Back in May I shared a list of all the projects we wanted to have done before moving into our new house. At the top of that list?–replace all the flooring with stain in place white oak. The main level was wall-to-wall Brazilian cherry (the reddest of reds), and upstairs was all carpeted that needed replaced anyhow. To avoid living amongst contractors and sawdust indefinitely, we hired contractors to tackle that beast before moving in and it's been the greatest gift to have such a clean slate right off the bat.
Getting to this point has come with its own set of hiccups, just like most projects amiright? In this blog post I shared all my inspiration and thoughts about selecting a stain for the floors. I envisioned a rich, medium, classic wood-tone–something that felt timeless and true to the house's colonial style. Well, there was a bit of miscommunication with the color of stain we wanted, and how many samples we wanted to see. We went back and forth a few times until we finally landed on these two stain options.
I had selected what I thought was going to be the color of our floors (the bottom one above), but when I was shooting this campaign for spoonflower, everything changed. I brought all of my fabric and wallpaper swatches into the new house to start dreaming up a palette, imagining layers of textures and patterns — steeped in tradition. But next to all of these swatches, the "winner" was pulling too... red. And the grain was popping too much. I was sure it was THE ONE, but it was a good reminder to slow down and, pull in some patterns and color palettes you love before pulling the trigger.
As soon as I laid a few samples on the other floor color, everything felt really harmonious.
Honestly I couldn't be happier with where we landed. I feel like these floors are timeless, yet effortless. The medium-light wood tone is striking all the right chords with warm undertones that don't read too red or too yellow. And not gray at all, but definitely neutral. And the slightly smaller (than the modern cottage) 5¾-inch engineered white oak floor feels like it's just always been this way.
Pulling in those fabric and wallpaper samples reminded me that I don't want the floors to be the show-stopper in this house. I want the hardwood to be the Best Supporting Actor to all of the traditional, colonial design elements we're leaning into in this house. I didn't want them to stand out and distract from the patterns and textures that make my heart sing.
The floors are looking quite different than they do in these photos because they're now holding our furniture and boxes (both empty and yet-to-be unpacked) and it's really nice to see our floors already doing so well in their "Supporting Actor" role.
For those who will ask, our contractor used the Duraseal Weathered Oak Quick Coat Stain (2 coats!), finished with Bona Traffic HD Satin. Deciding on a satin finish vs. a matte finish is definitely contributing to these floors looking like they've always been here–the goal all along.
Still to come–the entryway herringbone flooring has yet to be installed, as well as the grand staircase in the entry. Peek our staircase inspo here and get ready for what's to come.
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Love how these turned out! I am getting ready to have our red oak flooring sanded and restained and I am wondering if it's possible to achieve this same look on the red oaks, versus the white oak.
Love your choice. What color or color combo was the stain?
It was two coats of Duraseal Weathered Oak Quick Coat Stain finished with Bona Traffic HD in Satin!
Hi there, we're in the middle of refinishing our white oak and love your floors! I'm wondering why you decided to do two coats of the weathered oak? We just had one coat installed and it's lighter than I hoped, is this why you did a second coat? Our contractor is concerned that a second coat will make it more gray. Would love your thoughts asap!
Yes two coats darkens it slightly. It would be best to do a test on a few leftover scraps to see the variation in how it ends up!
I was going to do my white oak floors with just a clear sealer and no stain but after seeing your photos I also chose the duraseal weathered oak. My fingers are crossed that it ends up looking as good as yours.
Your floors are gorgeous! I am very curious, now that you have lived with them for awhile, are you happy with the Bona HD water based poly? We are about to decide on new flooring and I so. want. hardwood, but everyone has been scaring me not to do it and also not to use water based as it stains and scratches easy. I'd appreciate your feedback. Thank you!
We’re happy with it! I wish I would have done a matte finish instead of a satin finish. When we have sanded down our floors, I just want it to look like that matte look. I'm probably not the person to ask: I want scratches and dents and cracks so my floor looks old and weathered!
Love your floors. I am wondering how they are holding up with the girls and Cricket.
They're holding up great!
Hi love you work! Quick question these are the original wood floors that you had a team re sand and stain? Or was this new flooring put in? Thanks again!
This is new flooring. :)
The new floors are gorgeous. The after pictures of the floor boards appear to be wider than the before pictures. Did you refinish the existing floors, or are these floors newly installed?
These are newly installed
Well, you may not have wanted the floors to be a showstopper, but they absolutely are! They are BEAUTIFUL! I am hoping to start on a renovation soon and so hope I can get my yellowy/orangey floors closer to this color. Just gorgeous.
We refinished our wood floors a few months ago and went with Weathered Oak in a satin finish. I loooooove them—and wowsers, I feel so on point! Ha Ha! Love following you guys!
In the post, ( that I saved!) cuz I loved what you picked. You said you went with the darker one? 5 parts natural 1 part espresso? Did you change your mind? I want to make sure I pick the one you did!!
Yes we did change our minds.
What is the thickness of the floors?
3/4"
They look terrific! I thought the other initial stain choice was the best fit, but I can't find a thing wrong with the color you actually went with! Great choice. The whole house looks fresh yet timeless.
Will you be using the same 5in planks for the herringbone or will you use a smaller width?
Same width!
Can't wait for you to update the light fixtures!!!
so is it a satin or a matte finish? hard to interpret in your post. blog makes me feel matte - but a comment said satin.
It's satin!
If I wanted a finish that doesn’t show as much wear and easiest to clean, would that be satin or a matte finish?
I love that you went with a satin finish and your reasoning behind it. I love a matte finish as much as the next person, but satin truly does make the floors feel like they’ve always been there.
Curious if your contractor had to, or chose to, remove baseboards to install the new flooring? And if so, did they replace with new or re-use existing? Love the stain choice you landed on. Looks gorgeous!
We didn't have to remove the baseboard because our home has shoe molding. So that came off and was replaced with the new floors. It's not my favorite thing, but it did save us on baseboard!
The floors look phenomenal, they totally change the look of the room. I have one question. You said you used 5¾-inch engineered white oak floor, can engineered wood floors be sanded? I was under the impression they couldn't be because of the layers. We are looking into redoing the flooring in our home and I absolutely love what you have done.
some can and some can't! our can be sanded and refinished 4-5 times!
Hi! I’m confused what you mean satin finish helps make floors look like they have always been there. I’m about to seal ours. Was thinking matte to hide scratches and wear,
Looks beautiful! Did they have to re-level the floors at all before installing?
Luckily not!
Love the floors! I’m in the process of deciding on new floors right now. What size planks are your new floors? I love white oak!!!
They are 5"!
They are 5"
Your floors are beautiful! Can you tell me what grade of flooring you used and if they are plain, rift or quarter sawn? Thank you!
This is plain sawn
Where did you purchase you white oak engineered unfinished hardwood floors? Or what is the brand. I'm having trouble finding this flooring.
Our contractor sourced it, I'm sorry!
Did you prep the wood with alcohol before the stain? Just wondering as this is optional but impacts how the wood absorbs the stain color.
Hmmm, I don't think so. They sanded it several times though.
So pretty! We are headed into a similar remodel and debating white oak stain in place or prefinished (like stuga at your old house). Can you share why you didn’t use stuga or prefinished this time? Thanks!
I wanted more control over the color and wanted the ability to sand and refinish down the road if we wanted or needed to!
I thought the Stuga can be refinished 2 times as well? We are currently thinking of installing Stuga in our house based on what you used in the modern cottage.
We love Stuga, and we're working on developing a new floor color with them based on this stain!
The change is so dramatic it almost looks like you painted the walls!
Hi CxJ team! Just a minor note - since the site redesign (which is lovely!) on desktop the ads pop up covering the blog post text. It makes it hard to read!
We have contacted our ad network and they said that they are on it and it should be fixed (fingers crossed). They said clicking this link to this particular post should clear the cache and ad issue if you're still seeing it. https://chrislovesjulia.com/we-picked-a-stain-for-our-new-floors-i-think/?123b13jb
Thank you for trouble shooting it!
Absolutely beautiful! I would love it if you were able to share the hardwood floor source. Can't wait to see what else you do to this lovely house!
Yes! This would be so helpful! We are in the process of chowing the floors and would like to do something similar like Julia has done! The floors looks absolutely spectacular!
Changing the floors brightened up the house. You really see it in the before and after shots. It made such a difference in how much light bounces around the rooms.
Love the floors!! Biased because we also recently picked the weathered oak stain and satin finish for our older colonial - but everyone assumes all of the wood floor has always been there when we tore up so much tile to make it happen 😂
They’re gorgeous. I would have loved to see the other stain option with the fabrics to see how it was pulling red. Crazy how much colors can change in different contexts.
Do I spot a coat of primer on the master bathroom floor?😉
Haha, no. Just a shine from the window.
Wow! The results are amazing! I love how you put before and after pics from the same angle. The new look is definitely more spacious. I especially liked your analogy of the hardwood floor being "Best Supporting Actor".