While the lighter the floor, the less dirt that shows....I would also suggest a satin finish rather than a high shine.

The color isn't the only thing to consider. The more visible grain in the wood, the better it hides wear and particles like dust, dog hair, and crumbs. We had Brazilian Cherry floors in our last home and it was a nightmare to keep clean. Fine grain and dark finish meant every particle of dust showed. I vacuumed daily and even that wasn't enough. Our next house has oak floors and I am so relieved!

Lighter and more patterning is better, then.

The dog is too adorable.

WE HAVE WHITE OAK WHICH IS LIGHT. I USE SWIFFER VAC ONCE A WEEK.

I have deep dark oak floors. Are they harder to keep clean?
Do they show less dirt that the light floors we had
before? No. I have not noticed dirt so much as dust
appearing more noticable.

I went with I like and not necessarily which would show
clean. I love the rich warmth of darker wood floors. I
could never go back to the light honey oak.

Cute Pooch
~boxerpups

We have dark Brazilian walnut in our kitchen and medium oak throughout the rest of the first floor and I have to agree with Boxerpups. Neither shows dirt, just dust which I'd rather know is there so it will be cleaned. I also prefer the darker wood tones. We put the oak in first but if I had my druthers, I would now have gone all dark.

oooh lukkiirish, we are going with dark brazilian walnut in our kitch, too. what color cabs do you have? we are going to get a natural cherry.

We had dark wood floors and they are beautiful. But they do show the dirt more than lighter floors. (Think dark car vs. light car). When we refinished the floors we went for lighter floors because I was tired of seeing every footprint and having to mop so frequently. (We are not a family who removes our shoes when entering our house). I think it is personal preference, so go with what you like to look at and how often you want to vacuum and mop.

Is there something special about the dark Brazilian walnut that doesn't show dirt as much as other dark floors?

The lighter floors with a satin (low shine) finish are the least likely to show dirt, dust and footprints. If you prefer a darker color or a glossy finish go with it, just keep in mind that it will take more work to keep them looking good.

Floors should match the dog. :)

yes! I but I can't find a stain that hides BOTH white and black. Nothing will humble a high gloss finish more than a dog rounding corners at full speed to answer the doorbell! Merry Christmas!

{{!gwi}}

They should match the cat too^..^

I have medium Brazilian Teak prefinished floor. While it doesn't show much dirt, if the light hits it right you can see pawprints, water spots, etc since the finish is matte. It still always looks relatively clean.

What is your backsplash?

On topic, I don't have wood floors, but the tile I chose was a little darker than I may have gone with, had I known how much it shows everything, I might have chosen a ighter tone. Lessons learned...;-)

My backsplash is a honed and filled travertine subway tile with basically no grout lines. It is an acquired taste and not really what I thought I wanted but it has really grown on me. The tile is all different thicknesses so it has a rustic look on the wall (the tiles are not flat on the wall like they usually would be). Here is a close-up of the mural and the tiles. I ordered the mural online from Linda Paul Studio. She was amazing and it looks great.

It's beautiful, teresa518 - I love the rustic look - especially on the backsplash - the mural
gives it a whole other wonderful dimension.
Thanks for replying and now back to the OP. Sorry for hijacking the thread!

Another vote for the floors to match the dog(s)!

{{gwi:1312}}

Seriously though, it's a kitchen. It's going to be lived in and will need to be swept/Swiffered/etc. often enough anyway. Get the color floors that you love, not that you settle for.

Personally,I'd love to have dark floors and I actually may go for that when we replace the carpet in our family room with wood. Golden Retriever fur and all!

I have light floors, yellow birch, natural (unstained), and I definitely agree you should match your floors to your dirt if you want to hide it! I have a black dog who sheds a lot, so in my case a light floor does little to hide the fur, but I don't mind that so much as I'd rather see it and clean it than hide it and pretend it's not there.

So lightest and least shine is best. Thanks.

We have had light and medium, our daughter's medium, all the same stain oak, convinced us to do natural hickory - a mix of light, medium and dark, very rustic and beautiful - but not for everyone. Love the look, and it seems to hide dirt well.

Light will also usually hide scratches and dings much better (maybe not from you but from visitors). I agree that Loft\Tavern grade floors which have more knots etc can also hide a multitude of sins - not for everyone but they can look great.

love the teak floors! everyone's stuff looks beautiful.

Here is a link that might be useful: my blog

We have Andersen hand scraped hickory floors in golden ember (mid color) and the only thing I notice is dust. The installers recommended a roomba. You leave it running while you are at work and when you get home, the dust is gone. They said you would worry yourself to death vacuuming otherwise.

We just had new red oak job finished hardwood installed a week ago. The existing hardwood in our kitchen and foyer was refinished and we also installed new hardwood to match in the great room and dining room. We used a Golden Oak Duraseal stain with just a touch of Red Mahogany added in to coordinate with our cherry cabinets and trimwork. We got a semi-gloss finish which I prefer to the matte. We lived 20 years with a similar stain on the original floors and I don't think they showed dirt much at all. We do notice dust when the sun is shining just right though.