Hi Elisheva. It is true that online photos are not always true to actual product tones. The reasons for this are many including the lighting in the online photos, that photos vary from one online screen to another, and the lighting/other elements in your own home. It is true also that a larger sample is different from a small sample.

I do a lot of e-design and what I use a combination for myself and client to make the right decision: look at many online photos, the vendor website and a sample in your own home.

What Corectec product are you considering and could I please see photos of your home where the flooring is to be installed? Thanks.

Hi, Thanks for your response. I'm looking at Rocky Mountain Oak or Peruvian Walnut (I like light), but I also love what I see of the color and natural variation of Red River Hickory.

It's going in this room but the paint color will be a blue--something like BM 1629

What about the fireplace? Is that going to remain the same?

Do you have a local flooring store that sells Coretec near you? Most will let you check out their display samples to use in your home. These are typically around 24” square and will give you a better idea of the overall pattern/color/lightness/darkness. A real sample in your home is way more helpful than any online example.

Also, don’t paint before floor - paint last. This will allow you to select the perfect shade and will avoid clean up/touch up from the messy floor process.

Yes, I'm leaving the fireplace. And yes, leaving paint for last. I am going to bring home the real samples, just not sure how they translate into a full-room installation

Do I choose the sample I like best? Or do I give more weight to photos of real installations?

Hi. Like Jennifer, we narrowed down our choices to two and purchased a box of each. The flooring place we are going to use will not allow us to return these boxes but at about $150 per box, I think it's money well-spent. We have laid the floors in our house for about two weeks now -- it definitely gives you a better feel for the color. Good luck!

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Right now, the golden-toned beams and fireplace brick are clashing. So, before you even begin to choose a flooring, I would decide which of those (or both) will be changed.

Blue paint would not work with the current fireplace.

The photo above is from your ideabook. You have other similar ones. Note that the brick is a much smaller footprint than yours and is whitewashed. Your brick is very different: a large footprint and very busy. Also, the trim blends well with this brick. Your trim is not working with your brick.

Sorry to divert you. I just don't want you to be disappointed in the final outcome. Design is holistic and you have to consider all of the elements.

CDR, thanks for your thoughtful analysis. I'll pick paint treatments after, right now though I just want to focus on getting a floor color I'll like. The rest will follow, hopefully.

Hi Elisheva. You are welcome. Do you really want to rely on "hope" as a strategy? You really need to look at the whole picture, when designing.

The floor color you like needs to fit in with anything that is definitely going to stay.

Putting aside my particular decorating situation--does anyone have further insight into how to choose the right color? Based more on sample, more on pictures? Does one assume a full floor will always look darker than the sample?

The answer to your question is that the real samples are what you want to go by. (However, online photos do give you an idea of what type of other elements your choice would go with).

Eventually, you want to do what Jennifer explained: once your choice is narrowed down, buy a box of the final 2 contenders.

Another point is this: any material that is busy, very dark or very light, when viewed in bulk(in your case an entire floor) will be amplified.

Hope that helps.

That makes sense!

I also suggest removing the really WILD colours that are in the space/home already. The intense colours on the wall and the floors (from the one photo) will cause issues with how the floor samples/boxes look.

So it is best to remove the carpet and PRIME the walls white. Once you have a colour-neutral room to evaluate the floors, you will have a much better idea re: presentation. Rose colour carpet throws +++pink into the air (and thus the floor samples) and the intense yellow wall paint will throw HUGE amounts of yellow onto the samples as well. There is no way around these issues. The only way to counter act them = remove all that colour (remove carpet; prime the walls) and THEN investigate the look of your chosen samples.

A box of the actual flooring is always a good idea if you think the samples may be to far from what you really want. We usually send 3-4 pieces about 18" long of a floor before commencing on a project. A computer screen is only the first step in picking a floor.

What did you end up choosing??? I'm so interested to know!!