@latifolia they are stained. I’ve only talked to one painter and he said they would have to be sanded down and painted. I’m not sure how true that is since I’ve only contacted one person so far regarding that.

If you watch the videos devoted to refinishing Brazilian Cherry wood floors, it's less expensive to darken the stain rather than trying to bleach out the red.

The floors in the first 2 photos look way more red than they do in the last photo. Either way I'm more turned off by the reddish cabinets and the yellow and bright blue FP wall than the floors. I think if you work on neutralizing the vertical elements, the floors will be recede into the background. Lighting might help too. And yeah, I could totally see these floors coming back in style and you might regret changing them. But if you don't love them you don't love them.

Correction to my post, while the cherry look might come back in style, I'm hoping actual Brazilian cherry does not, as I think the wood was harvested from rain forests. Hopefully I'm wrong.

The bottom two pictures are examples of what the floor would look like raw and “classic” if we get them refinished. The top two pictures is our actual living room. I hate the blue wall too lol I was thinking about carrying the color that is along the main wall to that blue wall. But yes all the floors are very very red throughout the entire house.

I like the second of your two example pictures -- it seems to do the best at removing the red-orange while giving you a very pleasant medium-tone floor (not super dark). I'd go that way without hesitation.

I get it now. Of the two options I like the warmer option, (the one with the baby) the best. The 2nd option looks a little flat. Also in looking at the floors the way they are, your first photo of the living room (sans the blue wall) looks really nice IMO.

I agree with changing other elements and seeing how it can change the impact of the floors. We are getting ready to move into a house that also has Brazilian Cherry floors and so I’ve spent a lot of time researching how to best work with them (bc similarly it feels wasteful to rip them out but they’re not my preferred color). This blog post has some great photos showing the impact of paint and decorating: https://www.lanternlanedesigns.com/decorating-with-brazilian-cherry-wood-flooring/

Are you planning to keep the kitchen cabinets the current color? If not that also might help the overall look.

Am not sure about the bleaching especially since your stair handrail seems to be of the same wood or at least the same color. Perhaps you should live with the flooring for a while before you decide exactly what to do. Good luck!

My 1940s floors are cherry. The first pic is from 2 owners ago with very shiny poly, no stain. The previous owners refinished them with a darker stain and no bleach. The last 3 pics are present day in different lighting. There are hints of red, but overall it’s just a nice brown.

If you are not addressing the baseboards at the same time you do the floors, you will like the look even less. Use paint, furnishings and rugs to make the most of what is there. There is no guarantee with what a refinish will end up looking like. Good luck with your move.

Wow, beeboo22, your floors are absolutely gorgeous!

Getting rid of the blue, which accentuates the red, is the first step. But, unless you replace those floors, and baseboards, and stairs, what you have, is what you get. Jatoba reddens and darkens with age. You cannot stop that happening. You would have to use a powerful amount of green to negate that. And the floors would look weird and homemade hair dyed "ash" greeny until the red reasserted itself.

Learn when to spend money, and when to not spend money. This is not an item on which to spend money. Unless you want to spend a lot more than a refinish, and replace ALL of the everything wood there.

@kate I'm going to read through that article you sent. I'm trying my best to keep an open mind, but it also feels like this is the best time to get the floors refinished since the house is empty. Yes that kitchen is going to get a updated - I feel like everything blends together which the kitchen would pop if we did white cabinets, timeless backsplash such as subway tile, etc. What are your thoughts?

beeboo22 those floors are beautiful - they don't look too dark either. I like the raw look and that color the most. Thank you for that example. These cherry floors that are there now are so red in some areas that is stops you in your tracks or at least it does for me.

maggieq the baseboards would be the next step for sure whether they could get replaced or repainted it still to be deteremined. Repainted would be the most ideal but they are stained so I'm still trying to research how much work needs to go into that rather than just replacing. I think the baseboards would really brighten the space up a bit and transform all together.

This may look awful in person but toning down with a gray stain may be something to explore

steveetheridge The stair rails appears to be a darker stain like a mocha the flooring guy didn't want to touch the stairs since they aren't that cherry look either which will help the floors a bit. I thought about living with them for a bit, but it also makes sense to get them done now since the house is empty and we don't have to relocate with the two kids and two dogs for a week while getting them done. Everyone has really made me question if I should wait though honestly.

DeWayne I agree with getting rid of the blue I want to carry the same color on the long wall on to the blue wall which I think would make a big difference like you said. I understand it darkens with age, but the flooring company all of which came to the house reassured me that whatever gets done will remain that color and will not grow back into the red color that is there now. I don't believe we would have to replace the stairs at all as they are a dark mocha color which would look great with the raw or even the brown color that was given as an example.

Diana Bier Interiors, LLC our floors are the top two pictures. The one with the baby is an example of what the floors could look like long with the other bottom picture which is the raw. Which do you like looking at the staircase? Would you carry the paint color from the long wall and make the blue wall the same color?

What I would do is first get a really good floor refinisher. Have them sand a small area and try out a few stains to see the effect and what you like. I'd start with Special Walnut and Provincial, both medium, neutral browns. I think that a medium brown will disguise the red enough but not be too dark. Using gray or white will give you pink, which I assume you do not want.

Keep in mind that you need to select the color in your room with your light, as colors on computer monitors or paper photos are not reliable indicators of the true color.

Diana Bier Interiors, LLC that's exactly the plan. He said he will be sanding an area down for us to decide. He said you cannot stain cherry wood just any stain though you have basically 3 choices which are the raw, the orange color with the baby in photo, or the state that it's in now. I'm going to ask him again because I'm really loving the neutral brown look in the example above. Getting rid of the red in the main goal. If they were just slightly less red I don't think I would mind, but they are just SO RED that it kills me LOL.

Would you change the blue wall to the color that is on the main long wall? The blue just doesn't seem to fit for me.

@sierra, I found a large can of Espresso Minwax in our basement. I can’t swear that was used on our floors, but it’s a good guess. Maybe try that one too?

I have bought a lot of cherry wood furniture, and it has always been offered in various degrees of stain, not just three, so I would make sure you try as many as you need to get the look you want.

I'm glad I made this post. A lot of you have me thinking to try to live with this flooring and decorate around it.

I believe we used Warm Gray on these Brazilian Cherry floors. The stairs were Red Oak so we stained these Ebony. We looked at Warm Gray, Jacobean and Heritage Brown...each stain colors with a bit of green. I'm not 100% sure of what stain we settled on so you'll want to put some samples down on your own floor.

Kristin Petro Interiors, Inc. those floors are beautiful. I'm really questioning why the flooring company I'm going with is straight to the point when says I'm very limited on my options. When you say you used the different areas...did the flooring company try these different stains or did you try the stains yourself? He basically gave me the three options which were the two above (bottom pictures) then the what it is now.

He probably gave you only 3 options because he wants to get the job done and over with, and get paid. However, don't let him bamboozle you. It's your house, you're paying for the job, and you need to be happy. You may need to look around for someone who is more willing to satisfy you.

I provided the flooring contractor three options and they sanded a section of the floor and put these three options down. I will say that in certain light a stained Cherry floor may look a little purple the lighter you go. Look at your samples next to your finishes to make sure everything coordinates.

Diana Bier Interiors, LLC this is great to know - I will definitely ask more questions now that I understand there are more options since he convinced me otherwise. He is a very reputable local company, but didn't go into much detail. Today, I hired a color consultation to help with colors as well since some are saying to try to live with it lol I just want to avoid making costly mistakes or having any regrets throughout this process. Trying to be very open minded :)

Good move to hire a color consultant. He or she can help whittle down the choices for you. It may require a mix of stain colors

I think your floors are stunning and timeless. They harmonize now with current cabinets, stairs, baseboard, etc. With help of a color consultant, paint the entire space a white that goes with the floors and cabinets as they are now. With the money you save, hire an interior decorator to help you choose beautiful pieces for the house you bought--art, great, interesting rugs that will look great against the floors.

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This is a gamble. I'd need samples of the finished look. Otherwise pull the flooring for light European Oak.

I think Brazilian Cherry is pretty but I feel that the glossy red versions are so bossy that I'd never choose to have it in my own home. My decor style is traditional and I have some cherry accent pieces but I would not want a floor to dictate how I decorate my house.

You said in your first post that you were in that hate camp. There are many people here that worship stained wood and don't want it ever changed or painted or removed. Keep in mind that they won't be living in or decorating your new house.

That is a beautiful floor! It can easily be worked with for a modern look.

Best color over heartpine, cherry, brazillian cherry, mahogany or any wood with a red hue is Jacobean.

Hey Everyone - after consulting with three floor companies, witnessing my 10 month banging a pot lid on our current lvp flooring, and overall the flooring just growing me each time we go over there, we decided to do just a buff and coat which is far cheaper than refinishing.

We have hired a painter for the first time since the ceilings are so eye and overall I just don't want to deal with it. I'm debating paint colors now. I'm currently between SW Alabastor and SW Greek Villa and open to any other suggestions. Based on my research and suggestions "extra white" will be a good trim/door/ceiling color. Does anyone have any suggestions? Picking colors usually comes very easy to me, but I think I'm just overall intimidated by the floors.

In my house, I used behr swiss coffee with their version of extra white. It's lighter than GV but still has a nice contrast with the trim.

I'd get stiff poster boards or canvas boards from Target or Michaels and make big sample sizes. Move them around your rooms at various times of the day. The red in your floors is going to reflect off the colors and influence how they appear in your space.

I like this site for comparing similar colors, the Greek Villa looks "cleaner" to me

https://hextoral.com/side-by-side/

Sierra, did the buff and coat change the look at all, such as removing some of the gloss? If so, can you post some pics so we can see.

We are in the same boat with a lot of brazilian cherry. we did paint and our painter recommended Sea Shell from BM. it worked out really well

I see you've decided on a prep and recoat. That's a great idea, as it will extend the life of your floor. They can only be sanded so many times.

After your kids are grown and your existing finish is worn, if you're tired of the dark red, bleaching could be a viable option for a fresh start. If you search here for "bleached brazilian cherry", you'll find a bunch of previous posts with good information, along with sample pictures.

Bleaching is a very effective way to lighten Brazilian Cherry and reduce the red. It does NOT need to be stained after bleaching, but it can be stained to even out or adjust the color. The floor does darken but it NEVER comes back anywhere near as dark, nor as red.

I first experimented with the process for a client who wanted Teak, using a product that was harder, cheaper and more readily available. I suspect I have more experience with bleaching Brazilian cherry than anyone else here, having done it for over 20 years. It's not an "intense process", nor even particularly tricky. We use the same two-part bleach (sodium hydroxide + hydrogen peroxide) as on white finished floors we've been doing for 50+ years. The only significant difference bleaching BC is that it doesn't soak in the bleach like Oak. The person applying it must rub until almost dry or it can leave black spots. Puddles, streaks and bubbling from joints will do the same thing. If this happens an extra coat can be applied. FYI, one never applies "1 to 2 bleaches". Two coats is always the minimum, with the second coat rectifying any laps or inconsistencies in the first coat. One other challenge, which it shares with all bleached wood floors, is that bleach bubbles up the newer style trowelable fillers, so any open cracks or joints must be puttied between coats of urethane.

The first pic below is from a house where most of the floors were Oak, but the kitchen and dining room were old engineered BC longstrip. The second pic is a 10+ year old bleached sample sitting on an unbleached BC floor finished with Bona Naturale. The left side is sealed with Bona Classicseal and coated with non-yellowing waterborne urethane, while the right side is finished with old school oil poly. The floor in the third pic was about 13 years old and we refinished it last year with Bona Classicseal and coated it with non-yellowing waterborne urethane. As you can see, the more variation a floor has before bleaching, the more it will show after, unless it is stained.

@Timothy Winzell Thank you lol the more I thought about it the crazier it seemed to me....just not the season of life right now for us. I'd rather have the kids play and not be hawk watching the floor get destroyed lol...Wow that third beautiful is exactly what I would hope for! Do you live near Toledo, Ohio?! lol hopefully by the time we refinish then people won’t be so afraid of bleaching them. Thank you for the reassurance that it can be done!!

@ S J Thanks! It's tough, but it got a lot easier once I decided to start accepting them and stopped fighting them. Now I kind of like them LOL imagine that! We decided yesterday to go with Greek Villa. I'm still kind of nervous, but more confident now that our color consultant also agreed. She was a big help.

Iluvdark kychns Those are getting done last - he preferred the house getting painted first. The floors should be done in a couple weeks - I will make sure to report back with photos. He is doing a matte finish and was so confident that we would love it that he would give us a credit towards refinishing them if we didn't LOL either way I know we will be happy with them. I'm expecting the gloss to be toned down a bit.

That's a good attitude to have. I've often wrestled with people who want to have their floors always perfect while I can see their kids destroying it. Brazilian Cherry is quite hard so as long as you maintain a decent surface coat on yours, minimize surface grit and don't flood it, it can be brought back in the future. Unfortunately I'm in West Palm Beach and am retiring as soon as I wrap up two ongoing jobs. A sub who works for me did travel to Vermont one year for a customer with a home here, to refinish a bunch of floors in an inn they owned. He's older than me, and though he says he has no plans to stop working, I suspect (and hope) it will be years before you're ready for refinishing.

For future reference, the products used on the top and bottom floors are Wood Kote Lite-N-Up two part wood bleach, one coat of Bona ClassicSeal, which can either be coated with Bona Mega One or Traffic HD.

Best regards!

Looks very nice--good luck with the rest!

When we moved into our place, we faced a similar dilemma with the flooring. We opted for a lighter finish to brighten up the space, and it made a world of difference. As for the baseboards, we went with white too, and it really modernized the look. Considering your preference for a more modern feel, perhaps going with the water-based seal and white baseboards would create the airy atmosphere you're aiming for.

She's already refinished them--see her latest post.