I don't like the look of the engineered wood with your hardwoods, because of the color and the size.

I would just redo the kitchen and dining and not redo the entire floor. I find it had to believe that a good flooring company can't get a stain to blend resonably well enough with the existing living room. It should not take more than a week to accomplish and you should not have to move out.

With a little more shopping, you may turn up an engineered PRODUCT FOR THE KITCHEN THAT IS A LOT CLOSER TO to what you already have.

OR?

Bite the bullet. Use a 3 1/4 SAND ON SITE hardwood and sand re do all the flooring: ) the second floor matters not and the stair can have a runner. Get a pod, use the garage for furniture. Stain is up to you. The slight change in board width will be barely noticed.

Most important? You kitchen plan, and you might want to show it?

If I were building this house, what would I choose for flooring? It wouldn't be any of the options you've listed. I'd choose wide 11" European Oak. Flat cut, character with a matte finish. Q. Robur is a different species than Q. Alba the white oak found in N. America. Tobur doesn't have the open grain or as yellow a tone. Water based poly like Ciranova Ecofix and Bona Traffic do not yellow the wood like the old oil-based finishes from years ago. Neither the wood species nor the water clear finish was around when your original floor was chosen. For this major renovation, I'd replace all the floors on the first level with European Oak with a matte finish. This would allow the wall between the dining and living rooms to come out. The design could include removing the wall between the kitchen and the family room. This would allow the best use of your extensive space to work up a functional modern kitchen. There are many sources for European Oak engineered flooring. All the flooring is being made in Asia, Malaysia, Vietnam, etc. DuChateau uses 8 different Asian sources. Monarch Plank and Hurst Hardwoods are others.

Monarch unfinished prime grade

Rustic grade.

" So, we were told that due to the fact that our current wood floors in the house are from the 70's, putting in new wood and trying to feather in to the dining room floor would just look patchy "

I don't buy that statement. Get an opinion from a real hardwood flooring finisher before make that decision. From the looks of your flooring it will be an easy match.

Same flooring throughout is the best long term option, so option 2.

If you are in Los Angeles I can recommend an excellent wood floor installer/refinisher. Third generation running the family's wood floor business.

I agree with @millworkman. We had hw floors from the 50s and no trouble adding the same hw to the kitchen (and feathering it in the DR). New stuff was unfinished, we stripped the existing and refinished it all so it matched. You need a better floor person.

we did the same as BPMA and loved it. Of course it was a mess for a week, but the end result was fabulous.

"So, we were told that due to the fact that our current wood floors in the house are from the 70's, putting in new wood and trying to feather in to the dining room floor would just look patchy "

I call BS on that. You can get the old floors sanded and re-finished to match the new floors. I have had it done, so I know. I also had the hardwoods repaired in my old house -- took down a half-wall in the middle of a room, there was no hardwood beneath it, all the flooring guys had to do was feather in new pieces (same species and width, of course), and sanded and refinished the whole room and viola! you could not even see the repair.

So yea -- they're BS'ing you, hoping they have a live one on the hook so they can reel in the $$$$.

Thanks for all the comments!

@JAN MOYER - if we went with an engineered wood product shouldn't we get a contrasting floor to our original? I was told not to try to match as it would never match and look like we tried to match and failed? Any ideas for us on what type/color flooring would go better with our current floors? Something darker? The floors we found have a bit of brown/red tone to compliment our other floors. We don't want to go too dark. More chestnut color? I have been all over looking for a complimenting/contrasting foor and it has been so hard to find one I like plus looks good with other floors.

Our stairs do have a carpet runner already, so I assume if we re-finish all floors and put in hardwood in the foyer we can stain the color we like and not worry about it being the same as the 2nd floor?

We can do 3 1/4" board width, would love to go wider to a 4 1/4", would that size difference be too off?

OR

Other option is we put in same floor in new kitchen and stain it a little darker/brown and not touch other floors?

@dan1888 We are not replacing ALL the floors in the house - no budget for that!

@chispa we are on the East Coast, but thank you!

We are just trying to decide if we ignore the other flooring and just put in what we like in the new kitchen? Or, if we try and match to the wood in the other rooms next to the kitchen?

Here is a photo of our Kitchen Plan:

Here is another flooring option we found, this is pre-finished Hickory, not engineered, 5" plank width. Very rustic, worry it is too rustic and won't match the rest of my house which is more transitional style and not farmhouse:

Or this one - Provenza New York Loft collection - Radio City

This is an online picture of the above floor, color is a little off, but to get sense of variation:

I really like the idea of a nice hardwood floor that I love in the kitchen. I like the flooring in my house but if I was building the house I probably would of chosen something else. I don't love the yellow tone of my floors and I like the wider planks.

My contractor is suggesting putting in SITE FINISHED wood floors and then just staining them a little darker/brown to a color I like (not too dark), to take out the yellow of natural stain - so it won't match the color of the other floors but would be the same wood type.

I'm so confused and not sure what to do. I love all the thoughts and advice, please keep them coming!

ALL - if we do put in SITE FINISHED Hardwood - would you recommend satin finish or matte finish??

Oil based poly vs. water based poly??

These are high traffic areas, obviously.

Thanks in advance!!

" Here is another flooring option we found "

Ugly in comparison to your current floor. Your original flooring is beautiful and a classic floor. No way I would tear that out unless 100% necessary. Get a true floor pro in for a look before making a final decision.

It doesn't look like you've ripped out the current floors yet, so my advice would be to just replace the tile and get yourself a couple of padded mats to stand on in front of the sink and the range. Can we see what you've chosen for your other kitchen materials, e.g. tile, cabinets, counters, etc.? That way we can give you better advice for what tile to put on the floor.

I also call bs on your flooring ‘professional’. Oak strip floors have been around for a century and are available everywhere. Obviously this refinisher is not confident in their skills and he’s telling you he can’t match the wood. He might not even know the difference between white oak and red oak. You will need to buy premium grade wood to match the clear grain and long boards you have now.

No no! Do it the right way. Your flooring guy is full of it. Yes, it’s torturous to have to move everything up and you out, but it’s worth it if you want wood in the kitchen. And of course you do! 😂. The floors in the background were sanded down to bare. Bare new wood floors put in the foreground. Everything stained at the same time. Can you tell a difference?

"@JAN MOYER - if we went with an engineered wood product shouldn't we get a contrasting floor to our original? I was told not to try to match as it would never match and look like we tried to match and failed? Any ideas for us on what type/color flooring would go better with our current floors?"....................

You either go shopping locally for an engineered product that is NEARLY identical.......and a board width same or a wee bit wider.

Or.......

You do not listen to this flooring guy as long as you LIKE the tone of the existing floors and a better flooring guy matches the existing flooring!

Or you bite a bullet: )

What you DON'T do is a "hardwood" anything that is as your first selection. Nor a wildly different width board.......unless you want that, in which case? ...........

You rip the existing hardwood from the first floor, and replace with a floor you love in the kitchen and everywhere else on the first floor.: )

If you sand your existing floors they can, with the new flooring, be finished in a light pale matte finish with Ciranova Woodlook water p.u or Bona Nordic Link sealer with white to fill grain. Bona NaturalSeal has half the white pigment as Nordic. Followed by TrafficHD Raw. Link. Do samples.

This is new construction on spec.

The process.

If this gets too much, how about just the kitchen in cork plank. Kenna Cork Plank | Floor and Decor .. Why Cork Flooring is the Best Choice for Your Kitchen Renovation - YouTube

Do your other floors need to be refinished? If so , then put the new floors into the kitchen - whatever width you want and stain to whatever color - all of it. It looks like you have saddles in the openings so a shift in size shouldn't be a big deal. I feel like the different color is a bigger deal.

If your other floors are fine, then replace the kitchen floor and have it finished as close as possible to the other floors.

Do a google search and you will find many pictures of mixed floors.

Personally, I don't mind 2 different color woods but the colors you are looking at don't seem to go. You just need to keep bringing samples home - photos tell you nothing.

I also call bs on your flooring guy - although we are not seeing your floor in person. We do patches on floors all the time in homes built in the 60's and 70's.

Good luck!

Another vote for using the same strip flooring. Below is a photo of the transition from my dining room with 100 year old oak to the new kitchen with 10 year old oak. Both finished with Special Walnut. Of course we have a transition strip, so the boards are not feathered in, but can you tell which is the old and which the new?

Another vote for Option 2. Your wider plank choices look too rustic and have too much variation plank to plank-they'll look very busy and stripey. I had wood flooring added to my kitchen, kitchen nook, family room and the primary bedroom off those areas to match the existing foyer/dining room wood and can't fathom choosing a non-matching route. Short-term inconvenience for a better outcome.

Thanks for all the input! I love hearing everyone's opinions!

@Debbi Washburn - Our current floors are in pretty good condition, one room could use a buff but the bigger rooms floors look great, they were all redone about 10 yrs ago.

We decided to put down new hardwood planks in the kitchen, and are thinking of either 3 1/4" or 4 1/4" width planks.

We are now trying to decide about having them stained to match the rest of the floors, vs. refinishing all the floors and picking a different color.

I would prefer a different color floor than what we have in the new kitchen as I am not loving the yellow/orange tinge to my current floors.

Is there a world where we could stain the new floors a different color, and keep the other floors as is? Either no stain and keep them their natural white oak color? Or staining to medium brown or lighter? I don't want to go too dark for the kitchen floors, I'd prefer light floors but I'm not a fan of the white washing or grey look.

Anyone have any advice on what color would go with our original floors if we don't stain to match and cannot refinish everything together?

Thanks everyone!

You are begging us to give you the easy answer. Or the wrong answer.

You do NOT want this dramatic change in the kitchen from all the remaining flooring.!! It is an important element in any kitchen, but not the ONLY element.

Repeat the flooring you have, a wee bit wider board? Okay...an inch!

Sand/stain it all to the same finish. You'll thank yourself up the road : )

The upheaval of remodel is the cost of remodel? Yup.

To a person everyone says match what you have… Of course it’s your house and your money so do what you want.

Keep the hardwood floors the same species and stain color.

What I’m seeing in your examples is a poor “ eye” for undertones ( warm, golden vs ashy brown) and degree of rusticness and finish, plus the width. The floors you’ve shown don’t even look like they belong in the same house. That seems linked to your idea that you were supposed to not try to match , because of concerns for poor match, so you went “ contrasting” but in a not- good way. But I get where you were coming from, especially with the local advice you got.

So you got very good advice to scrub that thought and work harder with a better floor co. I think there can be “ different “ flooring types abutting each other, even woods, but must be done very carefully if woods & usually that might be because one type was so great—an unusual wood, parquet, 100 yr old something of value that could not be matched at all , or maybe adjoining rooms have a very different use and vibe, and even so the stain might have similar undertones, and that might be done by a very talented designer/ floor person to select just what would work. But it wouldn’t really apply to regular available hardwoods. I’m only saying that because I think there ARE exceptions, but does not seem like that is best for your situation.

As Millworkman....... to your query

"" Is there a world where we could stain the new floors a different color, and keep the other floors as is? "

NO.....?

Match. What. You. Have. Pick the same width and refinish it all."

In the end? whether or not you can "see" it now? That IS the best advice. ( I did give you an extra inch) ......

Get a different flooring guy, get a pod , farm the kids to friends.

You will love the result. The kitchen is not next door, not out in the back forty.It is part of your home. Unity, unity unity: )

Ok - I'll stick my head out to be chopped off. I have seen homes with mixed finishes on the wood floors. Personally - it doesn't bother me at all.

BUT - the colors have to really work well together. Since you don't like the tones of the existing wood floor, I don't see how you could find a color you will like for the kitchen floor since it needs to be similar tones.

Here were some pics I found - they might inspire you:

Ideally, the floors should be the same because of some rule that someone made up at some point in time. You don't have an open floor plan - there in one doorway and one wider opening. This is the type of space that could probably pull this off.

If you are staying in this home - do what you want - take all the advice you get here and then make your decision. If you aren't staying for a long time, then consider doing them all the same.

Disclaimer: I do not typically follow what is "right" or "supposed " to be done. LOL

Best of luck to you

There is always the truth , that it is YOUR home, and nobody can tell you what will make you happy. I don't think the word "rule" is relevant. It is simply a fact, that the more consistent the flooring, the larger, smoother that home will feel. It matters not if that is carpeting, tile, hardwood, LVP etc. One is much merrier than more.

It is also a fact, that our eyes like to make sense of things, our eyes love order over chaos.....just one reason a break in material selection is better than a break with the same material, two different colors /patterns etc.... where they meet.: )

If it will not bother you? If you will be exceedingly happy? It's your home, and you need a permission slip from no one.

I think the pics Debbi posted illustrate WHY matching is the best approach from a design perspective. It will simply look “right” and intentional in a way that different wood simply won’t.

Late to the conversation but FWIW, I was able to match hardwood floors from 1928!!! All it took was a good flooring guy who knew what he was doing. So worth it.

Thank you all for your comments and advice!

We are deciding between trying to stain the new kitchen floors to match the existing floors

vs. biting the bullet, moving out and refinishing all the floors and either staining them ALL a light-medium brown color vs. keeping then Natural.

The other wood floors are in very good condition as they were refinished about 8-9 yrs ago. We would prefer not to move out if its possible to match the kitchen to the other floors without refinishing everything.

@JAN MOYER @Debbi Washburn @HALLETT & Co. @Diana Bier Interiors, LLC

Do you know if it is possible to stain our new hardwood in the kitchen to match the rest of our floors, if our the other wood floors are not stained but "natural"? I was told my the floor guy that even if he stains the new floors to match, they will age and darken and wont stay the same color. So he does NOT recommend staining to match the rest of the floors.

On the flip side, if we sand and refinish all the floors to match, I was told it won't be exact due the differences in the wood, as the new wood might not have the same variation as my current floors.

Floor guy recommends "Select" grade hardwood for new kitchen floors. I was wondering if "Common #1" grade would be a better match due to increase variation ? But, I'm definitely no expert.

I was told only way to match the floors is to stain them all dark, which is not what I want to do.

I assume the answer is " Get a better floor guy" :), but wanted to see if anyone has any experience with this as I am unsure if he is correct in what he is telling me.

Common grade will look nothing like your current floors as I noted earlier. You need the highest grade possible in your region. First good advice from your flooring guy. He also seems to be setting up realistic expectations. No he will never match new to old without doing all at once. The stain and finish will not match exactly a nine year old floor. It will be 90% better than the pre finished selections you showed earlier though.

Go back and look at the photo I posted. 10-year old oak next to 100-year old oak. Both stained with Special Walnut. The 100-year old oak was stained about 25 years ago, and the new oak installed and stained 10 years ago. It's very difficult to see the difference. That's what a quality floor installer/refinisher can do.

I took a house with select red oak installed in 1989........added the entire rest of the first floor, living, dining and family room. Sanded everything, put a clear coat on it and you can't find where one began or ends.

This? After the same "agony" as you're doing and my client wringing a hand..........folowing so much indecision he lost the reserved date to DO the floor!

It shows nothing,...is the absolute easiest of all floors to maintain. Is it the height of INTERNET FASHION? No......but my own flooring company , with a mile of new sections would tell you. "It's STILL the number one seller, and not one sample board in that place comes close, whether sand on site or a pre finished /engineered. Yup a basic 2 1/4 board. Natural clear finish on good ol red oak select.Do we have a pink floor? Nope.

YOU CAN DO......exactly the same with a stain. You also need to remember that neither you, nor anyone else......is staring at your floorboards! Only abrupt and wild differences will cause some to do that.

People have floods, disasters .....are out of the house for a month! You are needing a week at most for whatever sand. stain, finish you like.