Hard to say based on just one photo but a cherry floor a few shades darker would look good with the existing cherry fireplace.

Thanks, justbeckyg. I think that might a good idea. I just hope

I can find one without too much variation in color ;-))

Antique european white oak would be awesome.

Here is a picture with what looks like cherry cabinets.

Suzyq53, that's an idea I hadn't seen before. Very interesting--I'll do research on this kind of wood!

I recommend you look up hardwoods that do well in the same average humidity percentage as the area you live in that you not have to worry about shrinkage or buckling. I also suggest you chose a good JANKA hardwood score for durability assurance. Once this is done your choices will be narrowed down to a manageable number and simple balance of decore and aesthetics. I recommend a color and texture complementing the key piece of furniture.

Gosh, Samuel, I didn't know there was so much to know! I'll have to research JANKA score. We live in a semi-desert area, and the installation will be on the main floor, so I don't know if buckling would be a factor or not. Perhaps shrinkage would be, though. Thanks for the good info!

Recently we installed a hand scrapped hardwood floor and found the texture to welcome bare foot walking. By the way, the manufacturers of said flooring will often suggest or recommend installation methods via instructions packaged with the flooring planks. It is good to follow those as closely as circumstances allow.

I would suggest bringing home some samples to look at next to the fireplace surround. In the photo it appears to have yellow/orange tones and many cherry woods have reddish tones so you will want to make sure any choices do not clash with each other.

Samuel, I hadn't thought of the texture providing more stability--that's definitely something to think about. And Elle, I will try to get the biggest samples possible, as the color will be tricky. Thanks!

An antique hand scraped floor might be a great compliment to you 'old world' style. I have a picture of a hand scraped floor to show you what I mean.

Hand scraped flooring is a throw back to the olden days of hardwood flooring and creates a very strong impression on any room.

That's pretty, Superior Flooring. What product is it? I like the wide boards!

This is our hand-scraped Hickory Anise with 7" floorboards, part of our Antique series. Wide floorboards are great, they can also give the impression of more space in smaller rooms.

Thanks, Superior. Do you know which manufacturer makes this product?

Superior, I've been researching this, and it seems that you may BE the manufacturer! I thought you were a dealer. I found a place that carries your line in our area, so will go see it. Thanks!

Thanks, Cancork. We do have a whole house humidifier that we use in the winter. It is attached to the heating system. Our summers can vary in humidity--right now it's humid, but by the end of July it may be dry again. What kind of wood would you recommend for us?

Thank you, yes we are the manufacturer and routinely assist hardwood flooring owners and buyers with questions and inquiries. I'm glad you will look into our product and hope your trip goes well!

Try white oak 2 1/4". That's called strip flooring. Over 3" is called a plank floors. Walnut/oaks/mahoganys are all very stable materials to use. Avoid engineered if it gets to dry as this can lead to 'dry cupping'. Also consider a glue assist install with an ms polymer adhesive.

My goodness, Ultimate, there is a lot to know about this! Is plank necessarily bad for our semi arid environment? I love the wide boards.......

Good ol' White Oak is my go-to floor. Does well in any situation. Take stain nicely and easily. Relatively hard for a local wood (the exotic woods can be very hard...and have big issues with shrinkage/instability).

The best thing you can do is go and talk to a LOCAL hardwood flooring installer/dealer. You want to talk to the guy with white hair who as been around the flooring block a few times. These ma and pa shops that have been around for decades will have filtered out the "bad" floors for your environment. They will have several brands and several woods to work with. Tell them where you live (if they are local and been there a while they will know the area very well) and your HVAC's ability (you are ahead of the curve if you have a humidifier).

Ask them to recommend a range of floors (strip hardwood and plank hardwood) that would work in your environment. Now have them out to the house to see what they are working with. Get a quote for a few different floors they carry.

I've already had one couple who went this route (high desert) and they found the knowledge of the local store to be PRICELESS. They had everything that was needed for their environment and the "old fella" knew which floors to suggest and which one's to stay away from.

That isn't the type of service you will get from a big box store or a junk store like Lumber Liquidators.

Go local. Go with their advice. It will be worth every penny.

Thanks, Cancork. We are high desert, too. We will definitely stay local, and we know of two locally owned stores that have been in business here for decades. We dealt with one of them when we bought carpet, and their service was amazing. We appreciate your input, and will look for the old guy with the white hair! :-))

Yes there is a lot of info to process. The bottom line is a really dimensionally stable species such as white oak(possibly rift cut) in strip. Oak can handle RH swings(within reason) better than most other woods. Also it may be worth your while to go with a site finished oiled floor. Loba Impact oil,Rubio monocoat,Pallmans are all great products and allow the wood to breathe even more than lest say a factory finished aluminium oxide type finish

Thanks, Ultimate. I will save this info for when I go shopping.

Ultimate, I have another question for you. Do you recommend the scraped floors? Is there any advantage or disadvantage to the scraped texture? Thanks!

There more money. Wire brushed is what's selling in my area or hit skip(circle sawn). Ask for the Rubio finish by name!

Off comment here, but your entertainment center is gorgeous! You are one lucky woman! Good luck with your floors. :-)

The cabinet is uncomfortably high. Unclutter the top, and create a more balanced distribution of the art.

Thank you, Joy. It's my husband's handiwork. Jbtanyderi, the art has been revised, as I had the same objection you did. This is an old picture. The height of the cabinet is designed with the optimal viewing height for the TV, per the TV people. It's not gonna change, as the project took my husband a year and a half to build! :-))

Complete the unit by taking it to ceiling height. The current proportioning is awkward.