I prefer the right my eye was drawn immediately!

The left is less red in the photo I think I would choose that one. Don't think you can do wrong with either.

Is that jatoba cherry on the right? If it is, you will be cleaning your floors twice daily...shows footprints just from very slight moisture in your socks...we built a dream home with cherry and in 2weeks I regretted the choice. Sold it within 2 years and new owners tore out $25000 worth of cherry floors within 3 months

That's the kind of stuff I need to hear! Left is birch right is oak. Thanks!

I really like the one on the right myself.

9 to 6 so far!

First off all what area do you live in?? Where we live (KS) the wind blows dust all the time & those that have done darker floors regret it--shows dust horrible!! There is a reason no one does dark carpets :)
As in the choices you have--I like the one on the left--more of a med. brown that would go with any wood you put with it. Curious, did they show you some of the newer reclaimed looks that have more color variation in them that would help hide dust better??

Listen to Travisinteriors.

Southeast and with this house the garage and a another sun room keep hardwoods away from doors direct to outside.

That's a result of our dusty entrance now haha. So far I'm voting left and my husband votes right ...

I just chose my new flooring & it will be put in next week....every sample I brought home turned a tad darker. Tried some of the whitewash & grey tones, but the look wasn't quite right....ended up going a natural stain on pecan--the pecan has nice movement in the wood, so there is variation in it that makes it interesting. I really don't like a blonde maple look, so this was a great comp. Also my choice had to do with my furniture....I always have darker colors, so to set them off a lighter floor was a better choice for me. What color furniture do you have??

We just installed that exact hardwood on the right in our new build and we LOVE it!!!

I'm not a light floor fan myself. It's beautiful but not my style. I'm getting all new furniture for the hardwood areas (living dining) so no furniture color issues.

Mmroberts, Amy problems keeping it clean?

It does show dust easily, dry mop daily..

As everybody has said, the darker the floor the more footprints and dusts it shows. I had a hardwood floor with a darker inset and lordy, the dark part always looked dirty. The sun would shine across it and I would see nothing but dust, paw prints and footprints whereas on the lighter parts of the floor I saw nothing. I hope your husband wants to do the dust mopping if he gets the one on the right.

Left, less red to it.

I have a dark floor .. looks beautiful .. be prepared to vacuum every day! I have a cordless, lightweight vacuum with an extra battery backup :)

I limit myself because I don't like light and I don't like cherry.

The left one definitely. Too much red in the right-hand one.

All tied up!

http://m.lumberliquidators.com/ll/c/Knob-Hill-Birch-Handscraped-Virginia-Mill-Works-VMKH5/10026438

http://m.lumberliquidators.com/ll/c/Old-World-Oak-Handscraped-Virginia-Mill-Works-VMOL5/10027143

The right! Richer colour ( although I can't tell if there is red in it? If there is it might look more red when it is filling the whole room).

I've always loved dark woods, but I am finding myself more and more drawn to walnut lately. I vote left.

The right one. Dark looks richer and so what if it shows dirt and dust. The dirt and dust would still be there even if lighter.

I was waiting for someone to say that! I have been thinking that too. Haha.

The 2 nd pic from lumberliq.

Left. The right one reads a little red to me

Left side. Brown is traditional. These dark wood floors are gonna be tagged as so "2010-ish".

nancyann0277--my answer to your question would be with carpet when you didn't see your dust, did you vacuum 3 times daily?? I think it's more about are you a person with time to dust a floor a couple times a day or not....do you have frequent guests where showing dirt would be embarrassing?? I do not like light wood floors, but I'm also not a Suzy Homemaker & hiding it sometimes was more important to me.....all comes down to what is each individuals lifestyle. These floors sure aren't cheap, so looking at the total picture of how one lives life is a must!! I think sometimes function can get put to the backburner compared to "pretty" when we are in the choice stage.

The one on the right has a much richer tone to it. Can you post photos of some of your furniture? What it is going to live with would make a difference.

The one on the left.

left one for sure

New furniture for the hardwood areas. Floors first then furniture so I can match the furniture to the floors.

Anyone have problems with softness of birch? Left is birch right is oak. No indoor dogs.

When in doubt about the type of wood to select for your cabinetry, flooring, furniture or millwork project, refer to the Janka Rating System, which measures the relative hardness of woods. The hardest commercially available hardwood is hickory, and it is five times harder than aspen, one of the “soft” hardwoods. And while this example lists just some of the most popular hardwood species, there are hundreds of varieties, representing the North American hardwood population. Because hardness is an important factor, and hardness varies for each species, the Janka Scale of Hardness is an excellent tool to help identify appropriate choices.
SpeciesPressure To Mar
(Kiln-dried)(in pounds)
Hickory, Pecan1,820
Hard Maple1,450
White Oak1,360
Beech1,300
Red Oak1,290
Yellow Birch1,260
Green Ash1,200
Black Walnut1,010
Soft Maple950
Cherry950
Hackberry880
Gum850
Elm830
Sycamore770
Alder590
Yellow Poplar540
Cottonwood430
Basswood410
Aspen350Source: Wood Handbook: Wood as an Engineering Material, USDA, Washington, D.C.

I know that birch is lower on the scale than oak which is kind of the standard? (That's what they said at the store.) any personal experiences?

Several people asked about furniture. What about mahogany?

chungv, I see you are looking at lumberliquidators. I went through alot of samples from there - and did "the coint test" on all of them. Basically, just trying to scratch the wood samples. I put chair legs on it, moved furniture, etc. Husband thought I was crazy. I ended up going with the Windsor oak from LL. It's the hand scraped distressed look. I absolutely love it. It is darker, but not too dark, and no red. I have gotten tons of compliments on it - even the plumber liked it! LOL.

Lynda, love your floor!! I would guess having the variation in color helps hide the everyday dust that happens & goes with just about everything....really beautiful.

That is the perfect answer for me! I'm headed to LL tomorrow to pick up a sample of it! Anymore pictures? Thank you!

Trying to find some pics that actually show the floor. We had them covered during construction for so long, I didn't get many pictures and our furniture was just delivered. So, just try to look beyond the furniture in these pics. My cabinets are cherry stained a dark walnut. The flooring looks great next to them I think (see pic) and also blends well with the other furniture pieces. We put it on the whole main floor - living, dining, kitchen, bedrooms. The installer said it was some of the nicest wood that he's installed, which was a bit surprising since it is from LL and very affordable. Because we had such a large area to cover, I didn't want to go too much over budget on the flooring. It is 3/4 in thick with 5" planking. And there is a 30 year warranty. Anyway, good luck!

kcar. I think the variation does hide some dust/dirt. Although, I have been vacuuming daily since there has been alot of traffic in this week - and I am a bit of a neat freak! I think it also helps that it is not a high gloss floor?

Thanks so much! My OCD is what is making me look around more .. This is perfect feedback! I can't wait to put the sample in the house! Thanks again!

I totally understand. I just got done throwing out the MANY samples I had. I had them all over our house constantly looking at them with different paint colors and cabinets. It was such a relief to make a final decision and be done! Please keep us posted as to what you pick. Thanks!

For sure! My cabinets are white and I'm getting new furniture so at least I have some flexibility. I love the birch but don't want to regret the softness. Light fixtures and paint I can change but flooring is for keep for awhile!

This is hickory .. Hmm doesn't look much lighter ... At first I thought it was. I also have the Windsor oak sample.

Windsor oak

Look at how different the hickory looks in the house! It's the one on the left! I've decided .. On birch ...

Windsor oak against our SW agreeable gray walls was too light. Things changed so much in different light! Once the floors are down I will send a picture!