The Controversy Over Hardwood Floor Stains and Finishes

Hi Everyone!

First of all, WOW! Just WOW over all of the incredible comments regarding ways to keep our home air comfortable AND healthy. <– (that is the link to the post) I knew that you guys would come through dozens of great suggestions and info that I hadn’t thought of or don’t even know about.

That is definitely a post to bookmark, just for the fantastic comments. So, thank you all so much for that!

The second piece of information before we get into hardwood floor stains and finishes is:

 

THE APARTMENT IS ALL MINE, NOW!

 

So, what’s next?

Right now, I’m doing the following:

• decompressing, which is crucial for my mental well-being
• setting up things like cable, internet, phone, electricity, parking permit, etc. yaaaaawn…
• holding my darling super at gunpoint to finish fixing stuff in my apartment, he was supposed to have finished already.

Okay, it’s a water pistol, but it seems to be working!

 

And, of course, thinking a lot about my new place and what I want to do to it and when.

 

One thing I realize is that it is far easier to do stuff before one moves in. But, as I’m always harping about, a plan is crucial. Therefore, sometimes making that plan BEFORE one takes possession is more complicated.

It is easier to do things after one has been there for a bit. I realize that’s a contradiction. In this case, yes, because it’s a duplex. I can always escape to one floor or the other. Pretty brilliant, I think.

Plus, decisions made in haste can create regret later on.

 

And, one of those early decisions is the hardwood floor finish.

 

Right now, it’s the standard golden oak, orange-ish wood hardwood floor stain. Until the last 30 years or so, this was the most common stain color. In fact, every home I’ve ever lived in with hardwood floors has had this stain color. That is, except for one. That was my apartment on W. 78th St. in New York City. I lived there for seven years in the 80s. Those floors were stained a darker walnut color. But, the other six or so homes that I’ve either owned or rented were a golden oak stain.

I’ve been thinking about this a lot because in my heart of hearts, golden oak is not what I really want to have. I mean, I don’t hate it, and there’s nothing wrong with it. And, of course, I could live with it, but if I’m going to refinish the floors anyway, I’d like to explore my options.

I bet some of you can already guess where this is going. Tell me later if you knew at this point without looking ahead.

 

So, here’s what I did.

 

I took a photo of the empty living room during the walk-through before the closing. However, because of my camera or the lighting, the walls look too yellow. They aren’t that color.

 

And, so I manipulated the colors like this.

Then, I put this image into PicMonkey. And, from there I am able to change the hardwood floor stains and add in some furniture.

I love PicMonkey. If you don’t know what it is. It’s what I call photoshop for smart dummies. Haha. It doesn’t require any special skills. You just have to play with it. I did a detailed tutorial explaining how to use PicMonkey to make mood boards and some tricks I’ve learned over the years.

 

 

Below are the five hardwood floor stain colors I experimented with

 

 

Whitewash

Natural – pale stain

Golden oak

English Chestnut

Espresso

The first two would have a matte finish. And the other three would have a shinier finish.

Okay, let’s go from darkest to lightest.

 

The espresso stain is an elegant, sophisticated look. But, here’s the thing which I’m sure most of you are chomping at the bit to warn me. And, that is yes, every speck of dust, lint, whatever lands on the floor is going to show like dandruff on a black shirt before you meet your inlaws for the first time.

 

Therefore, this color is probably not going to work for me. By the way, I will not do truncated drapery rods and would not do those two trims together on the shades and curtains. But, I definitely want to do the Roman shade with that trim. You’ll see it alone, in a bit. That fabric appears to be silk, but we will not be doing silk.

Nosireeeeeee. Please read here what happens to silk and if it comes anywhere near the sun.

 

We can do a lovely non-shiny polyester taffeta, which will stand up to anything.

 

I’m sorry to be going off on tangents. This is important. If you’re ever doing a design like this, I will make a life-size template for your workroom. You can make it out of heavy paper and draw the trim showing the placement and precise sizes. Trust me on this. You think they’ll be able to figure it out from the photo, right? Maybe, but usually not.

Also, if you’re interested in finding out where to get the trim on the bottom of the drapery, sorry, you can’t purchase it anywhere. It’s a custom design by Kelly Wearstler that she did for a hotel several years ago. Yes, the Kelly Wearstler, who got arrested many years ago in Florida. (eyes rolling)

 

However, several months ago, during the initial Covid lockdown, I painstakingly “cracked the code” and created a scale template, which you can find here.

 

 

Next up is English Chestnut.

 

This is a very beautiful, deep, rich color that’s quite popular right now.

 

We did Minwax English Chestnut in this home I worked on in 2008!

And, yes, that’s Cotton Balls on the trim.

 

Above is the cognac or golden oak stain.

 

This is like the finish we see in Gerald Bland’s exquisite showroom in New York City.

 

Please follow Gerald Bland on Instagram.

 

 

I’m not sure what this stain is. It might be Rubio Monocoat, which is actually a hardwax oil and stain in one. I’ve heard great things about it.

 

This reminds me. Do you know what they used to do for stains in the 18th century?

 

Usually, nothing. They just left the raw wood untreated. I read that somewhere today. Of course, I think they also stained their floors sometimes. And they definitely did painted finishes.

The last of the hardwood stains is either a white-painted floor or a white stain.

 

Can I tell you how much I love this look? I do. I love Gerald Bland’s floors too, but this one, I like just as much, maybe even more.

Now, before some of you get your knickers in a twist over this possibility, let’s talk about the advisability of doing a color that’s not in the mainstream.

 

The number one reason is:

 

I love it. I’ve ALWAYS wanted to do this, well, for the last twenty years or so.

 

But, Laurel, your home is Victorian, and I don’t recall seeing painted floors in that period.

 

It’s true. They had fallen out of favor. But notice that I said fallen out of. That’s because painted floors were all the rage 100 years earlier as part of the classical style.

 

However, this home in Boston has more of a neo-classical feel of the 18th—early 19th century than Victorian.

 

This could easily be a home built in the Federal or Greek Revival period. In fact, some have pointed out the similarity between this and Gil Schafer’s giga-gorgeous townhouse in Greenwich Village, NYC. This makes sense because Boston is a city very rooted in tradition and classical design. But no matter, the Greek Revival ended only 20 years before this house was built, and the builder or owner was likely a fan of classical architecture.

So, it’s not inappropriate to have a painted floor in a home built in Boston during Queen Victoria’s reign in England.

 

But there’s another point I’d like to make. I think that painted floors would be greatly appreciated and coveted if people were exposed to them more often. However, several of my favorite A-list designers frequently decorate with white-painted or white-washed floors.

 

Albert Hadley’s amazing room for Nancy Pyne.

 

Mr. Hadley’s timeless interior design inspired my Simply White palette board for the Laurel Home Paint and Palette Collection.

 

Other designers who decorate with white hardwood floor stains and paints are:

 

Darryl Carter

Darryl doesn’t do white floors, but he always uses lots of white in his interiors. I adore his genius!

Laurel? Question. Doesn’t white show the dirt the same as a super-dark floor, but in reverse?

Well, I think a slightly off-white floor that shows some of the wood grain is probably the most desirable. Please check out one of my favorite posts about painted floors.

 

Furlow Gatewood

A decorative artist did this gorgeous, painted floor masterfully.

 

via Katie Considers

And a closeup of Furlow Gatewood’s painted floor. In case you’re wondering, that gorge fabric is a Robert Kime design. That is sold exclusively through John Rosselli & Assoc. (yes, Bunny Williams’ husband)

 

William McLure

William is known for his painted white floors. I love that he’ll take a rental apartment, rip up the fugly carpeting, and paint the hardwood floor underneath– without getting permission. I guess the landlord knows he has a creative genius occupying the space, and it’s best just to let him do his thing!

 

Please follow William’s fantastic Instagram account.

 

Frank Babb Randolph

 

Loi Thai – Above and below.

 

Loi seems to have taken down his gorgeous blog. There is a new website, but there’s only a placeholder at this time. However, please follow Loi Thai on Instagram.

 

 

Vicente Wolf

 

That’s some mad-wicked amazing company. Therefore, white hardwood floors are an enduring classic.

Well, what about resale, Laurel?

Gosh, I just bought the place. But, that’s a reasonable question. Here’s my thinking. Boston is a young, progressive, sophisticated city full of educated, cultured people. Of course, a white floor isn’t going to appeal to everyone, but it doesn’t have to.

 

Plus, the hardwood floor stains can be changed.

 

Okay, I’ve said what I have to say regarding hardwood floor stains.

The only other thing I want to add is that after looking online, at hundreds of apartments in Boston, this is my take.

• bad renovations that include horrible layouts
• chopped up weird spaces
• the removal of all or almost all original mouldings
• plus, the addition of bright white LED lights
• and gobs and gobs of gray— everywhere.

And, the gray is not done in a classical Robert Adam manner.

There is nothing classic or tasteful by anyone’s definition. The builders are just doing what they think folks want.

 

One thing I know that I want is this table. Well, a table like this one. I saw it last summer when I was looking to buy the house in Northampton. I love the Pot board base on this table and the hand-planed finish to the top. Anyway, the table was sold to someone else. However, Englishman’s, a company I’ve worked with many times, and one of my favorite sources in Laurel’s Rolodex, could make me a table exactly like this.

I just put that in, in case anyone is wondering.

In closing, as you can see, the color of the floor stain can have a significant effect on the room’s overall look and style. Some stains make the room feel more formal and some more casual. However, that also depends in part on the other furnishings.

 

Would I carry this stain into the entry and kitchen?

 

Well, that’s another post for another day.  However, I keep thinking about this apartment. I love all of the floors in this place. I love it all!

So, dare I ask? What do you think? Would you do a pale stain? Or, maybe you already have. If so, please tell us about it.

 

However, please check out this post showing my friend and fabulous kitchen designer Susan Serra’s gorgeous white painted floors.

There’s a lot of great information in the post and comments in this post about hardwood flooring.

xo,

 

 

PS: Please check out the newly updated HOT SALES and get a headstart on your holiday shopping at the brand new Holiday Shop for 2020.