Dark Hardwood Floors vs. Light Hardwood Floors
Evaluating the Pros and Cons
So it’s finally time to invest in new hardwood floors for your home. But the choices can be overwhelming. Flip through any design magazine, and you will see one beautiful room after another, sporting everything from light, raw finished pickled floors to gleaming, glossy cherry finishes. Hardwoods in greys and blacks are not uncommon, either. And they are all are beautiful. So how do you choose?
All your choices have the potential to be a great design choice for your home, but each represents a choice with a certain set of pros and cons that come with them. Let’s break them down:
Dark Hardwood Floors vs. Light Hardwood Floors
Pros – Deep, dark finishes work well especially in modern design settings. They beautifully show off neutral furniture, and also work well with designs that showcase a pop of bright colors. An investment in a very dark hardwood floor can make your whole home effortlessly elegant.
Cons – Shows dust and footprints, and necessitates extra cleaning and care. Can be challenging to match existing furniture if you have golden oak or cherry settings. Scratches also show more on this type of flooring than on others.
Light/Natural Hardwood Floorings (hickory, pine, maple, with natural finishes)
Pros – Lighter finishes on hardwood flooring bring light into a room, and opens up spaces. They hide dirt, scratches and footprints exceptionally well. They also create a light, bright field on which to build your room design, helping colors to pop.
Cons – Blends poorly with rooms already outfitted with lots of beige and light colored furniture and fabrics.
Mid Tone browns (walnut stains, light cherry)
Pros – These tones are the most widely used for a reason. Walnuts, Darker Oak, and Lighter cherry stains offer the best of both worlds. Their mid-tone range makes it easy to transition from traditional to modern and back again. They hide scratches and scuffs moderately well, and provide a neutral palette for your home designs for decades to come. Mid tones are a safe choice for the resale of your home, as most buyers can build their home’s look using these colors.
Cons – These floors are the workhorses of American homes. But, they do not make the dramatic, personalized design statement that a black or a white pickled floor might make.
White and colored pickled flooring
Pros – From white stained sold hardwoods, to floors with a color wash and pickling, these dramatic lighter hardwood floor finishes offer a personalized flair few other choices can match. Bleached and/or pickled hardwood floors create an instant Scandinavian modern vibe to spaces and can be a great choice for customers looking to make their rooms lighter, brighter and more open.
Cons – Light color floors also tend to show footprints, dirt and dust. Very specific color choices can be too personalized for some homebuyers when it comes to resale.
ProSand Flooring has a wide range of finishes and styles available for you. Browse our hardwood flooring page, visit our showroom, or contact us! We would be happy to have one of our designers meet with you to discuss your needs.