I just canceled a huge order on new floors (thankfully was able to cancel) b/c I thought the floors had way too much red in them- When I came home I started googling pics and I hated them- it was a cherry oak.
I started looking into Brazillian cherry - and now I love Brazillian teak- I heard some cons about it shrinking causing gaps.. And when I called flooring company its 2.00 more per sq ft. than the oak. That adds up!
I have to make a decision by tomorrow? Advice?
I'm not sure what teak looks like but I agree w/ you in that I wouldn't want my wood floors to have too much red in them either. Can you do an oak but in a different stain that's not cherry? Are you looking for a light wood stain or a dark wood that's not reddish?
You will still have to pick a stain whether you go with Brazilian Teak or any oak floor. I would just stick with a more walnut or brown finish vs. the traditional cherry/red ones. I have seen Brazilian Cherry floors and the only thing I can say about them is that they have a smooth, slick finish and there is no grain like you have with an oak floors. It can potentially show much more wear and tear than a floor like an oak because of that finish. You have to see it in person though! Are you looking at all these on the Internet?
I went to a flooring supply store this weekend- placed an order for Cherry Oak and that night decided to cancel it. Luckily, when I called this morning I was able to cancel the order and Im going back tomorrow. I am looking for a walnut-y finish. The Brazillian collection either cherry or teak from what the man told me is not stained- its the actual color of the tree and thats why there is so much variation in it- so you either like the variation or you dont. But the "exotic" woods as theyre called are more money - so I really dont want to go for an insane amt of money on floors. I called Dh Super Bowl Sunday when he was at the bar and told him I wanted to cancel the order that took 3 hrs to place that day. lol
I do like the oak- Im leaning towards that now
Thanks!
Just ask about the finish on the Brazilian...it is very smooth and ask about wear and tear and scratching. The Brazilian cherry is bright red- I have seen that one down. You could do a wide plank oak floor- the antique look here with a dark stain is popular. Varying the widths of the boards like they used to do in the 1800-early 1900s. So, a 3 in, 5 in...is that popular where you live? You can pick any stain for oak. People here use heart pine too but it is $$$$$!
I am def going to ask about that today- I have decided against the Brazillain cherry- its just too red. Thanks!!!!
Let us know what you decided. I am an interior designer. Feel free to ask any questions. Ditto what Pink Sap and NBP said about cherry being too red and yes ask about wear and tear. and depending on the style of your home going with a wide plank or a smaller one... How fun!
Really?? Great! We are going to build a house soon and I have TONS of questions LOL. What flooring do you like? That is one of our big deal items...my DH likes heart pine but I think it is expensive and I found a place from my old Southern Accents catalog(RIP SA:sad:) that has reclaimed antique HW flooring. They are in Virginia I think and the lady I spoke with was great. She said she would sent us samples, etc. It sounded like a great alternative to heart pine antique oak in the stain we choose...I'll try to find the site.Quote:
Originally Posted by hopefulfornumber3
How exciting! I am happy to help:) I love wood flooring. There are about a zillion options, looks, ways with wood. Right now, as I sure you have seen with the trends, everything "old" is "new" again. Perfect example is Anthropologie's amazing floors they put down in most their stores. The trends with woods right now are tumbled, distressed, antiqued, all vintagey looking. From what I know about Heart pine is it heavy duty in the sense that it's super hard, like major durable, so more money. I do think there options that you can do that are not as expensive. Anything reclaimed is usually amazing. I hate to generalize but itl likely have major personality and that is what "I" like with a wood floor. Right now I am not liking anything really shiny or too perfect. It's all about the character. Of course the stain on the wood is really going to be what will give it it's "look" that will carry over into your home. Grey, walnut coloring is where it's at right now. Nothing red and I am not doing anything really, really dark right now. Crazy enough white washed floors are back. A friend just did floors in Oak and they are a white washed, kinda greyed out look. They are really neat and look great with some beautiful base and a darker rich paint color (think blues, greys, taupes from Restoration hardware or Serena and Lily colors.) You are right on track with your samples. That way you can see in person and up close the grain in the wood and the stain color. I used to work closely with a hardwood company out of Virginia (totally spacing on the name). Crazy if that's who you talked with:) Right now I am in a home built in the very early 1920's and it has the original hardwood floor. It is beat up and there are knicks and dents all over it and I love it:) They are one inch blanks with a ton of grain. Very antique looking.
Oh and I just wanted to add (can you tell I like talking design, hee hee!) that not all people like distressed, imperfect floors. I totally get that. Some people need things to be smoother and more finished. I think that Brazillion teak is much more the way to go than cherry and that flooring will give you a smooth look and will show lots of grain and color variation. Some teak does seem to still have some red in it so you have to watch that. And again anything too shiny is not great, IMO.