I'm so glad you are keeping what you have. : )

Are the rounded portions of the bottom step made from oak? Could you do oak and have it stained to match that...it looks good with the cherry. I would do site finished oak. With a Swedish finish, it's practically bomb proof.

Good eye, Olychick, yes, we had the existing rounded portion stained to match the BC by the installers. Are you suggesting unfinished solid oak, site finished in something called a Swedish finish?

Yes! It's been the standard for durable flooring for hundreds of years (although the Swedish finish is more current and easier than waxed finishes). I've had site finished oak in all rooms of my houses for the last- 50 years - including kitchen and one bath, with no problems at all.

Sorry this is off-topic, but did your stairs previously have an inset built-in carpet runner with wood on the edges? I ask because that's what I have now and I've been trying to think through options if I can eliminate the carpet runner. Thanks! (Love your BC floors!)

Yes, prickly pear, that is exactly what they were.

Olychick, I read about the Swedish process after reading your post, and I'm not sure site-finishing will be an option for us. My husband has COPD, and is very sensitive to any chemical type work. Despite that, of course, there have been times I've painted, etc. That was one of my concerns with refinishing the BC anyway, and it would have absolutely necessitated a stay at our lakehouse for him during the process. But the article I read explained that the Swedish finish can off-gas for 60-90 days afterward, and that is too long to stay at the lakehouse (we also rent it out, and it is booked months in advance). Thank you for the idea though.

Best years we have site finished oak floors and went with Bona HD finish. It's acrylic, very low odor and has amazed us with durability. We've had oak floors in all our houses, some as old as the 1920s - oak lasts. But we've never had a finish as good as the Bona and we previously had various oil based polyurethane and other water based polyurethanes. Bona beats them all. You already crossed the biggest hurdle with matching a strain! Hopefully you know what was used.

DLM, I wish I DID know what was used, LOL!!! But I do have extra flooring that I can loan them so they could take it offsite with them and work on matching. Is the Bona HD a satin finish, by chance? I've really tired of the very shiny floors, both in appearance and for wear and upkeep.

Bestyears - There are choices in the Bona finish line - ours is satin, very subtle, not shiny. I should add, the finish is expensive compared to other products and it's wise to find someone who has worked with it before. Nothing about it is terribly complicated but it works a bit differently than other acrylic finishes and you don't want to be a guinea pig. You can find people through the Bona website but there were also people in our area who are not on the website. If someone says 'huh?' when you say Bona, move on! But really, it's been around for years, not a new product at all so you're bound to find someone familiar with it. Here's their Find a Contractor page https://us.bona.com/contractor.html

I've come across this floor, but the floor store doesn't have a sample to share, nor can I sign out the large piece in the photo. I took a piece of my BC with me, and this floor (in photo) was the best match in the store, and amongst the dozen or so samples I've had shipped to me. There were others that matched, but I didn't like, so to clarify, I mean that this one seems to match and I like it. So when I got home I did an internet search, hoping to find a sample available online, but no luck. Does anyone have experience with this floor? I realize it isn't a perfect match, nothing would be except more BC, but I feel like it might read as contiguous with the BC staircase leading up to the second floor.

It looks very complimeterary to me. I think it would work. This is for your upstairs correct?

akt, yes, just the upstairs.

From what I can see it will look very nice next to your other floors. I just wished monitors were more accurate.