Before and in progress pictures. We will install the floor from hallway to dining room..

Dining room with lovely parquet floor.. the pics are from listing pic.

What will be the color of your countertops and hardware finish?

The dark floors are lovely, but they are a pain to keep clean. I had them and they were lighter than yours and the minute after I cleaned them they showed everything (dust,smudges, hair etc).

The lighter color is gorgeous! It would be far friendlier in the cleaning department.

Countertop is coffee color and appliances and pulls wol be brushed nickel. The light flooring seems to be dated no?

i personally love the dark floor but i chose dark cabinets and they show every little fingerprint/smudge! i have read on gw that dark floors show everything but maybe someone can comment that has dark floor.

I hope not as I am using a lighter floor in my new build.

[Contemporary Wood Flooring[(https://www.houzz.com/products/contemporary-hardwood-flooring-prbr1-br~t_595~s_2103) by Torrance Carpet & Flooring D&M Flooring

I like the lighter floors. The grain shows up nicely. Very warm, but bright.

I would also go lighter. Dark floors are a lovely, enormous pain. They will literally never look clean again, starting five minutes after installation.

And actually, I genuinely think the lighter floor would look better with your counter. I don't think they look dated. There are light floors in lots of modern houses.

We are going with the birch! Light it is. Thanks all. Now off to find pendant shades..

Update. We went light. Love it!

This post was edited by pdxkit on Fri, Nov 28, 14 at 4:23