Hardwood recommendations

10 years ago

We've decided to tear out wall to wall white gloss tile and go with hardwood in most places. Being in a humid place (FL) they say strand bamboo is best with moisture, followed by engineered. Though we do not leave doors open - A/C stays on.

We also have a golden retriever, so we accept it will get scratched up....but they also say strand bamboo is hardest, followed by exotic hardwoods - so lean that direction, OR - go with a distressed handscraped floor - the only concern there is it might become very dated looking quickly - and hard for someone to ever refinish.

Lastly, we were thinking of going a dark color, but I've recently been reading it shows everything. True? Even distressed/handscraped ones?

Our kitchen is all white cabinets. The decor we are gravitating towards would be British/Tropical Colonial...bringing some environmental accent colors in from the outside - so I'm not seeing the "reds" color group fitting in there which lands us with either dark - or light. (The baby poo orange color and round island soffit are going away - this is the former owners decor as well)

Soooo - looking for input - dark, handscraped or no? Dark engineered?
Use bamboo - or stay away?
Go dark - or no? We'll be offsetting it with light tan sisal/jute/berber type of carpet in the family room and dining room and rugs/runners elsewhere.

This post was edited by karyn on Tue, Jul 16, 13 at 20:48

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Comments (4)

goodbyekitty
10 years ago
I feel your pain. For the past 3 years we've gravitated towards Brazilian hardwoods, bamboo, to character oak, back to Brazilian, back to oak. The only thing that stopped us from hitting the button was a knee replacement my husband went through but now we are ready again. Except now, we can't make up my mind =D

We are looking at bamboo too. We've learned there is bad bamboo and good, but I can't seem to find the color I want. I want a medium to medium dark brown color that won't show the dust as much as a deep color would, but I also want it to have a lot of character like oak. Also, since we have 2 dogs (35 lbs and 15), that love to tear around the house the finish needs to be hard and able to mask the scratches these 2 will make.

For contrast, I think your place would do great with medium dark to dark distressed hardwood or bamboo. I would say engineered hardwood for it's stability but I don't know what they put down in Florida. Or tile that looks like wood but since from your pictures you seem to have an expansive layout, the tiles may end up looking like "H" patterns. That's just me though, maybe it wouldn't matter. There is some pretty gorgeous looking tiles out there that look like wood.

Be sure to show us some after pics too!
bosdiyer
10 years ago
Hi karyn.

Take a look at the photos I posted on http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/flooring/msg0220351823669.html?30 this week. (scroll down to the end). The variegated color palette and intricate grain patterns make it really hard to notice any minor surface imperfections like scratches. Not as hard as bamboo but janka 1960 isn't too shabby.
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karyn
Original Author
10 years ago
Thanks goodbyekitty -

Bosdiyer - "Take a look at the photos I posted on http://ths.gardenweb....";

You might have had a great experience, and it looks good - but - I went further and looked at the website of the supplier and sorry I have to agree with the thread.

They can't even make their own seams fit for photos on that suppliers website. In particular Brazilian Walnut 9/16" Distressed Engineered - their own pics scream KEEP AWAY! :-/ And any place that won't publish prices seems shady to me as well.

Plus, for me, I really want to see a product in person before I spend $10,000. Online just seems too risky unless you're able to see the exact thing you are buying locally, then get it for less online without tax.
bosdiyer
10 years ago
Hi karyn.
We're all entitled to our opinions, and I certainly respect yours - but just a couple of points.
There's only person with a major gripe in that thread. There are some local retailers suggesting that online shoppers are all doomed, but no other diatribes. And that was a complaint from 2010. Given that we're halfway through 2013, if BD was the evil empire, wouldn't a few more folks have joined sam?
Not listing prices shouldn't be an automatic red flag - particularly on items that will run several thousand $$$. Plus, as I understand it, they are more like brokers - they aren't producing this stuff - so pricing may be a bit fluid.
My flooring is 3/4" solid not engineered, so I can't speak to the characteristics of the engineered product. However, the flooring is DISTRESSED, and although I'm no expert, the irregularities you are seeing appear to be the way the light is hitting the imperfections by design. Look at the engineered brazilian cherry - looks perfect to me. (And they're customer pictures that were sent in, not promos done by them. Mine will be up there in a month or two) And while that particular wood isn't my cup of tea, the non distressed products look fine to me.
Lastly, when in doubt, do what I did - order a sample box and look at 20 square feet in your own home. I'm not big on taking things on faith either :) And at $5.40 a foot I was inclined to be skeptical.