I don’t have advice for brands but the lighter color is so pretty, and would go with much more, and would keep the house light and airy. I was between lighter or darker floors and am SO GLAD I went with the lighter.

Mihir Daftari , light and airy is really where things are heading right now. We are send out tons of natural and light whitewashed flooring.

Wide Plank White Oak Wood Floor in Nashville TN · More Info

IMO the whitewashed wood won't age as well. Medium natural hardwood is classic. It will never look dated or out of style. I think in a few years grey and white washed wood will read very dated. For something like flooring I think it's always smart to stick to more classic styles. The medium is still on the lighter side, and it will be easier to work with.

The lighter color is so amazing! My sister refinished her 100 year old wood floors and didn't use a color stain, it's lovely and refreshing.

The montrichard looks classic. The whitewash is a trend. With something as permanent as floors I would lean classic.

I agree that white washed is a trend and I would never put trendy wood floors in.

I recently did a gut remodel and opted for light oak floors - mine are a natural oak. I was replacing similar natural "blonde" oak floors.

I think they are timeless as they are the same floors they are the same flooring that are in homes built at various times and they seem to lend themselves to all kinds of styles. I didn't want my floors to be the "stars" of my design.

I have a lot of white oak cabinets; room divider; office/den built ins which are stained a medium caramel color and I think they work beautifully with the floors. My dining room table is a light maple with dark walnut inset design and it works with the floors. My upholstered furniture ranges from light blush to dark teal and both the light and dark go well with the floors as do my area rugs.

I guess what I am saying that at least for me my natural oak floors are the little black dress of flooring as they are design neutral and I use other design elements to be the "stars". Not that I care about resale on any level but I can't imagine someone not being able to design around my floors unlike other flooring choices which demand that they be a strong factor in terms of one's other design choices.

I’m not a designer but I just think the medium one is prettier and still on the lighter side. I think it would look beautiful in your home.

The medium one will still be light and airy. The grey tone of the light floor is what will date it. They are both lovely but I prefer the medium

Thank you all !!

Are you concerned about the maintenance involved with the UV oiled floors? I didn’t realize what it involved until I started researching.

Which one did you end up going with? We are considering the Azur as well. There aren't too many photos online for Azur. Post a pic if you can!

We did azure. We are having an issue where some seams are chipping. Contractor doesn't know why it is happening. Attaching a pic to give you an idea of the look out

looks gorgeous! I dont think it will be that trendy at all (unlike those Cherry Brazilian hardwoods, yuck). I have heard many people have issues with chipping of the floors eventually which is why I always prefer hardwoods finished on site and not the prefab kind. Something to consider if there's ever a next time

Mihir Daftari , have you checked the humidity levels in the home? In winter time the floor can get too dry from the HVAC system. This can cause some problems for a wood floor.

And before you move in, PLEASE get someone to go over ALL the maintenance products you MUST USE to keep these floors happy and healthy. These are wide plank OIL FINISHED floors. They need love. Lots and lots and lots and lots of love.

Wide plank has a specific form of install AND they NEED humidity control that is PERFECT! And then there is the FINISH. The UV cured oil finishes need refreshing...often.

Please purchase every single maintenance product the company offers for your colour (there is a chart in the link below). Here's the link to the care and maintenance. Please down load it, print it off and then keep it hanging on your fridge for easy access!

http://www.brfunsten.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/AzurReserve-CareMaintenance.pdf

Do EVERYTHING the brochure tells you to do. Use the products the brochure tells you to do. If you do not know how to add maintenance oil, then pay a flooring professional to show you how to do your yearly maintenance.

And the warranty says everything you need to know about temperature and humidity. Both have to be WORKING BEFORE the wood was installed and it must be MAINTAINED for the rest of this floor's life (40 years or so).

http://www.brfunsten.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/HardwoodWarranty.pdf

As said above, check your humidity. And just in case someone is messing up the installation, here are those guidelines as well.

http://www.brfunsten.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Azur_Reserve_-_Installation_Guidelines.pdf

Hello. We just purchase Azur Reserve. How are you liking it? Any issues with the chipping you mentioned? How is the maintenance going?

We are liking the floor. Our contractor replaced a few planks and we have not had any more issues with chipping. One lesson learned is not to skimp on the glue for the glue assisted installation method. You obviously can't just nail only (it voids the warranty and planks are too wide for nailed down only install). We have issues with planks moving in high traffic areas. Fortunately our contractor fixed it a year later.
Good luck

We just finished installing Azur Vasailles flooring. The installer did not allow us to see the boards before laying it down as required in the installation guidelines from the manufacturer. Nor did he was it with Osmo but used Bona which voides the warranty. The boards are not consistent in color and it looks like half the room is from one box (dark) and the other half is another box (light). The big knots in some areas look like spills right in front of my wine bar and another board by the back door looks like muddy dog prints. They are being very difficult. Is there any one I can go to for recourse??

Hi Susan, I'm actually considering Versaille right now. Sounds like it wasn't as expected? Do you mind sharing some photos? I'm curious to see what it looks like actually installed. The sample boards are always so hard to judge from. Thank you!

Hi Paul, did you end up using the Azur? did you experience chipping issues as well? Thank you!

Hi Zhen, I will post pictures. It is lovely, has some coke variation but that can be controlled with a knowledgeable installer and if you go through the cartons and pre examine prior to installation. Un fortunately, I learned this the hard way. Our contractors installer did not acclimate the planks prior to installation, I did not get any choice in what planks were used or where, and he washed it with Bona not the manufacturers Osmo product. I am dealing with all kinds of issues with them now trying to see how I can get this fixed, or what can be done. If you have a good installer that has a good eye, follows the guidelines spelled out, you will be very happy. I fear that my floors will have issues down the road and that the manufacturers warranty is now voided. I will take pictures so you can see it, when I’m back home.

Azur Versallie French White Oak

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@Susan Bomba thank you so so much for the photos. It does look great! I love the wide plank look and it seems pretty clean, not as knotty or distressed as some of the other brands? I not much into the distressed look. Its hard to capture in photos, I have tried so many times to take photos of sample boards and it always looks off, but would you say the floor shows more pale or more golden? Thanks again!

It looks golden but not yellow. It definitely isn’t whitish but rather has a warm under tone.

@Susan Bomba thank you!! Its definitely one of my top choices.

No issues with chipping. We are very pleased and this is a quality flooring. We did the whole house and the stair nosing that was sold to us did not match at all. We had a custom nosing made to match. The floor has a lot of variation but the nosing was too dark and made stripes on the stairs. If in Orange County I highly recommend “A Cut Above“

for the install. Mark and his crew were great.

Paul did your installer allow you to evaluate boards prior to installation? Did you have any involvement in the placement of busier boards versus even toned boards? Did your installer mix planks from 3-4 boxes when installing to ensure a consistent color variation? Our did none of this and the manufacturers instructions state to follow these steps. The color is blotchy, one side of room dark one side light, large knots and color streaks in prominent pass they areas or in front of counters and island looking like spills. Curious if my installer is liable for not following these ore installation steps or not and what is customary. Thanks

Pass through areas*

@Mihir Daftari the flooring is looking so gorgeous in your home! Please share more install photos and how are the floors holding up? I can’t find much online about these floors. Is there too much variation between the planks? Is the UV oil finish hard to maintain? Thanks so much for your post

@Mihir Daftari please post more installation photos, up close also if possible. How has your experience been with these floors? Are there many color variations and knots?

@Paul Georgie which color you went with in Azur Reserve? Thanks

St. Tropez

We ended up installing Azur (color was Byblos, I believe). I was onsite to make sure the installers properly "ranged" the flooring by opening multiple boxes at a time and even then they still ended up grouping colors together in strange ways. That said, once the furniture, etc. was back everything more or less blended together.

It is definitely a rustic look in some ways and more knots than I would have preferred. I ordered maybe 20% more and discarded quite a few to lessen the rustic character.

Regarding chips, I have one board with a chip but the overall texture of the floor is busy enough that you can't see it. In fact, the floor hides dings, scratches, chips, stains, etc. remarkably well. I would definitely use the same product if I had the opportunity to do it again.

@Paul Georgie please share your installed floors photos if possible showing the variations. Thanks so much

@mp123 does Byblos read more gray? Please share install photos if possible, thanks so much

@Mihir Daftari thank you so much for posting the photos, its really very helpful.

St Tropez white oak. I feel it is lighter than the pictures show but we like it

Looks great @Paul Georgie ! We went with Azur Belrose (up in Ventura County, so more traditional, but I did really like the St. Tropez for a more coastal vibe). Happy with it so far - about a year in. Do you anything maintenance wise? Our installer told us we may need to re oil every so often, but not entirely sure how long that would be.

What color did Mihir install in the Azure Reserve line?

@829jam We are considering Azur Belrose, do you have any pics of your floors you can post? Also in Southern CA, would really appreciate it! Thx!

@829jam I also just ordered Azur Belrose, and would love to see some pictures please 🙏🏼 thank you so much!

@829jam would also love your thoughts on how you like it!

We decided no on the UV oil upkeep. We are just realistically not interested in the upkeep of any hardwood floor to that level. For us too much upkeep. If we can find the right LVP, we may go that route. Anyone have recommendations on high end direct print luxury vinyl plank, please please let us know…thank you!

@Sharmeen Aghaeian @Caroline Field Sure, pics are from various stages of remodeling/decorating (so maybe 18 months in between them), but really liking them so far. Seem like good quality and don't show dirt easily. Some scratches from my kids, but even those aren't too noticeable. Have not done any maintenance yet. We wanted something updated but not trendy and I like how these floors are neutral without being too light or dark.

@Paul Georgie May I ask what custom nosing you used? We are also going to do the Azur St. Tropez for stairs and flooring. I saw you mention their "matching" nosing is too dark?