Inquire about red birch from Aacer Flooring, a local family-owned business in Peshtigo, Wisconsin. I recommend them as they are good products. The fact is that location matters. It seems that you do not recommend bleaching (which we thought might be the way forward). Most popular shades of gray paint for the walls, how to refinish gray hardwood flooring (the right way), Bona Traffic vs Bona Mega which is better. Im so glad to hear this, Joyce. They work best on white oak for a modern look. The great news for matte and satin finishes is that they are both popular and practical. Does applying BONA products require some special expertise or procedure? There is a strong move away from warmer tones (e.g. Your email address will not be published. This is a light brown with a tinge of red. They are also incredibly hard to decorate with. Ive had hardwax oils in my own house. And, over time, they amberize even more from UV rays, so they turn more yellow and sometimes even orange (pending on the wood and stain used). The process simply involves adding more oil, so theres no need to re-sand! If youre looking to either enhance the modern feel of your contemporary home or enhance the authenticity of an older home, wide planks are a great option. This draw to natural and raw texture is more felt around winter time since many of us have been inside more. You have the ability to test and mix stains on you wood and look at them in your own home and lighting. Another related down side to oiled floors is that you tend to see premature color discoloration in high traffic areas. Related article: How to get rid of the cherry tones in Brazilian Cherry hardwood. Im seeing a celebration of the woods character the imperfections and mineral streaks, timeworn styles and colors, flatter finishes, longer boards (like in the old days), wire-brushed and hand-scraped textures and even reclaimed wood. Each piece is different some pieces are darker, some lighter; the graining and knots are different on each piece. And, Bona Traffic is better for the environment (lower VOCs) and it smells less. Ive tried for what seems like a year to mix and blend stains and just havent come up with a good ratio! A dark stain will also make the floors look less busy. And, often the hardwood will continue into the powder room (as its simpler and saves money if the area is all done at once. I love the look of Hallmarks white oak flooring in The colour Malibu but I have Ash Hardwood. Paint colors and accent colors, as well as styles, may come and go, but good hardwood floors will be there for over a century. Reposting this quetsion here as this post seems more recent. Second, that hardwood will be here for at least another century enduring through the generations. This does cost more, but the finish is very hard and durable. Voila, whole new look. As we like to say, the home is where the art is.. The contractor said oil base is more durable in the kitchen since we have a large family. . Related article: How to sand and refinish your hardwood to make it gray. The oil is easy to use and enhance the natural appearance of the wood. Avoid getting suckered in to this short-lived trend. Maple still proves to be popular. The whitewashes of today are more matte and many are more subtle in character. Of course, refinishing your hardwood floors gray isnt a simplest task, and you really need to have an expert who has refinished many floors gray (and yes, over the years Ive gotten tons of calls from homeowners who hired a contractor who cant do thisand they find out in the middle of the job). Read about red oak vs. white oak pros and cons if you need to narrow down your final choice of material. Alternatively, there is another solution that has also been growing, and that is oiled floors. There has been a rising preference for site finished hardwood over pre-finished wood (i.e wood manufactured and finished in a factory). You want a wood that is stylish and will stand the test of time. Here in Wisconsin, natural, lighter tones have been gaining popularity as mid century modern and Scandinavian styles are appearing. Homeowners are realizing short falls for engineered hardwood flooring (i.e. So, you can now get a subtle white tintwithout the need for a stain. Wire brushed floors are etched with a subtle texture to enhance the graining of the wood. You have to see them in person because some of them look different in different lights for a really modern and subtle gray sheen. Some wire brushed wood is monotone, but most are 2 toned, done with 2 passes of stain (generally a darker coat as the main color and then a partial glaze with a lighter color. And, of course the promise of a green product has also proven to fall short, and its just a marketing gimmick. But for warmer climates that are build on a concrete slab, solid hardwood often isnt practical (as you cant nail it into concreteand it costs more and adds additional height if you need to add plywood). However, due to the limited trees to produce such wide boards this option is going to be expensive. Ive seen it done with grey trim, and it looked fantastic! Clickbait for sure. Parquet just looks dated and cheap. Natural wood colors are timeless. These are wood planks wider than the typical 2 1/2- to 4-inch wide boards. I know when grey tones first started to come out there were just the classic grey colors. Its also a much better option if you using hardwood in your kitchen. We added a nice border around the center to add an accent, installed hickory wood with some color variation and then finished it with Rubio Monocoat. And, importantly site finished wood is customizable. Customers want a clean look with fewer distractions. These are blends of gray + white and golden oak/white + white and use Bona Traffic HD for the polyurethane. Over the last few years natural oiled wood floors have become more popular. We love natural floors and love making a living by providing the best natural wood floors for our clients! And, it dries and cures faster. But it is a long read. If youre in the Wisconsin area, check out this local manufacturing company that offers maple floors. The disadvantages of oiled floors is that they can often be more difficult to maintain (you need to periodically treat the floors with more oil) and the floors do not have a protective finish, so they absorb water (as well as pet urine). We are also now feeling better about our red oak and also looking at the BONA Natural Seal as an option. These items cost more than the typical hardwood cleaners, but at least you can make repairs as scratches occur. This trend to wider planks have been on a steady rise in the past decade. Oiled wood floors bring out a richness and natural look. The wood looks more natural and it doesnt have that yellowish tint (oil borne polyurethanes give a more amber color, and they amberizes more over time). Even if hardwood floor trends and preferences change, we hope that you choose natural wood floors for your home in 2022. Ive noticed that white oak is super popular not only here but really all over the country. (Hint: it is NOT by using the gray stains from Minwax or Duraseal). Its also a move away from Chinese made lower grade products. Im not familiar w/ malibu. Its a win win. Much appreciated! Moran Yes, sorry to hear this. It will look yellow unless you do a dark color. Overall, theres a shift towards darks and lights (yes, the two extremes), as well as cooler and browner tones. So I wanted to share the latest trends in hardwood flooring for 2021. Not to mentioned that in cooler climates there are tons of homes where customers already have hardwood and simply choose to refinish it and change the color. Again, this goes back to different types of homes and different strokes for different folks. The latest style has been to do a more subtle white wash so that the floors look more naturalbut a tad lighter and a tad whiter than natural floors. Infinity offers the famous North Wisconsin Red Oak. Its been on the rise for the last decade or so. Blonde wood floors are the classic light color. Honey is a slightly modified version of yellow or golden oak, and it is soooo dated. And, a nice side benefit is that white oak is more water resistant than red oak (due to its molecular structure). You will also see that some of of these trends are a bit contradictory (e.g. And, Im sorry to inform you that your contractor is wrong. We stopped installing it years ago. I personally see satin finishes requested more increasingly around the Wisconsin area. You can use blonde in just about any room of a home since it goes well with so many styles. Your email address will not be published. Check out my article on 12 Fabulous farmhouse style hardwood floors. This Painting and Flooring Planner will organize your paint shades, finishes and flooring choices by room. People love natural variation in their wood, but not to an extreme. We are open to testing different alternatives, stains etc before deciding on one. Bona Naturale or Loba 2K Supra). Thank you. The trend from gloss to more matte finish continues throughout the country. Remember I mentioned in 2020 that oiled wood floors do not need to be refinished. How to get rid of the cherry tones in Brazilian Cherry hardwood. Also, many more customers are becoming aware of pitfalls and misleading marketing on bamboo flooring. Nowadays, most manufacturers have discontinued them, and they are sometimes challenging to replace. This is often because most people dont keep up with the maintenance, and these areas wear down faster. This is driven by combo of factors including authenticity, a preference for reducing our carbon foot print, growth toward cool, dark and light colors (which can be achieved more easily with oaks rather than more exotic redder and yellower woods. We are also also seeing a lot of variations where grays are subtly integrated with dark browns and even blacks/ebonies. Farmhouse style and rustic looks have been on the rise, in part accelerated by Joanna Gaines and her Fixer Upper TV show. Never have I seen a wood (and remember its not a wood; its a grass) have so many customer and installer complaints. Its stylish and helps mask everyday wear and tear (and dirt). And, while many love the smoother graining of exotic woods, they more challenging to maintain as they show scratches more. Hardwood Floor Refinishing in Green Bay, WI You typically would find wire brushed hardwood in a pre-finished form as the wire brushing is very labor intensive (it has to be done by hand) and very few installers know how to do this technique. Of course these woods tend to be less expensive too because they are locally grown. Given the preference, most people are selecting solid hardwood over cheaper and shorter term alternatives such as engineered wood or bamboo. And, rifted hardwood expands and contracts less, you have a tighter fit/less gapping between the planks (and it works over radiant heat). The picture above is True Black. But, true black floors do show every bit of dust, so be aware of this. Shinier floors are more challenging to maintain as they show dirt, dents and scratches more (due to higher light reflection). Hardwood flooring for kitchens has been rapidly rising for the last 10 years. Stevens Point, WI 54481 With these stains, you will want to use Bona Traffic HD water-borne poly to maintain the gray color and avoid the yellowing that you would see with an oil based poly.