Gray is an interesting idea. The dark you have I think is way too dark for me. My other concern is the floor will look "refinished" is it unreasonable to expect the floor to look new when done? Almost like it came right from the store and was installed? I don't want it to look blotchy or streaky. I've seen a few people with refinished floors and this was the case and it has me a little nervous.

I think you have already gotten the full spectrum of possible floor color choices, so at this point I'm going to suggest playing with something like photoshop to see what you like. However, I have dealt with the "bowling alley" aspect in my home as well. I mitigated it with decorating the ends of the cabinets which face into the room. This creates a greater visual stopping point in the vertical plane, demarcating the end of the kitchen. I put wooden painted plates and woodblock type art on the visible ends of the upper cabinets. I attached a nice Pottery Barn magazine two pocket organizer towards the room on the bottom counter. I'm in the midst of moving out so alas stuff has been taken down now. Hopefully this is clear, yes?

if you both are not visual I really recommend a designer, doesnt cost much for small area, they have tons of offer even on Groupon. Contractors are not designers and they will either go with supporting you or suggesting you higher price items. As most mentioned too cherry, mahogany etc are not in favor and gray and brown shades favorite but if the rest of the house stays as is then maybe pull a ton from counter that would go on the floor. I ended up paying $6700 for 3bedrooms, 650sqft total, but that was new installment. now have to change the rest of the house.

A good idea would be to take the picture you posted to the flooring store, and look at your choices...Good Luck.

If the floor only dates back to 2000, it is possible it is a pre-finished hardwood. I was wondering about that when I thought I saw slightly beveled edges to the wood - never positive what I am seeing on a picture. Pre-finished can be refinished but it may be a bit more expensive. It would still cost less than new wood floors. The refinishing will remove the bevel giving you a smoother top. A refinished floor shouldn't look refinished - it should look new which is why people love hardwood floors. Although refinishing is a pain, it is not as much a pain as ripping out old flooring and putting in new.

The narrow planks have been installed from over a hundred years ago up to today, so they are not "old fashioned" but timeless. For example, the "hand scraped" look was "in" for a while, but now, not so much. Your floor is less on trend, but more timeless. Gray is not a color that would go well with your cabinets. Warm wood tones and grays are very challenging to get to work well together.

I recently refinished my cabinets so I know how much work that is. Just FYI, you can buy 1/4 inch unfinished wood panels at a home center store that are made to go on the ends of cabinets and stain to match to cover those paper like sides - something I am doing. I also kept my cabinets close to the same color because I like a light kitchen. My wood floors are just a bit lighter than my cabinets - the look does not bother me, but I do have a more "old house look" because I do like old houses:) (pictures in my idea book - it is a work in progress.) My upstairs hardwood floors are pre-finished, and there is a slight bevel on the edges, if you check the pics. Area rugs will prevent the bowling alley look and your decor will set your style. Your floor should be a beautiful background to your decor - it doesn't necessarily need to be a statement in itself. If you do a google image search of "oak kitchen cabinets", you will see examples with different color floors.

Also, shiny floors show scratches more:

Make sure you have a certified floor installer / refinisher to get a well done job. I can't remember the actual name of the certificate - maybe one of the flooring guys like Cancork will chime in. You can check his Pro site.

Thank you for the information! And yes, I'm 90% sure it is pre-finished flooring that was installed when the house was built.

It would be a good idea to see what type of floor that is first before you crazy with refinishing. If it was a cheap, engineered floor, your wear layer will be too small to refinish and you will risk sanding past the veneer. I cant really tell from the pictures but is that a red oak floor? If it is, you could could fume it to achieve a really neat dark look. If it is oak, the possibilities are endless.

I think it's oak - I had to remove a few pieces to fit our new dishwasher and it was about 3/4" thick tongue and groove and looked like solid wood. On another note, I had two quotes today - one at $3,500 (contractor "A") and another at $2,200 (Contractor "B"). I have two more set for tomorrow and Friday. Both guys today said the floor is salvageable but I do have some gaping issues between the boards where the main damage is near the door (about the thickness of a business card). Both said it should still be ok though. Both verified the floor is pre-finished hard wood. Contractor "A" said there will be absolutely no gaps left after they sand, whereas contractor "B" said it depends on how level the sub floor is and some areas may have a slight more gap then other areas depending on any unevenness of the subfloor, but it should be not very noticeable. Contractor "A" said they sand twice with rough and fine and that the whole process would take 5 days. Contractor "B" said they take an extra step palm sand all the edges to ensure no edging scuff marks and go over the entire floor 3 times with rough, medium and fine and quoted 3-4 days. Waiting on "C" tomorrow.

A full sand and refinish is normally 3 passess, not 2. Low grit, mid-range grit AND THEN high grit. The 3 passess are NWFA Hardwood flooring "norms" or "Best Practice" for hardwood floors. Not everyone does it this way. The "best" do 3 passess. With visible water damage, I would bet dollars to doughnuts that you will need the standard 3 passess to get this to work. Just a hunch.

Blotchy finishes on hardwood often have 2 reasons for 'being':

1) The wood is naturally DIFFICULT to stain (like Maple or exotic hardwoods)

2) The hardwood floor finisher is poorly trained on Maple and exotic hardwoods

The average cost of a full sand and refinish (with choice of stain colour) should be $5/sf. Damage repair/remediation being a snick more.

It is possible to get a mid-tone brown (roughly the same colour as the stains) on this floor to hide anything that couldn't be "fixed" with the sanding. The mid-tone stain will also hide the gapping between planks (gaps will turn out to be the same colour as the floor). Mid-tone browns are VERY hot right now. If you don't want gray, or white (which are SUPER fashionable/trendy) then "mid tone browns" are where you want to be for "fashion" as well as easy to keep/live with and easy to hide stains.

Of course darker is better for stains, but there are some great options and some great professionals to take pride in their ability to work a floor and work stain.

I would look for someone who suggests "3 passess" and who prides him self on colour application. That is where you want to start. You have a few more people to interview. My fingers are crossed.

I think that your floors are gorgeous. Some rugs will lessen the bowling alley look. We have had floors like yours for 30 years. They go with anything and are not trendy. They are so easy to keep clean.

My DD has had dark floors for about 18 months. There are many visible scratches, and they are HORRIBLE to keep clean. Gray floors are a trend that will pass much like those " pickled" cabinets from a short time ago.

Thanks all - I truly appreciate all the advice and replies!! I liked the second "B" guy the best out of the two so far. He was cheaper, and his overall personality was much more pleasant and he seemed to describe a much more detailed process and was more patient with questions. Tonight being the second night with the floors it's a love / hate relationship. Up close we actually like it color wise but standing further back in the living room not as much. Also, another issue to bring in the mix - our second floor railings and banisters are the same color as the floor and if we change the floor color the railings won't match anymore. Both contractors said they won't refinish them and they would likely need complete replacement and be stained from scratch by someone else. I still haven't researched the cost involved with that. The railings and banisters even though currently the same color, are also pretty worn down and rough in some areas. I was really hoping these could be done at the same time...not sure how to handle that part right now. It wasn't something I had planed to do a full replacement on...plus I'm a little worried they won't fully match the new floor if done by someone else?

Forgot to add - saw this color online and I really like it - would this go well with our current setup? Is this considered a mid-tone brown?

You need to go enough darker so there's some contrast between your cabinets and the floor. My experience has been that high gloss = high maintenance (as does really dark)

We had the same problem:outdated floors and banister railings. Had the floors professionally refinished and I gel stained (General Finishes Gel Stain)the banister railing. I am not a DIY person and they turned out well. Here is a pic of my newly refinished floor. They were pre finished Bruce Hardwoods with ridges and now the ridges are gone. The floors look brand new-people can't believe they are the same old scratched up floors. So pleased with them! Floor guy used Minwax stain.

I would recommend taking your hardwoods really dark, since they are a narrow plank and fight in color with your cabinets, it would look great to take them an espresso tone or at least a finish with a hint of "umber"...making them look elegant and not like you have a "red oak" that you are trying to make look more modern.

Beth - at your convenience, would it be possible to take a close up of the ridges in your floor?

You have there a beat up old factory finished floor. By laminate I think you meant Lino. All of that should be refinishable. Hire only NWFA certified pros. Don't waste you hard earned dollars on someone who can maybe or almost fix it. That floor under all that grey and weatheredness is still probably in great shape.

Thanks for the tip - I went on NWFAs website and searched for certified NWFA contractors and the closest one is an hour and a half away. I can try calling, but I'm not sure they would be willing to travel that distance.

I will post a better pic later today after work: a close up of the floors and the banister. BTW: I found my flooring guy by asking everyone I knew for a recommendation. My electrical contractor had just had his floors refinished and highly recommended him. Sometimes word of mouth is a great way to find good people. This guy is a small business owner who never advertises and he says he doesn't have to. His work is his advertisement. So though you may not be able to find a certain certified person locally, I'm sure there are competent people close to you.

@ Concord Floor Inc. Hi! I love the look of natural maple with just a clear polyeurathane coating. I have been wishing to do that in at least a few rooms. I am wondering what can be done with maple flooring if it does get dinged up pretty badly? My in laws have a 1945 maple floor kitchen where the wood looks great but the gaps between boards are now pitch black and they have been reluctant to make things worse by refinishing the floor. Thanks.

Keep checking the site. Good guys are getting certified all the time and yes they may be willing to travel. In response to what to do to maple floors.. recoat them every few years with waterbourne finish.

Here is a close up of my refinished Bruce Hardwood floor.

@beth I still see the bevels between the boards. When refinishing we sand them out. I'm curious if you asked for them to be left? Most ppl do not like the bevels as they are a magnet for dirt/grime.

No, they were not hand sanded down but though there is still somewhat of a bevel, we are happy with them. Of course, we are not professionals, but they look so much better than they did and the bevels are not as deep or prominent as before, at least to our untrained eye. My concern with them not being hand sanded is the stain not sticking. We had a discussion about this and the contractor assured me this wouldn't be a problem. I guess time will tell, but I do believe he is a stand up contractor as he has been in business for years. Fingers crossed they will stay as beautiful as they are now. We love them.

I don't think the finish will peel from the bevels out. What color is that stain?

Thought I'd give an update:

After interviewing a few contractors, I finally found one that I was happy with (Bonus - he's NWFA certified)! He came in at just over $4 / sq ft.

My wife especially likes them because they are using a 99% dustless sanding system and offered to move and replace the fridge. As a matter of fact, they were the only ones willing to do that - everyone else told us we were on our own with the fridge.

They are doing 1 coat oil stain (DuraSeal brand), 2 coats of standard water based poly and 2 coats of high-traffic commercial grade poly with UV and scratch resistance - so 4 coats in total. They also back it up with a 5 year warranty. I'm planning on signing the contract tomorrow. Samples are on 4/10 and work starts on 4/19. We asked for extra time because we are awful at making quick decisions!

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Quick side question - since the floors are being refinished we decided to remove and replace all our base trim. The builder put the old base trim tucked behind the floor.

The refinisher said because it's behind the floor if we want to replace it prior to him refinishing he's ok with that as long as we leave the quarter round off until he's finished. My wife is due with a baby early May - so that was good news to me time wise - and reason I shouldn't get a head start on that? They said they refinish with existing baseboards in all the time so this would be no different.

Also - we never had visible expansion issues before (house is 15 years old) with the base tucked behind the floor (mostly 1/32 - 1/16 gap) - is it ok to assume after refinishing we still won't? The new base is the same thickness as the old.

@mikelee I think you'll be fine. Is say almost the same things as your guy. Who is he btw? I may know him and have some super positive insights.

Glad you found a good refinisher. Go with a medium brown; grey is super trendy, will be out of style soon and won't go with your cabinets. As for floor trim, I would wait until they are done, then put it in, with shoe molding (not quarter round -that's too wide).

These are the colors we have to choose from - definitely no gray - that's too bold for us!

I put arrows next to the ones we are considering.

I like the Walnut as it is medium-toned, not too dark, and may not have the yellow undertones(?) possible with the Golden Brown.

Make sure wifey stays elsewhere while this is happening and until the fumes are gone.

It is Minwax color: provincial. Though it looks just like my daughter's floors with Dark Walnut.

Hi everyone - thought I'd post a follow-up. Floors get done starting this Tuesday. We had samples put down last weekend.

Special Walnut, Coffee Brown, Provincial, golden brown and Early American.

We narrowed it down to Provincial, golden brown and early American. My wife likes Early American out of those three and I think I could go either way.

I tried taking a photo of the samples but they are so close my phone makes them all look exactly the same.

I found this image online though which looks close - although we are getting a Satin finish.

A little nervous with all the oak color - hope it looks nice when it's all done.

Don't want to alarm you but there will still be plenty of dust flying. Just had our 66 yr old hard wood floor sanded and the floor guy said they were using a dust collector....or whatever he called it. I asked about putting plastic over the bedroom doors (we're keeping the carpet in the bedrooms) - he said it wasn't necessary but I did it anyways. Yes, his big sander had a "dust catcher" but no such thing when they're doing the small sander on the edges. The room was FULL of dust. Because we're doing a kitchen remodel,everything (furniture etc) was out of the rooms they were working on but the walls and built in shelving are covered with dust. There is hardwood at the door to the garage - they had to have this door open to sand in the doorway and my car had this very fine layer of dust. THERE WILL BE PLENTY OF DUST! BUT our first finish coat is on and it is beautiful! It appeared that this wood floor was never finished when the home was built and was under carpet those many years - some boards are 20 ft long!

I'm interested in how your project goes we are going to be doing the same starting on Monday 4/18 and are going with the provincial color.

@eageree a true dustless system is hooked up to ALL sanders. These systems leave the house dustless-less dust than expected but not dust free. It sounds to me your guy was 'partially' dustless and not fully. Sometimes our jobs leave the home cleaner than before we start.

So glad to hear that you found an NWFA professional who is offering a great service for a great price (between $4-$5/sf is spot on "going rate" for this operation). All of the finishes are professional grade (as you would expect from NWFA certified) and the amount being used is a snick more than the standard "3 coats" that most of the 'other guys' offer! Good for you. I think you will be very pleased with the results.

Stain was applied today. We couldn't wait so we peaked our heads in through the patio door to get a look. Our first reaction was we wish it was a little darker - what do you guys think? For example, to the left end of the island looks lighter, but further in the distance it looks nice. We have 4 coats of Poly coming up, will that pull out the color some?

Hit send too quick - I want to add to my comment above, over all we are very happy and it's a much needed improvement from the original! Thanks for all your help, wouldn't have had the courage to do it with out everyone's encouragement!!

I like it! It is EXACTLY the same DEPTH of colour as the first stain...but it is brown not red/orange! I wouldn't change it. A floor looks "partially dressed" until it has at least one layer of finish on it.

If you add stain and don't like it, you have to sand everything once again and try again. Ask the professional to darken a sample just to make sure. They can add stain at this point...if they add finish, they cannot add stain.

I wouldn't change it...but if you think it needs to be darker, then see what it looks like before adding the sealer/finishes.

Thanks! We love the first picture, the second one where the wood butts to the left of the island feels lighter, but I think you are right and that we shouldn't rock the boat. I think once we add the finish it will really come together :)

I LOVED the semi finish, but everything we read was its not worth the maintenance, so we planned to do 4 coats of Satin. Now looking at it, I almost think even Matte would look nice. Any opinions for Matte vs Satin?

that's a nice brown color! Listen to Cancork re: stain more now if you want to. Mine is darker and I wish it was lighter. It shows ALL the dust :( IMO, satin is nicer than matte, but that's just my opinion. I like the way it looks and cleans up.

Matte can show "skin oils" as SHINY spots. Oops. Many people have complained about matte showing oils more than they ever thought possible. Satin is a step up in sheen which should be identical to skin oils. If you like satin that stick with it. It a lovely finish with a hint of sheen (I refer to it as a pleasing "glow") but without excessive shine.

Matte will look like the floor with the stain...but no finish. It is lovely and velvety but not for everyone. The other thing about matte is: you NEVER get the satisfaction of a clean "shiny" floor. It always looks dull (and in some people's eyes lifeless).

I just noticed that you LOVE the semi-gloss. Please go with what you love!!! There are people out there who feel the "need" for a floor to look "clean and shiny". A satin finish may not give you the satisfaction of "clean and shiny" that you are after.

A glossy person can't live with low gloss. Satin is nice but no "gloss" at all. A semi-gloss is a nice compromise for someone who LOVES SHINE but doesn't want the hassle of full gloss.

Think over the Satin carefully. Think about what type of finish makes you feel GOOD after you clean it! If you like "clean and shiny" (even if it is for a few days) then semi-gloss is the level for you. If you are SUPER HAPPY WITH SATIN then work with satin.

There are sad cases of people purchasing low(er) gloss floors (matte or satin) who HATED the finish. They could never get it to "shine" no matter HOW MUCH they cleaned their floor (they will actually damage their floor by over-cleaning...trying to get the "clean and shiny" they so crave). If you like semi-gloss then you should work with it.

Thanks for the information - it's not that I don't like the satin, I just liked the glassy feeling of the semi more. However, at the same token, we have a dog, 3 year old and another on the way and I think Satin will be the best for us long-term living in a busy household. We don't really want to keep up after the floor more then we have to.

I never thought about skin oil and matte - that's a really, really good point! I think we will stick with satin. Thanks again for the words of encouragement- you guys are great!

I'll follow up again once everything is fully finished - base molding and all.

I also wanted to comment that I was really impressed on how dustless the process was - during the sand process there wasn't a spec of dust anywhere (living room, kitchen - cabinet and molding edges, etc). Really impressed! To be fair they had my whole deck filled with dust collection machines, but really neat!

What color did you end up using? Looks great!

We wound up using "Early American". We really like it - it tends to look more brown at night but brightens up with the daylight which we really like.

I also took the opportunity to replace all of the base trim and add molding to the dining room as well as adding trim under the cabinets (we had black rubber before).

All and all I think it came out much better then I expected. It's been about a year now and we do have some minor scuff marks from the kids and dog, but you have to look into the light to see them - the finish itself has been holding up great. Although I would have loved semi, I think I'm glad we went with Satin for the extra durability - we live active lives!

I attached some recent photos for you.

Wow, that is really lovely! I think you went with a semi-gloss poly, is that right? And, I really like look of hardwoods in the kitchen. How do you like having the hardwood in the kitchen?

Nice!

Satin actually. I was uncertain at first but we really loved it. Sadly we have since moved.