I was thinking about refinishing the hardwood floors in my boxy post-WWII rowhouse in Alexandria, VA. The floors are currently a light oak. I was thinking of doing a deep dark brown - possibly going as far as a brown/black -stain on the floors.
Right now, I love this color. However, I am worried that I might tire of this color, although I really don't like the floors as they stand right now. (If I wanted a lighter wood floor, I would have preferred a birch or bamboo).
Has anyone else done something similar with their floors? And regretted it? I guess I'm also thinking of re-sale value (thoughI don't know why 'cause I can't afford to move anywhere else in this area) and whether people consider such floors as having a timeless appeal.
Perhaps I should go with a dark brown, but not so dark as the brown/black which seems to be the trendy floor color nowadays.
Just to be nitpicky
Sorry--nothing constructive to suggest on the color issue. But in the name of accuracy I have to point out that bamboo is not a hardwood, or any kind of wood. It is a grass. The "planks" in bamboo flooring are laminated together from narrow strips of fiber; what you get is a sort of composite (bamboo and resin), not solid wood.
Pithy question
Yes, bamboo is a grass, but it's weird to say hardgrass flooring.
David, getting a dark stain into an old oak floor is going to be hard work. The good news is that the difficulty in getting a dark stain makes for easier restoration to the lighter color later on. The stain is just not going to penetrate much into the wood, oak is hard stuff. I am just wondering here if maybe using paint might be better. If you thin the paint with glaze you should end up with a rich color and visible graining. Cover with a latex varnish in a low luster finish and it should look great. I'm pretty experienced with wood finishing, but I'm not a floor expert. I'd suggest contacting a flooring company near you to se what the options are.
When I
moved into my apartment many years ago it had oak floors treated very much as Olive suggests -- and it still does. I like them very much. The finish is a gloss, which brings out the irregularity of the old 2"strip flooring, and dusts easily. The contrast to the "old white" walls and ceilings is nice, and the medium-tone carpets read well against the dark brown.
Go for it !
You can change color of your...
You can change color of your hardwood flooring during the process of its refinishing by using oil base refinishing. That can give more elegant look to your floor. And now you have plenty of option's online according to your budget that can direct you in the right direction instead of wasting money. (edited by DA - no advertising in the forum please)
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