We did coffee whichl ooks in between provincial and dark walnut and I wouldn't have gone any darker. So between the two you have I would do provincial. While the darker one is pretty it will show scratches and dirt more.

If you're simply asking for personal opinion, I prefer the Provincial.

Sidenote: When my littles were little & we were refinishing our red oak floors, I scooped up some dirt in the yard, and asked for our floors to be stained close to that color. The flooring guys ended up mixing 2 parts Natural, 1 part Provincial...and we love it! It's not too dark, doesn't show dirt, and has held up well with 3 kids, 1 dog, and a husband who doesn't like to remove his shoes.

Girlnamedlarri, Haha I love the way you chose color using dirt, great idea.

Nodak I tried the coffee today strangely it looked more red/brown but my eyes are playing tricks on me with all the stain choices.

Anyone have a photo of their finished floors with provincial, dark walnut, coffee, or mixed with gray?

We have provincial on red oak. Here are some pics.

Thanks Jody, did they stain your railings and treads to match?

Treads were stained to match but we did the railing a little darker. Struggling to remember but I think we popped the grain on the railing and used provincial as well. It ended up slightly darker that way which is what we wanted

Just met floor guy we tested minwax colors but he is using duraseal. Jumped and decided on 50/50 provincial with classic gray. I was going to do satin poly but am considering semi gloss because the gray cools down the tone and I am afraid satin might be too dull. Any thoughts? Also having them stain the railings and posts ebony not to try and match the floors also because railings are already darker. I definitely lost sleep over this decision. It could be amazing or an expensive mistake to live with for a long time. Any floor professionals think these choices will look good?

Our floor is also a satin finish. The flooring guy told us that is what 90% + of his customers get. We had semi gloss before so I wanted something less shiny. That is really a personal preference. I think the stain you chose will look beautiful! The ebony will be a good contrast with your floor too

Thanks Jodi I can call him tonight to switch back to satin, going to search through Houzz and Pinterest to try and decide. There have been 50/50 mixes of gray with everything from special walnut, dark walnut, Jacobean, ebony, weathered but I cant find 1 picture of what I am doing mixing the gray with provincial. I know it would still be hard to tell because of lighting and computer screens but would have been reassuring to know someone else tried it....

Satin vs. semi gloss??? Also this will be oil not water based.

If you are a "shiny clean" person (ie. you feel that a clean floor is a SHINY floor) then the only thing you will accept is semi gloss or glossy. Satin won't do it for you.

I love satin, but I am an abysmal house keeper. The last time I saw a mop was when I moved it from one house to another (I kid you not...that was 4 years ago).

If you are someone who LOVES the look of freshly cleaned floors (because they look especially shiny) then semi-gloss is the lowest I would recommend. It is also the highest gloss level I would recommend. Glossy floors are often too hard to live with.

I'd prefer satin. My wood floors are too shiny. I hate it. They reflect too much, takes away from the cozy warmth of wood. It's a personal preference.

The floor guy just sent me a pic, at first look I really like it! I was worried I would regret not going dark walnut. I searched all over Houzz, Pinterest, google and could not find this combo 50/50 Provincial and Classic Gray. Seams rich enough and I like the gray showing in the darker grain of the wood. Wish I could see it in person. Tomorrow starts day 1 of satin poly. Will try to get another pick up by the weekend. Hopefully oil based wont turn it too amber. Does anyone know if the coats of poly turn it darker?

Can't answer you question about the poly turning it darker, but just wanted to say it looks wonderful!

Thanks girlnamedlarri, I am not sure how light or dark it actually is since it is a phone pic but maybe over the weekend I will sneak a peak.

Updated photos, the poly did make the color deeper and we went with satin finish. Looks different depending on lighting. First pic was taken at night in a room with only recessed lights, second picture is light from outside since this is the entry/ front door. Another reason to get sample on the floor and view in different light.

We'd love to see a photo of the final result!

Thank you! I was looking for this combo too. Can you share a picture of what it looks like in your kitchen? Does it have any red, orange or yellow hues?

I wish I had found this string a week ago!!! We just bought a new place and had the floors refinished last week. Our floor guy gave us samples on unsanded red oak and they looked soooo different (middle of the stain samples pictured). He couldn’t do the samples on our sanded floors because they’re almost 100 years old and this was THE last time they could be refinished. I really wanted the 50/50 gray & Provincial because I had a feeling it would be exactly what I wanted...a cool med brown. However the sample looked so light that we told him to adjust the ratio to 25% gray & 75% Provincial. I also wanted water based poly because I knew that the oil based can give it an amber tone (what I absolutely did not want), but because of the condition of the wood we had to do oil. Now i think our floors although beautiful are way too warm. I feel like they look like cabinetry from the 80’s. I wish our contractor was better about samples and advising about the type of poly early on so that we could have leaned for a cooler stain color. There is no hint of gray :(. I’ll just have to learn to love them. I’m praying switching out the light bulbs to a bluer toned light will help counter the warmth...

Your floors are beautiful! I’m jealous!!! :) Enjoy.

I wish I had found this string a week ago!!! We just bought a new place and had the floors refinished last week. Our floor guy gave us samples on unsanded red oak and they looked soooo different (middle of the stain samples pictured). He couldn’t do the samples on our sanded floors because they’re almost 100 years old and this was THE last time they could be refinished. I really wanted the 50/50 gray & Provincial because I had a feeling it would be exactly what I wanted...a cool med brown. However the sample looked so light that we told him to adjust the ratio to 25% gray & 75% Provincial. I also wanted water based poly because I knew that the oil based can give it an amber tone (what I absolutely did not want), but because of the condition of the wood we had to do oil. Now i think our floors although beautiful are way too warm. I feel like they look like cabinetry from the 80’s. I wish our contractor was better about samples and advising about the type of poly early on so that we could have leaned for a cooler stain color. There is no hint of gray :(. I’ll just have to learn to love them. I’m praying switching out the light bulbs to a bluer toned light will help counter the warmth...

Your floors are beautiful! I’m jealous!!! :) Enjoy.

Lauren - those turned out great. I don’t see 80’s cabinet at all!!

I am in the same boat, Maura... help! In my mind I want Provencial and gray, but worried it will be too dark/dull. Can you provide any insight now that it’s been a year? Or pics!?

Hi Maura!

I found this thread by googling "provincial and classic gray mix." Thank you so much for posting pics! I'm about to have my floors done...Your floors are beautiful! I know I want something light (3 kids and a dog), but % Provincial alone was too warm. I feel the gray makes it more neutral and cools it down. My question is: Do you still love this combo? Do you find it easy to keep clean? Is it easy to coordinate other colors around?

Thanks!

Hey Maura! Same question as above. Do you still love? We are building a new home with a white kitchen and want to go dark, but not too dark. Thanks!!

Are there any thoughts on what 50% provincial 25% classic gray 25% Jacobean or Ebony would look like?

Hi we still love it 2 years later. It’s a rich time with a modern twist having the gray come through as well.

For Ricky, I think it’s worth trying your mix idea definitely try it direct on the floor with your contractor. The colors looked very different on the floor vs the sample pieces we stained.

Were the sample pieces your exact wood?

Just a comment on using water base sealer vs oil base sealer... oil base or varathane will amber will time and really doesn’t hold up as well as a water based sealer. I would always recommend satin as well scratches are less obvious too

Wow I have been searching for 50 /50 provincial and grey. Thank you so much Maura for posting this!! Would you mind sharing pics of ur kitchen if it has this flooring? I love this stain but not sure if it will go with our cherry cabinets..

I had by red oak floors stained ebony and turned out great! Also had them use first coat of gloss because it is a harder finish then top with two coats of satin.

Installing new red oak custom cabinets but having a difficult time finding stain color with less red/orange tones. Can anyone recommend a stain color? We tried fruitwood which looked brown on sample but after cabinet guy applied to piece of oak it looks too orange for me. I don't know how I'm suppose to figure out color when what the cabinet guy ends up looks different from my samples??? He's using a lacquer finish. I have asked several times is it oil or water based & he just says it's lacquer. Maybe I should try the 50/50 Provincial/Walnut? I did try provincial on it's own but the guy at SW did not put the stain on sample like he should so it was really light.

The only way to 'see' a stain properly is to have a COAT of finish applied over the stain ('lacquer' could mean real lacquer, it could mean oil based polyurethane, it could mean shellac...). The three 'lacquer' options I mentioned all TURN ORANGE. Oh dear....that's a problem.

And once you have the sample in hand, you must take it to the site where it will be installed. You will then have to see how it looks standing vertically. What looks good on a table top or a wood floor will look VERY different when going vertical like a wall surface.

Ask for the BRAND of the 'lacquer' this person is using. So long as we have the brand, we can look into what options are out there (ie. 'yellowing', 'ambering', etc).

Thanks for your reply. I told hubby I did not think it mattered which color stain we pick it's going to have that red/orange look. Now I know he's using a finish that will cause that. He won't like it when I tell him he needs to use something different like water based. I told him I don't want that orange look so he knows what he is doing will cause it??? He told us the lacquer finish is clear.

I did bring the sample home so I could look at it on the wall. I know it looks different on the floor or counter or room with more light.

A few things to keep in the back of your head: most wood pros are male. Just the way it is. Now MOST wood pros LOVE the look of amber tones IN wood. To many, the believe the gold MUST be there to see the blinds in the wood.

Now add that to the medical fact: up to 30% of males have SOME form of colour blindness! Oh......dear....!

In short wood pros LOVE the yellow AND/OR cannot SEE the yellow...yah...just something to keep in mind. And 'class's is not the same as 'colourless'. Apple juice is 'clear'....but it is full of yellow colour. Water is supposed to be clear AND colourless.

This information brought to you by Grade 11 Chemistry.

I posted a reply but does not look like it posted so I will try again.

Hi I did read online about men and color blindness plus loving the orange since they cannot see it.

My husband text the cabinet guy Fri & we are just now getting a reply. He told my husband it's lacquer based. He also said he gets all his products at Sherwin Williams. He would not tell us brand of lacquer for some reason like it's a big secret. I'm sure he knows we know if he's using oil based it's the problem. Don't we have the right to know as the customer what he is using. Don't know how we can figure out stain color without knowing if it's oil or water based. I did read oil based equals orange. This should give us an out if he's not going to work with us.

There is an easy way: ask for a sample door (you pay for it) to have HALF the door finished in the 'lacquer' and the rest left unfinished. If there is a yellow or orange difference (other than just gloss) then the finish is not 'colourless'. It is CLEAR but not colourless. If he balks at sending you a sample with the sample, then move on. It's getting too complicated. He's reiterating his answers = he's not sure himself. Yes. I've run into these guys in the flooring business.

I had one refinisher tell me his polyurethane was 'water based' because it 'pours out of a can like water'. It was 100% SOLVENT/oil based product. He's in the business x30 years. Go figure.

Hi,

He's already balking at all the questions. I'm sure he won't like me asking him to put lacquer only so I can see what it looks like. We have 2 pieces of unfinished red oak boards to use to have stain applied to try to find the right color. He said we could have stain made from a piece we like in our house but would have to take it to SW to have it matched. We were told we need to find a paint guy that could help us out??? We live in a small area so I doubt I will find one of those around here. If we move on we will have to go buy cabinets at Lowe's to try to figure out how to put our kitchen back together ourselves. Other cabinet makers are booked. We would be without a kitchen for probably 6 months if we are lucky. Thanks for all your help.

So what does this 'guy' offer then? Just cabinetry and YOU have to go find colours and finishes???? Sounds like he's got a pretty sweet deal. All the work without the hassle of doing the stains/colours. Neat.

Ikea or Lowe's...just about the same quality. If you are doing a $90K renovation in your kitchen then wait for the others (there's a reason they are booked!...just sayin'). If this is $30K redo to make it look 'nicer' but not up to date, then use Lowe's or Ikea (I've seen the $50K Ikea upgrade!!! It is STUNNING! as in Wowsers). I've used Ikea in all of my homes (both in Canada and in Germany). So awesome! They are all still existing...even 30 years later. A decent level at Lowe's will get you the same thing.

Do you NEED customized sizes? Do you NEED the HIGH SKILL LEVEL of customized boxes, doors, trim, etc?

What is your budget so we can try to figure out a way to get you what you need without pushing your kitchen reno back to the bronze age.

I found this thread several months ago before my remodel started. I have red oak flooring in DR & hall. Contractor ripped out tile in kitchen & pergo in LR to replace with matching red oak. wanted a grayish-brown light stain. Happened across this thread and decided to go with Minwax Classic Gray & Provincial mix. Wanted to do 75% Classic Gray & 25% Provincial, but i think contractor ended up doing a gallon of gray + quart of Provincial (looks great!) this combo provides warm brown/gray barn tones without a country feel. will try to post pics of my many samples i tried before selecting this, as well as my 75:25 sample with 1 coat poly as a tester. Also will post stained floor, but still a work in progress since cabinets arent in yet and poly hasn’t been applied.

Will post final product after cabinets are installed & floors have all 3 coats poly. Note that contractor sanded existing wood floors—origoriginal color is what you see under my many stain board samples

I am about to have my red oak floors refinished and would really like to see your latest photos.

So we just did our floors 75/25 provincial/classic gray. Just found this post. Any thoughts about what color to stain the mantle and the shelves next to the white cabinets? Want to go a little darker

They need one more coat once they are completed with the project

One more cost of what?

Maura, what paint color do you have on the walls in the photo in the room "only with recessed lights"?

Does anyone have any tricks on choosing stain in a house that isn't built yet? I'm working with a semi custom builder so I can choose any minwax stain / mixture but I'm basically on my own after that - Hard to picture in a house that isn't there yet with no light to reference. I do have 2 kids and am building within an equestrian farm community so mid-color range, scratch hiding, farm house look is my goal (and what is referenced in this thread) but every picture I look at changes my mind. I am loving the 50/50 provincial / gray in pictures....

Maura, I'm working on my Mom's kitchen and can't decide on a countertop. Her kitchen looks similar to yours and we just finished the floors with duraseal Provincial and they truned out beautifully. If you remember and are able could you let me know what manufacturer and color your quartz is. Thanks.