Thoughts on the really dark wood floors?

[Anonymous]

Seriously considering staining our not so great hardwood floors dark dark brown, like espresso color. Our house is a modest sized cape cod, we don't get a ton of natural light, but a decent amount.
Is this a big no no?
Will it affect future resale value? we will be here at least 5 years
Is it really hard to undo?
I really don't care for the oak (honey) color and our floors are pretty beat up

[Anonymous]

We have them and love them. We have tons of natural light so there's no issue of making the rooms look dark. I will say that dirt shows up pretty easily on them. Other than that, I don't know why they would be a "no-no". Our house is only a year old fwiw

[Anonymous]

Very dark floors make the room look smaller, which is fine if your house has generous proportions. I wouldn't imagine that they would look great in my small bungalow. As pp said, also depends how much light the house gets, and you'd have to have stronger lights at night to brighten up the rooms. The style of the house and furniture would also need to be considered for very dark floors. So, it's not that the floors themselves are no no, it's that they are less neutral than more light colored ones in terms of decoration and furniture.

[Anonymous]

I'd worry that dark is too trendy. We had mostly oak in our last house with a newer part that had a dark stain. All the dirt shows up; it's really surprising actually. Oak is much more forgiving and classic I think.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'd worry that dark is too trendy. We had mostly oak in our last house with a newer part that had a dark stain. All the dirt shows up; it's really surprising actually. Oak is much more forgiving and classic I think.

Scratches are also much more obvious. I wouldn't do it with kids or pets in the house.

[Anonymous]

Darker floors are in style right now but the darker color will make your rooms appear smaller, so I'd think this over carefully if your home is already on the small side.

[Anonymous]

Dark is very trendy and when clean, looks beautiful. But, we have them and they are the bane of my existence. It's just DH, me, and the cat (no kids yet) and our floors are already miserable to keep clean. Every footprint, every speck of dust, shows. If you do decide to go for it anyway, definitely get a matte finish.

[Anonymous]

We just had new hardwood floors installed 2 weeks ago (and love them)! My DH was drawn towards the darker flooring, while I liked oak, specifically the butterscotch. Our home, and rooms, are not generously sized, though we have great light at all times of the day, the dark would shrunk our rooms. The color seems to go with our wall colors as well; burnt orange, straw. We considered painting the floors, because sanding/staining floors can is a huge undertaking. We got a great deal and we're very very happy.

[Anonymous]

Wow, thanks for the replies. Very helpful!

[Anonymous]

The beach house we stay in every summer has super dark wood floors that are impossible to keep clean. I had thought about doing dark wood in our house until I stayed at the beach house for one week. The floor shows each and every speck of dust and lint.

[Anonymous]

Totally agree with the pp's. Our house has brazilian cherry and it shows every single crumb or speck of dust. I just had them "detailed" and they looked nice for about 3 days. I've had bleached oak and "regular" oak in other houses and they were much more livable.

[Anonymous]

I think the dark espresso color is trendy and will make your house look dated in a few years. A more medium color is classic and neutral and I think will make your house easier to sell in five years.

[Anonymous]

Just moved into our forever home and we have the super dark hardwoods throughout. I wouldn't change a thing because they are fabulous aesthetically. But we do have two kids and a white puffy dog and wow, it's been rough already keeping it all clean. Definitely going to invest in some rugs around the sink (water spots) and dining room table. Still, I love how they look!

[Anonymous]

Op here, sounds like with our lifestyle (light colored dog) 2 kids and not particularly a neat freak I don't think they are a good fit for us
Plus, I already have the bane of my existence with a white tile and white grout bathroom-the fight to keep it clean I sever ending, I don't need another war!

[Anonymous]

As much as I love really dark floors, from what you've descrbed OP, I suggest you go with a medium stain. We're very happy with a shade similar to Minwax's Provincial. It's turned slightly darker over the years and looks great with our furniture and rugs (not too "reddish" or "yellowish"). They've held up well with two dogs and visiting grandchildren.