I think part of the decision is are you in there or are waiting to move in until the smell from the oil based is gone. Both need cure time one just stinks longer I will tell you pine can be a PITA to stain it does not always take stain evenly . I love dark floors so I would probably do the ebony.

We haven’t moved in yet , so we could definitely wait. I like the dark but I’m worried about dust and pet hair :) This is the current color.

You have a good point on the Ebony though… It’s probably no darker than the floor that is there which I like a lot… Other than I want the red to be gone

Ebony is a good choice to offset the red. Jacobean is nice too, with less green and black, and more brown. Water popping before staining can help with uniformity but will also make the floor darker, though clear can be added to the mix to achieve the desired color. Both finishes are good. I tend to lean toward a good oil poly. Good waterborne finishes are excellent but they are significantly more costly.

The wild high-contrast grain with the Jacobean and ebony is distracting. You should not use either on a floor with such prominent, flat-sawn grain and so many knots. It makes it look like cheap wood being disguised as something it's not. The provincial looks better and more natural.

I used water-borne on my stairs. It's great.

If you are doing anything but a gloss finish, use gloss for the first 2 coats and your desired finish only on the last one. Gloss wears better than less glossy finishes--tougher and more durable.

And to be clear, if you want to stay away from 'reds' you want to stay away from oil based polyurethane or oil modified. Both of these products turn ORANGE....which means wood like yours will turn reddish.

A clear coat is my preference when you want to stay away from 'red'. And clear coat means water based.

Thank you to everyone for their advice. we have decided to go with oil

based poly and a 1:1 Jacobean and Dark Walnut mix. I know that we are going to see some red , and while I originally thought that was a no no I realized that a little red makes the floors look “ warmer”. Refinishing pine has proven to be a little stressful due to the lack of expertise as they are not as common as oak. Here are some progress pics.

i think youll be happy

That's the first time I've seen someone stain heart pine. Keep them as natural as possible.

Thank you for your input , I’ve had several say the same thing. And while a agree they would be gorgeous natural , I prefer a slightly more formal look. When I purchased the house , they were already stained dark with semi gloss poly and I loved them then (just a little too red ) so I’m hoping I’ll like them now as well:) I am going with a satin finish so hopefully that will help them look a little more natural.

I’m so glad to see pine floors, which is what I’m heavily leaning towards using. Your floors are beautiful! How wide are the planks?

@Sammy 12” We added new pine to the master bedroom 9”. Will post pics when poly is finished

We have red oak and I too wanted to get a little of the red out. We did a combo of 80% dark walnut and 20% ebony. We love them.

Beautiful looking floors and trim.

Living room

Dining

Wow! Beautiful floors. What was the stain? What was the finish? Oil based, oil modified or water based polyurethane?

This was 50/50 Dark Walnut and Jacobean with oil based poly.

We attempted several different samples mixing ebony with Jacobean and it was just too “flat” looking to me. The latest pics are the old wood, which are heart pine. They were planed down from beams out of an old flour factory in Macon, GA and were my favorite part of the house. We added new pine in the bedroom and the color definitely looks different. Will post pics when those dry enough. They were still a little tacky yesterday.

Beautiful wood floor for sure.

so glad u went with oil. makes the difference in richness