contrast in a different material.

standinginline Based on what I can see from your wall paint colors and kitchen cabinet color...I would have opted for the lighter color (oak) throughout the downstairs. Or maybe another color entirely :) but i would have stuck with a fairly light floor. The dark floors look great, but do not work as well in your house as the oak IMO.... at the same time, I'm seeing that you may have a clash between modern and traditional styles here? I'm seeing both modern and traditional furniture and I think the floors represent a bit of the same--darker being more modern and lighter being the traditional. Are you wanting to makes this a more modern space overall, or do you like a more traditional look?

Meg Fullington I agree with the majority of comments. I think they should match. Too much going on IMHO.

Reclaimed DesignWorks You need to be careful when trying to "match" two different types of floors. Oak and Walnut have a much different grain pattern and even if you used the same stain on both floors they would look meaningfully different. When you finish Oak the grain is what accepts the stain and it is very difficult to get a consistent color. I suspect you will be surprised at how difficult it will be to execute what you are contemplating. I would suggest testing a very small area on the Oak to see if you are comfortable with the result. Best of luck.

Debbie M We have just started with this house - and yes there is a blend of traditional and modern because this is our furniture we had, and until we figure this space out and live in it we don't want to be too hasty and completely furnish without it even being done! The reason that the floors are this way (2 different flooring types) is due to when we moved into the house last year, we had to take out the carpet where the walnut flooring is, and budget wise we had no other reason to take up the perfectly good oak flooring, at least for the time being. I prefer the walnut throughout if we cannot achieve what we want with stain on the oak floors, (I live in MN where oak is EVERYWHERE you look, and that's not a good thing) or ripping the wood out entirely in the kitchen/hearth area and putting in some very nice looking acid stained concrete or painted concrete . (Haven't quite figured out how to spring that one on my husband yet!!!)

Appreciate all of the information to help us make the best of our home!

anonyms One tone and go for the lighter. Two tones divides; one tone unifies. You don't need to divide the space more; that is done by walls already.

Debbie M Alas, I hate oak (like I said earlier, I've overdosed and am now recovering from oak) and we are not going to rip up 12K of newly installed walnut flooring :) Im not that silly or rich! Matching it is, and if that doesn't work - we will go pick up the concrete mixer ! :)

Reclaimed DesignWorks Good Luck Debbie M. Keep in mind, we ship nationwide if you end up looking for some beautiful reclaimed wood. www.reclaimeddesignworks.com or 800.243.4030