There’s a reason why hardwood floors have been popular in homes for so many decades. They add character and style, and their versatility is timeless.

If you’re lucky enough to have beautiful hardwood floors in your home, refinishing or resurfacing is a must to keep them looking their best. Whether you’re simply restoring your hardwood floors or going for a more dramatic color change, choosing the right hardwood floor stain may seem like the hardest part.

Don’t worry—we’re here to help! Here are a few key questions to ask yourself in order to choose a stain color you’ll love for your hardwood floor restoration project.

Before You Begin—Should Your Floors Even Be Stained?

For some types of wood, it may be a good idea to ditch the stain and leave them natural instead. So how do you decide?

It’s key to determine what type of wood floors you have. A lot of stains are copycats for maple, mahogany, walnut, or cherry wood flooring. If you’re lucky enough to have this type of wood flooring, you may want to maintain their natural color instead and simply polish and renew them with hardwood refinishing or resurfacing.

Materials like red or white oak are more common and can become warmer in color over time with yellow or orange tones. If you don’t like these warmer tones or want a deeper color wood, staining could be a great option for you.

Another factor that may determine if you should stain your floors is if there’s damage present. If there are visible water or pet urine spots on your floors, they may need to be sanded down and stained to make the damage less noticeable.

How To Choose The Right Hardwood Floor Stain

Now it’s time to choose your hardwood floor stain! Start by determining your style and the look you’re going for. Do some searching on Pinterest or home interior blogs or magazines. Have some fun with it!

Is your style traditional or rustic? A medium brown tone or warmer shades may be what you’re drawn to. Do you like more contemporary or modern style? If so, you may love a cool, dark stain or a neutral grey wash that adds contrast with your flooring and other interiors. Traditional styles tend to have colors that blend more cohesively while modern styles still coordinate but with more contrast.

You’ll also want to consider the size of your room and the atmosphere you want to create. Do you want a light and airy vibe that makes smaller rooms feel bigger? Do you want a brighter, lighter floor that opens up your space and better hides pet hair, crumbs, and dust? Or would you prefer a deep, cool color that adds contrast against lighter walls and makes area rugs pop?

Once you’ve considered these factors and your style preferences with inspiration from magazines and blogs, decide if you want a dark stain or a light stain and cool tones or warm tones. For neutral, cool tones you’ll want to choose a weathered stain. For warmer color, you’ll want to choose a richer stain.

Talk to your local N-Hance hardwood floor refinishing team to determine which stain will give you the color you’re looking for when applied to your specific type of wood.

Test The Hardwood Floor Stain First

Once you’ve narrowed down your stain options to two or three of your favorites, test a sample area on your hardwood floor.

It’s best to test the stains directly on your bare floors. If this isn’t possible, purchase a board of your some flooring material and apply the stains. Make sure you can see what the stain looks like in different rooms and in various types of lighting.

Have The Hardwood Floors You’ve Always Wanted

Whatever your style and dream for your hardwood floors, N-Hance of Redding, Chico, & Sacramento can help make it a reality! Our hardwood floor refinishing and resurfacing team can talk you through the entire process, start to finish, and help you choose a stain you’ll love for years to come. Schedule a free in-home estimate for hardwood refinishing in the Redding, Chico, and Sacramento, California areas.