Issues with dark wood flooring

Paris167

New member
To those with darker hardwood flooring in their homes, any issues you are facing? And regrets??

Everything in my house is light including walls and cabinets so I'd like to go with a darker wood flooring for contrast. It just looks nice aesthetically, matches the color of my front door.

But practically I have young children and I've never had dark floors before so I need to be aware of all the cons

Thanks!
 
Paris said:
To those with darker hardwood flooring in their homes, any issues you are facing? And regrets??

Everything in my house is light including walls and cabinets so I'd like to go with a darker wood flooring for contrast. It just looks nice aesthetically, matches the color of my front door.

But practically I have young children and I've never had dark floors before so I need to be aware of all the cons

Thanks!

Easily scratched so nicks/scratches are obvious.  You can get repair pens to hide the mistakes but it depends on how anal you are.

Wood flooring in general is tough with kids.
 
abcd1234 said:
I personally don't like the upkeep of very dark floors.  I hate seeing a layer of dust hours after it's been clean.

I completely agree with this...oh the dust bunnies.  But it does look nice to guests and in photos.
 
My kids made plenty of dents/knicks/scratches in the dark wood flooring I had in my last home, then my wife would drop knives/forks/cooking utensils on it while making dinner - after 5 years it looked good from a distance but once you got up close it wasn't too nice.  I used the pen a lot and it helps, but you have to touch it up every 4-6 months. 

You should consider dark wood looking plank tile, you'll get the same look and wont have to worry about damage.  True it doesn't feel quite the same under your feet but it's worth not worrying about it IMO.
 
Thanks for all the input. I'm making sure to get a dull distressed dark wood so the dents just mix in with the distressed look. I also think we'll pick one with darker grains almost black color so if there's a scratch I can color it in black and it'll blend.

I'm just nervous that it might make the to ace seem darker and smaller - although everything else is light and bright (walls, cabinets etc) so hoping it'll just be a nice contrast

It's a big statement piece in the house and pricy so no going back once we decide.

I've noticed a lot of model homes with everything light, walls, counters and floors and it looks very drab and washed out.
La vita plan 2 was one of my favorites because of the dark floors contrasting the light features - a rarity these days in most models I've seen at OH
 
That's why I am not a fan of super dark floors.  You never saw such dark floors until mid 2000s. To me they were/are very trendy and now the trend is going away from that.  Kind of like having one of those honey colored kitchen cabinets in the early/mid 2000s.  I'd go for something more timeless imo. 
 
Yes.. you probably have to dust it at least 2 times a week.. but

MAN DOES IT LOOK GOOD.  So happy with my dark floors.  You guys can stick to cleaning less with your lighter color wood floor that don't look that good.  ;)
 
We purchased a home with dark wood flooring. The previous owners had a young child so there are scratches everywhere. They must have hired the weakest movers because there are imprints where they pushed furniture around.

I don't mind the scratches much. I really dislike how it makes the space feel smaller. We're going to wait until our kids are older to replace it.
 
Just get a medium colored floor, it provides enough contrast but doesn't have as many of the cons of a darker floor... maybe something like one of these:

Provenza-Cardiff_thumb.jpg
Provenza-Dover_thumb.jpg
 
sarsparilla_zps0018ded1.jpg


I have the birch sarsparilla from urban floors.  Had it going on 2+ years.  It is distressed, wide 6" planks.  So far no issues.  My kid is not rowdy and we don't have any pets.  Yes its gets dusty quick, but that's what a swiffer is for.  It does provide a great contrast to furniture/walls/cabinets.  That's also the negative:  you'll have to go with light colored furniture to contrast.  White sofa is a PITA of an upkeep. 
 
We had dark wood floors in our first house (similar to the pic PS9 posted above) with white cabinets, light counters/backsplash.  Loved the look, but definitely got dusty quickly.  We moved when our little one was close to 2 and we didn't have any issues with dents/scratches (other than 1 place where a chair without the felt pad scratched it--but i think that would have happened with any wood floor). 

In our current place, we wanted to have the contrast but didn't go as dark as our last place.  We used the Provenza hardwood in Black River.  It's a little lighter with some darker veins running through it.  Still gives the contrast, but definitely masks the dust better.  We love it and get lots of compliments on the floors. 
 
We too are deciding to go with a Carlton Landmark collection but in the Whidbey finish.  Beautiful floor in a medium color.  At first, we were leaning towards a Provenza Epic in Moon Shadow as it was a light color wood and we too thought it would be easier on the upkeep, but the warmth and movement of the wood grain in the Whidbey won us over.  We are paying $7/ft for the Carlton vs $6.65 for the Provenza so the price differential is minimal.
 
The grand Teton is really nice. The other issue I'm facing is that I need to get a color that's easier for my contractor to match on the stairs. I want a uniform step (our stairs are large and I don't want 2 planks on each step, I want one large uniform step with white risers) so I need a color that my contractor can stain on plywood. So annoying also that the bullnose comes in 7 ft only in the wood I want so I'll need 1 for each step and we have like 20 steps! This whole wood flooring process is adding up! But I remember the DC wanted $15k just for my downstairs (about 1300 sqft, not including downstairs bedrm or powder) for pacific treasures which is only $4/sqft! Glad I'm doing this after COE
 
Bought the Carlton flooring at California Cushion.  They cater to the trade.  As such, the price does not include installation.
 
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