So everyone remembers the Golden Oak stain of the mid 90s. It was a nightmare and it was everywhere. I'm not quite sure why we insisted on calling it Golden Oak because it was most definitely was just plain orange. It was the Oompa Loompa of stains.

Recently we refinished our prewar White Oak floors. While I loved the natural look of the unfinished floors I knew that this look would be too modern for our tastes. So I asked to go one shade darker with whatever was the lightest stain possible, which was course- Golden Oak. On boy.

I was terrified that this decision would turn our prewar space into Y2K. I already went though that once and had no lost love for that decade. I took a gamble that all the hype about Golden Oak wouldn't pan out (much like our beloved Y2K) and went ahead with it.

The results? I couldn't be more pleased with how it came out. It's warm but not to warm and the furtherest thing possible from yellow or orange. It's just, well, gold. This medium tone will work with a variety of finishings and is timeless enough to not scream TRENDY or PASSÉ. Just what we wanted.

I've attached a photo here and you can see others, including the other stain options we were considering, on my blog here: http://www.layersandlayersofpaint.com/refinishingfloors/

I've used Houzz to help with the researching as we make our design decisions for our apartment renovation. It's been great for lots of things but I struggled to find many current Golden Oak stained floors. My hope is that our experience can help someone else make their decision easier- whichever way they choose.

Thanks for reading.