My Refinished Hardwood Floors (Dark Walnut Stain)
This Post May Contain Affiliate Links. Please Read Our Disclosure PolicyWell, friends, I’m back with the dramatic conclusion of my adventures in refinishing my hardwood floors with dark walnut stain.
In case you’re new to this saga, here’s a quick recap: I bought a house. The second floor had carpet which was ripped out before the house was listed for sale. The floors were in bad shape and needed to be refinished before I moved anything upstairs. I hired someone to refinish them. Now they are complete and beautiful!
All caught up? Great!
Here are the floors in all their glory:
You’ll probably notice that the floor color can look slightly different from one picture to the next. That’s because the light is different in each room and cameras have a way of distorting things. The lesson from this: If you’re staining floors (or painting walls), it’s always a good idea to test color options in your own space. You may love a color in someone else’s home or room or in a photo you found on Pinterest, but that hue may look totally different in your home. It’s smart to take the time to sample.
With that out of the way, let’s have a look around.
Hardwood Floors: Dark Walnut Stain
As I mentioned previously, I selected Dark Walnut for the stain color. The poly finish is satin. The wood on my floors is Red Oak.
I shared this with you in my previous post, but here is the color of the floors in the downstairs (left) compared with the upstairs (right). I wanted to avoid orange undertones, and this dark walnut stain was perfect.
I also like how the stain brings out the grain in the wood. This adds texture and movement, which I think will help to disguise dust and dirt between cleanings.
I’m not sure if you can see it in any of the photos, but I will need to repaint all of the base moldings because stain got on them. It’s not a big deal since all of the rooms will eventually get repainted. I’m saving that project for the winter months.
I am thrilled with the refinished floors and the dark walnut stain. and I was excited to finally be able to move into the second floor of my home. While I was told I could start moving furniture onto the floors after 72 hours. I decided to wait for about 10 days. It might have been a bit excessive, but I wasn’t in a huge rush and didn’t want to risk the possibility of damaging the new finish.
Since then, I’ve been using what I have to start getting the upstairs furnished and functional. A week ago my mom visited for the weekend. (She was my first guest.) So I purchased a queen mattress for one room and two twins for another. I still have a long way to go, but it’s feeling more like home.
If I can get my ducks in a row, I’ll share a short updated video tour of my home with you early next week. Stay tuned for that!
I hope you enjoyed this first look at my refinished hardwood floors.
Hello. I absolutely love your floors. Like you, I am trying to avoid orange undertones. The dark walnut has a cooler undertone. I need to make my decision tonight on stain color. UGHHHH such a hard decision. My husband likes provincial but I love the dark walnut. My question is, did you do straight up dark walnut or did you do a 50/50 mix?
Thank you so much! I did straight dark walnut. I suggest trying some samples on your floors if possible. Stains can look different depending on the wood, lighting, etc.
Good luck. I feel for you! It’s not an easy decision.
xo Michael
Do you know if they “water popped” the wood before they applied the stain?
No. They did not.
xo Michael
They looks gorgeous! I have a couple of questions. Is it dark walnut stain on white oak? If so, does it show the dirt easily?
We just finished all of the floors in our house (main part last summer and bedrooms this summer), and I opted for the dark walnut on red oak floors with satin finish too. I absolutely love them. Our house is 60 years old and the floors had never been refinished, just carpeted over when they got nasty. I still cannot believe they are my beautiful floors when I come home every day. Great job and great choice.
Help please! What vacuum do you recommend for the hardwood floors? We pulled up the carpet in our 30’s house and had the pine and oak floors refinished. The floor guy recommended Bona for cleaning and a vacuum with a horsehair bristle attachment. Yeh, right, good luck with that! So what do you use? Many thanks!
Ahhh….sigh….perfection! Absolutely beautiful and yes, no orange! I have orange undertones in my 1950 ranch and plan to refinish in the future. Possibly having no stain at all, just natural wood color since my home is so very small. Anyway, love what you are doing so far and the plans look just great! Thank you for sharing, Michael! Your mom is indeed a blessed woman! 🙂
Absolutely gorgeous and just what I’ve been looking for!
Beautiful floors! Your guest rooms look very inviting.
I love that the stain is sheer enough to really allow the grain to shine through. Gorgeous!!!
Your floors are beautiful and will be beautiful for a very long time. I also have red oak floors, and the stain must be similar to yours. I agree that the stain adds texture and movement due to the grain. That is what I especially like about my floors, but I didn’t know how to describe it – thanks!
I’m enjoying this journey with you!
Kim
Absolutely gorgeous and just what I’ve been looking for!
Perfect, perfect, perfect!
Beautiful
Did you go woth an oil or water based finish? I am having trouble deciding. Love the stain you went with!
Thank you! It was water-based. 🙂
xo Michael
The floors are GORGEOUS! So happy for you. (And jealous.)
“New” floors, I can only imagine the glorious feeling! And, they are beautiful.
What is the bedding on the twin beds?
I’ll be sharing more soon. Just white coverlets from HomeGoods. 🙂
xo Michael
I am living through you! Everything is beautiful! Your outdoor views are amazing, the floor stain is perfect. Can you share the paint color in the living room/kitchen area?
The repainted the house before I moved in. I have all the paint cans, I just haven’t matching things up yet. I’ll be sure to share paint colors once I do. Thank you for your patience!
xo Michael
The refinished floors are gorgeous! I’m curious to know the width of the wood planks. They look wider than usual for hardwood.
A labor of love-but so very with it! Well done!
Gorgeous! That color was meant to be.