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FlooringDesign Dilemma
liana_russo88

Headache over red oak floors

Liana
5 years ago
We are down to the wire and really need to settle on a stain for our red oak hardwood floors. We originally wanted a medium brown, slightly on the darker side but not super dark. Our contractor uses minwax and 2 different people put stains in 2 different areas of our house, one stain was supposedly the same mixture of 50/50 jacobean and classic gray, but they look completely different! One sample everything looks darker (did they mislabel and mix with ebony in the darker photos?!) and the other is super light and at times looks almost salmon colored, which we REALLY don't want. I'm uploading pictures of the samples as well as our kitchen, which has hardwood. I'm open to suggestions and am desperate to find something that works! Please help!
Featured Answer
  • SJ McCarthy
    5 years ago

    And just to make this a little more challenging, are the sample stains "finished" with a coat of polyurethane? They look pretty raw to me. Never (ever) choose a stain without adding a coat of FINISH. The finish will DEEPEN the look of the stain. Without that coat of poly, you are choosing a colour without all the facts.

    And as you have just discovered, different lighting situations will affect how DARK or how LIGHT a stain will look. Even if you account for slightly longer dry-times for the stain, the LIGHTING will affect the LOOK of the colour - in some intense ways. Again, this is another reason to add a coat of finish - so you know EXACTLY what you are getting.

    Comments (11)

    • PRO
      Oak & Broad
      5 years ago

      I really like that Jacobean/classic grey. Its possible they mislabeled the sample but more likely that the planks just took the stain differently. Wood flooring is a natural material and so not all planks will look exactly the same even with the same finish applied. Some planks are naturally darker than others.

    • Liana
      Original Author
      5 years ago
      Oak and Board, which version of the jacobean/classic gray did you like? I was just talking to my project manager and she has a feeling that the lighter one may have not been left on long enough which is why the color isn't as deep. Thanks for your feedback!
    • PRO
      Oak & Broad
      5 years ago

      Liana , in the last photo second from right. If thats the color you are considering maybe have one more round of samples made using several planks of varying natural color.

    • PRO
      Uptown Floors
      5 years ago
      last modified: 5 years ago

      What do they look like in the same amount of light?

    • Liana
      Original Author
      5 years ago
      It's hard to get a picture of them in the same amount of light bc they are in different rooms and the sun hits them differently.
    • colbran
      5 years ago

      Hard for me to tell....is the island a darker gray? IMO, the bottom picture of your OP to the far right reads too red. But again, I'm not looking at them like you are. I would not lean red though....

    • Liana
      Original Author
      5 years ago
      Yes, I am going to insist they put a poly over the sample before they begin the floors. Our island is a dark gray with brown veining and yeah, not sure why that jacobean reads so red! Definitely trying to avoid red as it'll clash too much with my decor and design.
    • PRO
      MicMar
      5 years ago

      Dural Seal/Minwax stains will lighten up a lot after they have dried. Adding finish will bring the color back to what they would have looked like when being applied. It doesn't look to me like there is any coats of finish over the stain yet? Depending on the finish being used (water based, oil or solvent base) this can darken a little or a lot and even change the color tone once the finish is applied. Don't make your final decision without finished samples to choose from, at least one coat of finish anyway.

    • PRO
      MicMar
      5 years ago

      The Jacobean over a red oak floor will tend to throw some red tones especially over boards that are very red naturally. If your mixing with the classic grey and don't want any red tones coming through I would suggest mixing it with the Espresso or even Antique Brown to darken the grey stain. These colors won't darken the open grain as much as Jacobean, Coffee or Ebony.

      If you have a color you like but want it darker have them water pop the wood before staining but make sure it is completely dry before adding stain. This will help to give a more uniform appearance and will come out darker than staining without water popping.

    • Liana
      Original Author
      5 years ago
      They did the handrail in the 50/50 mix and we're really happy with how it came out! It's much closer to the first stain samples, which we liked! This is still wet, but so far with happy with how it's coming along.
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