How To Choose The Perfect Stain Color To Refinish The Hardwood Floors in Your Older North Shore Home
Renovating or remodeling a home on the North Shore brings a unique set of challenges and opportunities. The opportunities are immeasurable and often include beautiful hardwood floors and wood detailing throughout the home. The challenge however is that many of floors may be outdated, and others often do not match the rest of the home.
That’s why one of the biggest questions we get is “What color should I stain my hardwood floors?” While there is no single answer, our designer has a 5-step process to help you pick the perfect stain color for your floors.
Check out the difference the light floor color makes in the cozy kitchen below.
Step 1: Identify Your Style
First, identify your style. Do you prefer a traditional look or a more contemporary one? Traditional looks tend more towards the warm brown and honey-hued colors with a light gloss finish. More contemporary looks tend towards high-contrast or monochrome, which invites deep brown or neutral and white colors, with a matte or high-gloss finish.
Designer Tip: Some North Shore kitchens are small for the size of the home. Lighter stains make a small kitchen (or room) look larger. If you have a small kitchen, consider staining the refinished floors one shade lighter than you would normally choose to enlarge the feeling of space.
Step 2: Take An Inventory Of The Other Wood In Your Home
Second, let’s look at your home. What kind of cabinets and other wood elements do you have in your home? If you tend towards the more natural and neutral looks, then we like to keep that style consistent. This means recommending a neutral or neutral stain color, often with a matte finish. And, if your cabinets aren’t working with the floors you love, then we recommend painting your cabinets. Refinished floors paired with refinished cabinets are like a mini-make-over for your home!
Step 3: Know Your Lifestyle
Third, let’s look at your home life. And what we really mean is, do you have pets that shed profusely? If so, espresso-stained floors may not be for you! Unfortunately, white fur on dark floors shows up really well. Of course, if your floors are regularly vacuumed and your pets shed just a bit, then you don’t need to worry.
Designer Tip: It’s ok to pick a wood stain color that is similar to your pet’s fur color if shedding is a big issue for you.
Step 4: See Wood Stain Colors On Wood And In Person
Fourth, we need to look at the stain colors in person, on wood. Then, we need to look at your favorite stains in your own home, on your own hardwood floors. This is so important. Like paint color on a wall, you never really know what a color will look like until you see it in your room during different times of the day. At Kashian Bros, we sample every color in your home, on your wood floors before refinishing them. We want to make sure you love the color and there are no surprises.
Step 5: Don’t Forget The Finish
Lastly, pay attention to finish. A matte finish vs. a high-gloss finish produces dramatically different results. Both are beautiful, but the matte is more earthy and minimalist while the high-gloss is more elegant and eye-catching. People often forget about the finish and say “just pick any finish you think works well”, but the finish has a huge impact of the overall look of your floors and home. Don’t forget the finish!
Designer Tip: Stay away from a high-gloss finish if your furry friend has sharp nails that scratch the floor. The wood floors can handle it! But you will be able to see the scratches more easily with a glossy stain finish.
Kashian Bros Can Help You Choose The Perfect Stain Color to Refinish Your Hardwood Floors
Picking a stain color is particularly important in North Shore homes, where many hardwood floors are diamonds in the rough–beautiful underneath, but in need of care and attention to make them shine. At Kashian Bros, our designers will help you choose the perfect stain color for your hardwood floors, so you don’t need to do it all by yourself. We visit your home to understand your style and décor preferences. Then we work with you to find a selection of colors that match your taste.
Come visit Kashian Bros Wilmette and Lake Forest showrooms! We offer an extensive array of large wood samples in a variety of wood stain colors. And our friendly, knowledgeable staff is happy to help you with your hardwood floor stain questions.
