4.02.2014

Dark Wood Floors

This is currently the state of our living room. The ceilings, floors and walls have been ripped out. The burnt wood has been replaced and we are waiting on a final smoke treatment before we can start putting the pieces back together. I think that the smoke treatment smells worse than the smoke itself... think a cheap musky air freshener. Ick. 
We are currently looking at our flooring options and much to Brad's dismay, I think I may be second guessing my initial dark flooring selection. During the time we spent getting in to the house and actually living there, our dark floors were a total nightmare. I am not sure if it is because of the flooring color, the fact that they were not properly covered during construction and had a film of dust on them, or the giant German Shepherd that constantly brought in huge muddy footprints. Most likely, it was a combination of all three.


As you can see in the photo below, they were a magnet for dirt and footprints. Even being mopped twice a day, it never got any better. I loathe cleaning, so I imagine that mopping every day would get quite exhausting! The floors were very dark and had little differentiation in wood grain/ color. I think a little variation would help to disguise dirt better than a solid color. I also plan to go with a more distressed looking wood. As nice as shiny smooth floors are, that is just not realistic for our family. Y'all have seen my kids, they're little disasters! 
I am torn because I really do love the look of the dark wood. Has anyone had a great experience with dark wood floors or is this pretty typical? Should I give them another try? Any pointers would be greatly appreciated!



15 comments:

  1. I have dark wood floors (walnut) that have a little bit of a warmer tone to them. The warmer tone disguises the dirt and footprints.

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  2. Have you tried cleaning with Bona? We have darker floors and of course at certain times of the day you can see dust, but the Bona once a week or every two weeks is like a miracle!

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    1. I haven't tried bona but I will have to check it out!! Thanks!

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  3. Do a hand-scraped engineered. The scrapes are great for disguising any number of issues, including dirt, dust, scratches from furniture (or children)... We had them in the last house and will be doing them again in this one.

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    1. I am leaning towards a more distressed wood. I think it will help too.

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  4. I looove the look of dark wood floors, but with so many animals in our house, I worry about the same thing. Maybe a roomba or a scooba would help?

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    1. The roomba is a life saver with all of our dogs hair!

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  5. We are doing dark, rustic-looking laminate. We decided that real hardwood was not worth the effort/ upkeep with two wild boys and future pets inside.

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  6. We have dark wood and, while I LOVED them at first, I pretty much hate them now, lol. Dust and footprints are a regular occurrence and we're pretty good about taking shoes off at the door. I'll run over them with the Swiffer sweeper and, the next day, doesn't look like I did a thing. Every two weeks I steam clean. We've got 3 boys under 5 so between footprints just from bare feet, and all the knicks and dents from toys being thrown and dropped, I feel like I'm constantly cleaning them and using wood markers to hide damage. I miss our old oak wood floors because they hid everything!

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  7. we have dark wood floors and they are great…yes, they show dust and stains a little eaiser but a once a week vacum and cleaning is all you need (and sometimes we don't even do it that often).

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    1. Veronika your floors are beautiful! I always admire them!

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  8. I have been looking at the dark/ warmer wood with distressing. I'm hoping like you say the warmer hides the dirt and the distressing will hopefully hide scratches. Thanks!!

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  9. We are definitely going more distressed!!

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  10. Dark floors are gorgeous, but not a good option for a family of boys and dogs! I have to clean them DAILY!!!! I have 3 little boys and a dog, all who love dirt.

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