I live in MA, but was looking for a coastal vibe. I chose Armstrong Somerset Natural engineered wood, which is light, but has plenty of variation, both in color and in wood "character". I would think that sand would be a real issue and on a dark floor, would really show up.

Are you starting from scratch (ie picking out the species?) or are you staining existing floors? Color will look different on different wood species. I have a similar wall (BM edgecomb gray) and trim (BM Chantilly lace) color. I did Special Walnut stain on white oak but not sure I would do that on red oak because it might look to red. My floors have a soft brown look.

Too;) Not sure how to edit posts on iPhone.

Thanks @purplewatermelon! I am using white oak. Yours is VERY pretty. I like the walnut with the grays because it seems to have less yellow in it.

Purplewatermelon, Thanks...my builder did mention that I'd be able to see samples. I saw some people combining special walnut with some dark walnut...maybe that's an option too. My floors in my home are honey oak which are perfect in this house but I wanted to go darker in Florida for something different....I don't have any young children anymore but I am a little worried about sand and my white dog's hair showing up, LOL. Thanks so much for taking the time to comment.

We have provincial and it ages to an orangey, amber color which I don't think you will like. The Special Walnut or Dark Walnut would be beautiful. You can also mix stains to get something customized. You just need to store the formula for future use.

How dark do you want to go? A color that is often overlooked is English Chestnut. It is on the warmer side though. How about Jacobean? That color is very progressive and brings out the grey/green hues a little. It's dark, but not crazy dark like Ebony, Antique or Coffee Brown. I think it will have the color variability you are looking for but still blends well with the grays and whites

White Oak looks great with Early American in my personal opinion :-D

Wow thanks so much for all the great advice. I love houzz!

We love our hand-scraped floor: Provenza Antico Stonehenge

@dkvhaus we are considering Stonehenge too! I completely fell

in love with it when I saw the sample. Can you tell me how you are liking it and how it's holding up?