I’m just going to jump in with the exciting news around here– we’re getting new flooring!
We’ve been wanting to update the laminate floors in our kitchen, pantry, and entryway for at least a year. And while we’re at it, we thought we’d extend the flooring into our great room. So I was really excited when BuildDirect wanted to partner with me on this project.
We considered 5 samples. (BuildDirect offers five free product samples shipped overnight with doorstep delivery.) I really wanted to stay with a lighter-colored flooring because our great room is big, but doesn’t get a ton of natural light. Putting in darker flooring would make it more cavernous, in my opinion. Plus, I feel like you can see everything on dark floors.
Here’s the 5 samples. I threw in a medium-dark sample just to make sure I didn’t want to go that dark.
1. Ancient Spice – Sea Salt
2. Country Oak
3. Klondike Oak
4. Westham Oak
5. Batavia Hickory
As you can see, #2 is almost identical to our pre-existing kitchen, pantry, and entryway oak laminate.
Here’s the fun part– tell me which one you like the best in the form below.
(Scroll to see all the options and then hit ‘submit’)
While we’re on the topic, BuildDirect is having a huge Cyber Monday sale until Friday, December 2nd.
There’s more than 25,000 home improvement products included in the sale from 17 outstanding categories– Wood Flooring, Home Décor, Lighting, Furniture, Patio & Outdoor Furniture, Outdoor, Vinyl Flooring, Tile Flooring, Doors, Moldings & Millwork, Kitchen & Bath, Carpet, Rubber Flooring, Decking, Garage Cabinets, Floor Heating and Building Materials. 
- Dining Chair: Fine Mod Imports WoodLeg dining Side Chair in Black (SKU 15043417)
- Zuo Modern Liberty City Console Table in Walnut & Black (SKU 15051535)
- Amanti Art Avery Tillmon ‘Eiffel Tower’ Framed Art Print (SKU 15053553)
- ANT Tile Triangle Porcelain Mosaic Tile in Triangular Matte Pure Black (SKU 15139471)
- Fine Mod Imports Wire Leaf Chair in Black (SKU 15043425)
- Zuo Modern Kong Ceiling Lamp in Distressed Black (SKU 15011482)
- Loloi Inc Promenade Area Rug in Ivory Black (SKU 15081205)
Amanda says
#2 looks so similar to what you already have — you could just add that to the other rooms and leave the existing floor to match!
I personally love the dark floors. Our house is mix-matched at the moment, but if I had my way I would go with #4 throughout. I think it’s more forgiving. We see all sorts of scratches and nail holes in our light floor.
LizM says
1,2,3 and 5 all kinda just look like laminate. If you are going to go through the expense of wood floors I would do something like 4! Dark floors won’t make your house feel darker. I had light floors in my old house (with no lighting) and it didn’t really help much. We stained them darker and painted lighter walls and that helped a lot! Plus some more lights 🙂
Danielle says
I personally love #4. We have light floors and like you, a dark haired dog. Every single strand of hair shows up. We plan to refinish them next year, definitely going darker.
Wendy says
I personally like the darker also. Not necessarily super dark, but definitely on the brown side. The lighter floors, like mentioned above, look like laminate to me. Are there other samples that are in the medium range?
Wendy says
P.S. I like the “hickory antique” or “Savannah cherry”
Lacy says
I’d definitely go with the dark. I think the light floors have a dated look. We have light laminate flooring in our home and I am dying to change it!
Sarah says
I have to say, I like the dark floors but I get what you’re saying about it feeling too canaverous. We installed wood grain tile in about that shade (#4) and I LOVE the way it looks but it does show all of our dog hair. So we bought a roomba! Best purchase ever.
MelanieL says
We just installed dark hardwood and we love it! Yes, you’ll see more dust and crumbs but if you dust mop every other day or so it’ll be fine! A dark floor will contrast really well with your white trim and cabinets too!! Do it!
Elizabeth says
We had dark floors in our old house and I swore I would NEVER have dark floors again. And when we moved to our new house…we put in dark floors. They’re just so pretty! But the absolute bane of my existence. We don’t even have kids, just two light haired cats, and I feel like I spend the majority of my time either cleaning the floors or thinking about how they need to be cleaned.
But they do look gorgeous in the ten minutes they stay clean!
Cheryl says
I don’t see anything wrong with your existing floors and would extend it into your other rooms. We have something like #2 throughout our house and we love it. It shows dirt like the dark floors but so much better than carpet and easier to clean. Good luck!!
Sarah @ Suddenly a Soccer Mom says
Apparently I’m an odd duck. I love #3!! I feel like it’s different from what you see in everyone’s house (I feel like you see dark floors EVERYWHERE) and the Klondike Oak almost has a gray-ish undertone that gives me all of the heart eyes. Grey is my favorite color though, so there is that. I’m hoping to redo the flooring in all 1300 sq. ft. of our house with 2017 tax returns, and I’ve been trying to decide if I should go with the dark everyone loves since we’re hoping to use this house as a rental once we get it all redone, or if I should stay true to me and go with something that’s super grey.
jfriend says
Do not go dark; you will see every dust bunny in the world. You would have to vacuum or sweep every other day and who wants do that? Too much work. I like the lighter colors and would also go with what you already have so your flooring seems continuous.
Lyn says
You sent me a sample I thought matched, but my son n his wife thought it was too dark, (similar to #2). Don’t want to make an expensive mistake on a house I’m selling anyway, so will keep looking or just recarpet before selling.
john says
We also have another interesting flooring system called Epoxy flooring andit comes in any colors of your choice is a heavy duty flooring that helps protect concrete and maintain attractive environment check it out in Wisbestfloor global Ltd
Southern Gal says
I’ve only had one house with hardwoods and they were dark. I would get a good floor cleaning system especially for the dust that accumulates on all the non traffic areas every.single.day if you go with dark. I voted for #1.