As a Designer I educate my clients that whatever tone of wood flooring is used in any room is should be darker than walls, ceilings or the furnishings, why? It's simple us human beings thousands of years ago used to walk the earth through forests and mountains and if you notice the soil is always darker than the surroundings 95% of the time. Therefore, our brains are wired subconsciously to be calmer and more relaxed when the ground beneath our feet is darker. Take the Hood Canal Residence Project, for example, pictured even though the wood flooring is a medium tone the surrounds are lighter, making the room look expensive, but yet the boundaries of the floor are solid making one feel more grounded.

Obviously, DJ, rules are made to be broken. I have a light wood floor with strong yellow walls (although, admittedly the wide white baseboards break up the colour). Every time I go into the room, I want to dance. My living room has "yellowed-over-the-years" wood floors and strong grey-blue walls (again with deep white baseboards) and it is extremely calming (the area rug is navy, which leads me to remind those who want dark to remember that you will see every speck of dust). I have a bedroom with the same older wood floors and navy walls, as well as a navy and white kitchen with soft yellow tiles. I love both. Only room in my house in which I would change the colour (of the walls, not the floor as it flows throughout) is a beige bedroom. I would darken the walls as the current colour is too close to the depth of the floor colour.

I know it's come up before but if you like the look of wood why not consider the wood grain porcelain tiles that are available. You can add radiant heating in the floor for warmth. You get the look of wood but the durability and ease of cleaning that you get with tile - no scratches, you can clean without worrying about water getting in between anything, and they look great these days. We love them and the price has now come down so that they are affordable without the quality and look going down. I'd highly recommend considering it.

Dark wood floors look great in model homes but in real life they show every scratch and need cleaning daily. We try to lean our clients toward medium tones or something with variety such as Acacia, also known as Asian Walnut. The new duller finishes are popular as well and there are a variety of woods to choose from.

For those wanting dark floors: You have to ask yourself this question: Will you always regret doing a lighter floor? Will you look at your lighter wood floor and say every time "I should have done dark?" I know I would have regretted it that's why there was no hesitation for me on doing dark. The key to doing a darker floor is to mix in a lighter color so it is not "black" also the most important thing is to pick a wood with grain. Mine is a red oak. They are beautiful.My parents did a dark floor- maple. NO grain. It's like walking on furniture. Shows ever tiny little speck.Very hight maintenance. My husband and I are very particular with upkeep and sweep every day. It's just a habit we got ourselves into and we do it. We have two kids that get crumbs at the island. I have a no shoes rule that I try to stick by and I am just very diligent when cleaning up. It is worth it. My white kitchen would be lost on a light wood floor. There would be no pop. It would just not be the same. You have to know your own tolerance level and whether or not you will maintain them. It's worth it to me. I look at them everyday and love them. Even if I didn't clean up the crumbs on the floor (which would never happen!) I would rather look at the crumbs than look at a light wood floor! against my white cabinets! So happy.

Completely agree with shalago, a dark red oak, as in this photo of a kitchen I did here, works really well and provides the right contrast. If your a particular person and can handle sweeping everyday, and I do, then it will be fine. If you have four kids and don't have the time or energy to sweep daily then there are lot's of great options that will let you clean once a week. In the end you need to love them and be content that you knew what you were getting into and a little sweeping is a small price to pay.

If I choose do not do a dark floor what are some good popular stains to try by miniwax? Light to medium

I did 3 parts Provincial and 1 part Ebony. This mixture turned out to be EXACTLY what I wanted.

I've had hard (dark) wood floors in my last three homes over the last 13 years. My only problem has been in an older house with uneven floors...our freezer has leaked and caused some warping. Otherwise, yeah, I guess I can see the goldfish cracker crumbs but I like my house clean so I would rather sweep it up. I love the look and it's easier on your knees than tile.

I think you should go for them, they are beautiful. I have hand scraped (whatever that means) in walnut, they look a bit rustic so are not as unforgiving as I had feared. I really like them.

I LOVE the dark wood. Beautiful!!!

I have dark wood floors and a dog. There are often foot prints, especially in the winter. So, yes it is much more work to live with them and keep them clean. However, I absolutely love the look. The previous owners had a reddish cherry stain. I receive so many compliments form everyone who has seen the before and after.
As I mentioned, keeping them clean is definitely more work. But when I consider it, any other floor is equally dirty, you just don't see it. That's a little disturbing.

I love it in pictures but the reality is that it is very dark and might make your home seem dreary. Consider how much natural light you will have in this space. I prefer medium tones to avoid the messy look of such dark surfaces. If you have painted cabinets, you can choose a floor with pattern in the wood to create a constrast without going so dark. Will all the little specks and footprints make it a chore for you?

I just spent a grand on my tiny kitchen floor dark bamboo which is recommended for basements? That's what I was told, came home one day and my dishwasher leaked a little trail across the kitchen which I wiped up and everything was fine, until a couple of days later, the bamboo warped so badly that he floor is ruined ... I feel like I took that money and flushed it.

In a bright open white kitchen, dark floors are absolutely gorgeous!

shornery - did you finish your project? we'd love to see the outcome!

The designers at ZDesign think the dark floor will look great with the light cabinets!!


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I haven't finished the project yet, the kitchen cabinetry has taken longer to build. Am sick of using a BBQ to cook everything at the moment.

I ABSOLUTELY HATE the black hardwood floors!!! I moved into "the bachelor pad" so had no say in it. I DO NOT WANT TO BE A SLAVE to my floors!!! WHO in the world puts black hardwood in a functioning kitchen?!? Seriously..? I cannot stress enough how much I LOATHE them. I have other things I would rather be doing than putting newspapers down every time I cook and STILL have to clean the floor afterwards. SUCH a waste of precious time.

LOVE the look but they are very high maintenance.

SOooo HIGH maintenance. Life is too precious to slave away constantly cleaning them only to impress others who do not have to actually live in it! When will people get it???

Black floors is a totally different animal. You will definitely be a slave. A warm dark brown floor (not black or espresso) with a grain in them is a great look especially with white cabinets/moulding. Must have grain to keep maintenance down. You could achieve the same rich warm look but with a warm brown with graining. I love mine. Oh, and never do anything just to impress others. You must live with it and love it.

That is me, your last comment. I've lived long enough to know that. If I had been given the opportunity to chose.., believe me, it would've been tile! Hopefully someday we can sell "his" house and get one that is ours ;-)

I have dark floors and honestly I don't dry-mop them any more than I did when I lived in a house with light-colored wooden floors.

All floors look best right after they are cleaned. What doesn't? t really don't find dark floors any more difficult to keep clean and presentable---and I'm a practical person with reasonably high standards regarding household appearance.

And, considering the style of our current home, they really do add positively to the overall appearance…

I love them.

I love this look - I got out voted - so have travertine instead in my own kitchen - but I would have rather had a super floor like this any day !!

Fabulous

I'm on the fence. I want it but I have so much glazing that the dust is going to show. I also want marble worktops so I will basically never use the room!
I'm looking at a Balterio laminate that is at least hard wearing and good value.

If you're not concerned about the maintenance of a marble counter top then I wouldn't be concerned about the dark wood floors....the floors would then become the least of your worries (if you chose marble counters!)

I have had a white kitchen floor and it was a nightmare, especially with the dog coming in from the yard, I had to mop it several times a day... we now have a black slate floor in our entry hall and it does not show mud or dirt or dust or doghair, it's wonderful.

Has anyone used black vinyl flooring or slate grey Lino floor in areas such as kitchen, bathroom and laundry? Is it hard to keep clean or does it show up everything?!

i have black and white checkerboard, what doesnt show on one color shows on the other, and my cat's hair shows on both.... but i love it, and it makes me realize just how filthy my beige tile used to be. ugh.

you'll be good friends with your swiffer, but thats not the end of the world.

Hard to keep clean and dust free but they are quite beautiful!

My first time home is only 6 yrs old and it is all oak and I'm not a fan of this much oak. I'm thinking about re doing the hardwood floors...lots of scratches from previous owner. I would love a darker stain. will that look bad? And how dark should I go? Or just leave it the same color? Our end table is dark. I do not plan on re doing the cabinets.

Hi there, I'm sorry for the late reply- I am just seeing this post now.

I think a darker stain would be a very nice contrast with your existing cabinets. Dark Walnut is a nice stain which compliments any decor.

Dark floors show everything contrary to what one would think. Go with something more oak, or the look of reclaimed wood. On my favorite show on HgTV fixer upper, she uses white cabinets and reclaimed looking wood floors. It looks amazing and easy to maintain

i love dark floors with white cabinets.

Look great in pix but a pain to keep clean. If you're a neat freak they'll drive you nuts. Any pets? Hair will be an issue.

I do not know what to do...I was in love with espresso color flooring...And we rip of all carpet from the bedrooms to put dark flooring. Now we are ready for family room.And I am in love with whitewashed oak. No way to redo dark flooring. And I want a light whitewash. Is it possible to have different color floor in family room?

I've had wood floors in my kitchen since we built 20 years ago. Loooved them.We used a great sealant and only now is the kitchen beginning to show wear (never had water damage). I love the dark wood/white cabinet look, now we are downsizing and that's my plan for our new kitchen. We have roomba that mops, new kitchen is not large (14 x15 )and I have no concerns about keeping it clean. I wouldn't make lots of areas of my house hard to clean, but I am paying special attention to other areas so they don't need an excess of cleaning and I'll spend an extra 10 minutes here and there keeping up with the kitchen.
I do think keeping in mind trend looks is important if resale is in your future it's likely in xx years buyers will say "the kitchen is so 2015...ugh brushed nickel.
Ultimately do what you love.

It this is your forever home do what makes you love it. If going on the market in the next 5 years, keep buyers' preferences in mind.

Roomba is my best friend, it cleans while I sleep.

i like a more user friendly floor ,like the chateua patterned travertine,looks like sand on the beach and hides things nicely.,as in my recent renovation inNaples,fl..mercedes courland interiors

If you love the dark wood, go for it. It will look rich and beautiful.

Regardless of what material the floor is, it should be kept clean.

I have dark wood look tile laid randomly and it shows nothing. Looks just like wood. In my last house someone else put down dark real wood everywhere and it was a nightmare.

I have it and love it. If you love the look, you probably won’t be happy if you choose another color.

this is the Porcelain wood look tile we recently had installed in January. Absolutely love it. We have Northern exposure in our kitchen and the whole back of our house, so it's a bright room when it's sunny. The cabinets should be installed by end of week, but not the counters, I'll post how it turned out. We have too much in and out from the back yard, garden and garage into our kitchen and laundry room to install wood floors. The rest of our house has wood floors and it's fine.

love it, what is the name/description of the tile? Thanks Rose

Hey all the way! I have Matt Black Handscraped Hardwood Floors in my kitchen and all over my house and I am absolutely in love with my floors.

Hi there. Can you please send me the name and color of these floors? I love them!