San Francisco Bay Area - Can you pull off 2 colours/shades of hardwood floor in open concept?

by bpurkis

Can you pull off 2 colours/shades of hardwood floor in open concept?

We just bought a house and the main entry is oak hardwood floors and then it opens up to the living room and dinning room. The living room and dinning room have dusty rose (pink) carpet right now (ewww). We can't match the oak exactly, so want to put a much darker wood down. Is this a good idea? Will the two shades in one open space look bad? Any suggestions? The kitchen is also off the dinning room, less open but has white tile flooring. Kitchen cabinets are walnut and the trim around the house is all lighter like the oak flooring.
HELP!

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Danielle B Because the trim aroundthe house matches the oak flooring, adding a different shade of floooring will probably look awkward. Perhaps you could have the new flooring stained to match the existing one?

4 months ago · Like

soberg It's better to have the two floors close in tone, even if they can't match exactly. A big contrast calls attention to the flooring change whereas a small contrast or difference would allow the eye to skim over the floor and focus on furnishings, walls and people.

4 months ago · Like

Ironwood Builders How old is your home? I never found a floor I couldn't match...though I 'm not afraid of custom milling. Toothing in a new floor with the same size and species of wood and refinishing the two to become one will unify the space and create a strong statement. It also makes a good demarcation of the kitchen as the floor change there will be most obvious. To have wood custom milled to match your size and species is typically a $100-$250 milling charge...

4 months ago · Like

Carolyn Albert-Kincl Design Frequently, talented workmen can stain a new floor to look like the older floor. But if it's going to be off a little bit, then I suggest you put a transition border of a darker wood, perhaps 6 to 9" wide, to separate the old from the new. Something like the border below, but broader.

618 James Alexander Way

4 months ago · Like ·

Linda I have typically seen a two board wide border, although we have done a wider transition strip which went the width of the columns separating a living room/dining area. Unfortunately, I don't seem to have a photo of that available now.

I have attached a photo of a transition strip we did separating a closet from the bedroom. In a typical installation, you would run the same hardwood all the way into the closet. But, in this case we were using all reclaimed wood and I had a large quantity of nice looking short boards to use up.

4 months ago · Like

judyg How big is the hall? You might consider putting a completely different floor in the hall (I have stone, which I love because the entry gets so grubby in the winter), and finding a hardwood you love for the living/dining rooms.

Take a look at some of the new porcelain tiles. Amazing, look like stone or granite or even wood and are very reasonable.

Neo Stone Porcelain Tile

4 months ago · Like

bpurkis Thanks for the tips! I agree that I think a big change in tone might look strange and I'm gald that most of you agree. I'll have to see what we can do about matching it or try the transition thing too.....thanks!

4 months ago · Like