I'm floored: Jacobean vs. Espresso vs. IDK

11 years ago

Refinishing red oak floors in my house. Four colors from the left 1. ebony, 2 espresso, 3. Jacobean 4. Dark walnut. New wall colors all have grey undertones.

Problem: Ebony is too dark, Espresso is a tad too gray, Jacobean is a tad too brown and dark walnut is too old school. Anyone have any experience mixing Jacobean and espresso? Do one coat in one and another?

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PRO

Select Hardwood Floor Co.

11 years ago

last modified: 11 years ago

1st of all, for hardwood flooring, I'd recommend using stains produced for use on wood flooring. There is definitely a difference.

DuraSeal is one brand (whose parent company is Minwax).

Another brand is Bona...

Both have great dry times as well as better penetration qualities.

However, they are not available as "off the rack" at the local Big Box Store.

They can be obtained through a flooring professional, as a rule.

And regarding mixing... yes, you can mix colors in advance to "fine tune" for the results you want.

This is the better approach since by "layering" one color over another, the second choice will probably be dominant &/or result in inconsistent color.

Obviously, you'd want to mix colors from the same manufacturer...

And if the color is a tad too dark, adding "neutral" will lighten it as well.

Often, the correct procedure would be to stain & seal with one coat... then buff it before a second application.

The products I've suggested above are suitable for finishing with either waterbased or oil based finish products/polyurethanes...

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Comments (14)

sandradclark
11 years ago
Good advice.
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PRO
Design Intervention
11 years ago
Just remember whatever color you chose will "deepen" once you have a finish coat on. If I were choosing from samples above I would go with Jacobean based on your grey wall selection

.

Might want to spray a sample with finish coat to see final product before choosing.
PRO
Design Intervention
11 years ago
Here is a "Jacobean Colored" bamboo floor that we just installed last week in a guest cottage redo: Beautiful color!
Laguna Beach Guest cottage · More Info

Laguna Beach Guest cottage · More Info
Allison Olfelt
11 years ago
We have a full house of red oak in varathane dark walnut and it is lovely. We, too, tried jacobean and espresso but chose dark walnut. What I did find was that the poly really livened up the color, so take that into consideration.
hartntex
9 years ago
curious as to what stain you finally ended up choosing. we are in the process today of deciding between Jacobean and dark walnut. Any tips for red oak floors? Also, we have white dove cabinets in kitchen and mostly grey hued paint colors. thanks in advance.
Sandra Durante
7 years ago
hartntex - what stain did you end up picking? Were you happy? I also have red oak. Also did you do an oil or water based finish? I also have white cabinets and will have mostly grey hued paints
Chris S
4 years ago
@hartntex @Sandra Durante - curious what floor stain you decided on? We have red oak, and have to restain as original selected stain was too pink. Deciding between Jacobean and Dark Walnut. Thanks in advance!
Sandra Durante
4 years ago
i actually didn't do either...long story I decided not to refinish entire first floor in a new color and just matched whay was there which came out surprisngly well. Best of luck
Beth H. :
4 years ago
Chris, both of those are dark.

did your flooring guy do a sample for you?

which brand stain?

If you want to minimize the redness, choose a green or ashy brown stain.

Duraseal. you could custom mix

this is red oak w/Bona stains. they used 1/2 Neutral, 1/4 jacobean and 1/4 gray.

using a bona natural is also pretty. (don't forget, dark floors show every speck of dust, hair (if you have pets) and footprints.
Chris S
4 years ago
@Beth H. :Thanks for your feedback, I agree with the concern on dark floors, after the experience with the other mix 1/3 espresso, 1/3 gray, 1/3 weathered oak coming out pink, I'm concerned about the red showing through. I know both Jacobean and Dark Walnut are dark....also trying 50 Jacobean 50 Provincial. Thoughts?
Chris S
4 years ago
I like the idea of mixing Jacobean with Nuetral, but since i haven't tried it, and honestly cannot try another sample, I'm not sure its safe! Maybe 75% Jacobean 25% Nuetral?
Beth H. :
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago
Chris,,,,go get a few boards of raw red oak from the lumber yard. of course you can sample it.

try 50/50 neutral/jacobean.

I also like the Weathered OAK, and Special Walnut mix. no red tones in that one.

If using a brown you have to choose the ashy browns (the green cancels the red)

Special Walnut, jacobean, american walnut are all ashy browns.
Chris S
4 years ago
Thank you! Will try it out.