Is it ok to use different types of hardwood floors throughout your home?
Question:Our house is a 1.5 story 2 bedroom cape cod built around 1945. It has original hardwood floors in the living/dining area, however they never put them in the first floor master bedroom, which is adjacent to the living/dining area. Would it be a bad design choice to put a different color and type of hardwood floor in the master bedroom or do I have to attempt to match the original floor? I don't really care for the original floor, can't afford to replace it all and I can't do carpet because I have 3 children under 5 years old and another on the way and they like to stain carpets! Let me know what you think.
Answers:
It is ok to use different hardwoods - the key is to keep the grain of the wood going the same direction in each room - this will keep the flow of your house moving. Remember to try to match the style and period of your home - this will help you come selling day to get the most return for your money.
You can also go for a darker stain on the wood if the room is closed off with a door from the rest of the hardwood. It would look a little silly to have a dark hardwood connecting honey colored hardwoods, like a hallway . but a bedroom has a door and can be shut off from the other flooring.
I hope this helps
It is always better to match the hardwood flooring--if possible! However: when it is not possible try to get it as close as you can to what you have ---- Have the installer sand down the original floor and stain them all the same color when you put the new hardwood in--I had this same problem and the sanding and re staining all of it the same color made it look good. You will be happy with the results --Try to make sure you get the same size hardwood boards as the original-- some come in 2" and some come in 3" pieces -so match the size if possible.
If you aren't going to match it, I'd go for something dramatically different. For example if you have a light colored wood, like oak in the existing room, try for a walnut or a cherry.
If you try to match it, you'll probably want to have the old floor sanded off and refinished with the new - it will come clloser to matching that way.
I would take a photo of the original flooring, then search for a similar, coordinating flooring. It will be in the Master Bedroom, so really I don't see a problem with it, unless you want to get close to uniformity as possible.. The Master Bedroom is private, so try and get close to original as possible. Otherwise, if you use something different, use a throw/accent rug to lift the effect of the room color. The eyes will not be on the floor..
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