Here is the engineered flooring that I was thinking of putting in next to the original red oak stained floors. It looks better in person as my camera is not very good.

Go totally with the new floor and change the rest when you can.

Thank you Dan, thank you Beverly. Beverly I do not like carpet. I would be extremely unhappy with it. What would be your second best thing you would recommend?

michelle - I would want to add the European Oak + replace the rest later. FYI - I love European Oak wide planked floors (I installed some about four years ago).

HOWEVER, three years is a fairly long amount of time in the engineered flooring business - there is a fairly good chance that the new planks you've selected may no longer be available by then.

If it is unfinished engineered Euro Oak, you could do that because you would likely be able to find a close enough match to the 7" unfinished Euro Oak in 3+ years (and you would be able to keep track of the stain used + the process that was used to site finish the planks).

If you could purchase enough of the pre-finished European Oak flooring now, and store it away until you're ready to spend the money necessary to remove the existing red oak flooring + install the new 7" Euro Oak, that would work.

Otherwise, I would try to match the existing red oak planks as best as possible. You could refinish all of the red oak flooring in the next few years in order for all of it to be uniform.

Just do the repair for now. Wait until the 3 years arrive for new flooring if, you're still in the house.

" Just do the repair for now. Wait until the 3 years arrive for new flooring if, you're still in the house. "

Word for word what I was going to type.......................

Do the repair and then do it all at the same time

"if I ever decide to do the rest?"

So it was an 8' reach in closet in a mid fifties home? Does 7" WIDE white Euro Oak even come to mind in a home from that era? Not really!

Patch/match as best you can, and move on. . Show a PICTURE of this room, all angles....in jpeg., please?

One more vote for repair.

I like the tone of your sample. It doesn't clash with the existing, imo. Order a box to lay out to fully evaluate it. Can you list the product, please.

My condo has white oak flooring. As part of my condo remodel, I removed two thick banisters on floors 1 and 2 which exposed the subfloors. I had decided to replace the hallway flooring on floor 1 with tile (it was partially wood and partially deteriorating slate that extended into a bathroom) so I moved a portion of the floor 1 wood to floor 2 to fill the gap left by the bannister.

Perhaps you could so something similar: Remove the wood from, say, the kitchen or bathroom and use that wood to fill the closet gap. Install tile in the room where you removed the wood floor. Finally, refinish the floor using Bona Red Out and Bona finishes to give it the appearance you want.

Thanks everyone, I thought I was going to go ahead and just resand and fix, but my floor issue just got more complicated. Today Nate from Artesian Floors come out—he’s highly recommended and has a rare 5-star rating—and he gave me a very honest assessment that has me at a crossroads again.

Nate confirmed that my current red oak floors are nearly at the end of their life. He thinks I might get one last sanding/restain out of them, but it’s risky—if an area is already too thin, we’ll run into major problems. To make them match the new sections (which is about 1/4 of the room), he’d have to sand the new wood all the way down to the wear layer of the old wood just to keep it even. I was actually told this 10 years ago that my floors were coming to the end of their life when I restrained them from another company who moved out of state. My aunt at the time thought that they may be saying this just to get me to change my floors and since I wasn't thinking of changing my floors at the time I didn't think much of it and honestly forgot about it.

I am also finding that sanding and restaining is very expensive and it is actually cheaper per square foot to put in new floors. I'm talking about Labor only though. Is it worth putting all this money into it, when it's the last time I can ever change it?

Live with it as is condition. Just do the patch, seal it with poly. Do not worry about the match. Why spend so much money, knowing you will be swapping it out?

G&S I get what you're saying cost wise, but I absolutely cannot live with it. I love interior design and I take pride on keeping my home nice . I turned my bedroom into two rooms and I cannot wait to finish so I can make my main bedroom nice. After losing my husband to cancer and losing several family members, life is short and I want to make the best of life now, as there is no guarantee of the future.

You keep asking, when the your only solution is resources... We all understand loss, all varieties and yes sad. But you will be stuck until you resolve either your aesthetic, or the dollars available. to do as you like.

I can tell you this: My aesthetic is picky maximus, and in your case? I would PATCH /match best as possible or I would find a broadloom and carpet the bedroom, or contact the bank. At the very least, show this room, and the dreaded area to be patched]. You were asked to to do that, and I see no picture.?

Two wildly different wood flooring, butted? , Would make me 100% nuts and no matter I loved the new, the disparity would render the concept as a big fat NO.

Only you can decide what a given thing is "worth" to you.

I've no clue what the three years is about, but with a move? You may want the dollars you spend in THIS home and virtually everyone above has suggested same..

At this point, I have no idea what anyone else would or could offer that solves this for you: ) as it is the omnipresent law of everything: "Price, quality, delivery, pick two"

The fact is a bedroom floor can be different than all the rest just the same as carpet there and no where else . But for me right now after reading your other comments do what you love now if long term is not an issue . Then when the time comes get the new flooring to get as close as possible to the bedroom. I agree life is short I too lost my husband 3 months ago makes you think differently for sure.

Thank you Patricia! I am so sorry for your loss. Jan, I come in here because I don't have a lot of funds and I'm trying to find a solution that I can live with. By asking people, I can get their opinions and maybe someone has been in a similar situation that can share what they did. Well I understand it comes down to finances to have the perfect outcome, it is just something that I don't have now or may not even have in 3 years. I have lived in my home for 23 years and have no plans of moving and I'm trying to find a solution while not ideal, either to sand and restain or put new flooring in there. As I mentioned I don't like carpet and would be happier with mismatched floors before carpet. People have gave me their opinion and I personally find it helpful. Sometimes Jan you do come across as very harsh.

Jan- I’m calling you out because your comments about how 'everyone experiences loss' feel incredibly disingenuous. While loss is universal, our responses to it are not. I lost my husband far too young, I am currently losing two family members to illness, and I have my own health struggles.

I don’t have the luxury of 'living with' things I can change, because I know firsthand that tomorrow isn't guaranteed.

Years ago, I shared a huge accomplishment here that I was proud of, and you (and a few others) responded with such unsolicited rudeness that I didn't come back for years. It really did hurt me. Before you offer 'advice' or ask more questions, realize that I am here to fix my home so I can enjoy it today. You can give good advice but then you'd be dismissive so, if you can’t be helpful without being dismissive, please don't comment."

No malice, or lack of sympathy intended in that remark.at all. I am right now, scaling furniture to fit in a tiny hospice suite for an extremely dear elderly friend of mine who was until recently a FORCE of vitality for any age. Live in the present and do what is best for you. This is the internet of strangers, always is. If the disparity between red oak/wide white European will not bother you, will please you beyond measure every time you enter the room? You need the permission of no one to do it. : )

The flooring that is missing is under the boards plus this extra areas.

Here is the rest of my rooms out in the front. My style is modern.

Your home is beautiful. If it were me I would not replace the flooring in just one room. I would have the installer do their best to replace just what is needed and stain as closely to the color of the older flooring as possible. Maybe someday have the rest sanded and stained. There is no need to replace all the flooring.

Thanks Jennifer