A reader recently wrote to ask, “What color stain would be most appropriate or authentic for a mid-century oak floor?” Drats, I cannot find the email. And, I am not academically sure what the correct answer is. I would guess… a “natural” stain.
Natural meaning – virtually no color. Matte or gloss finish. Gloss, though, would show more scratches. When we refinished the oak parquet floor in our dining room, above, the floor guy said, “All the old floors were done with a natural finish.” We chose matte finish and have been very happy with it. Our oak is getting a nice golden hue as time goes on. Under all the carpets, it’s a lighter color — the sunlight is affecting the color.
I think I may consult with some mid-century historic homes to discern the proper academic answer. But meanwhile: Readers — what do you think? What are you finding in your homes, with original wood floors, including what may have been hidden underneath carpet that’s been there for ages? What is the “authentic” color for mid-century oak flooring?
gavin hastings says
I really think you can go anywhere on this one…
Homes are built to the liking of the builder OR the desires of the customer. Natural matte wood floors in a room of Cushman Colonial furniture would seem be out of place…yet with a set of Dunbar or Eames furniture would be perfect. If the doors are unpainted, I would try to harmonize.
I once had maple floors and did them Minwax Special Walnut with a gloss varnish…gorgeous, but it was a very formal room. I now have oak with Early American- not a big fan, but they were in good condition. They are honey colored, I prefer dark floors.
Remember that for years most floors were covered with orange shellac.
One more thing…do not let someone dump a can of stain in the center of the floor and mop it around. The original dumping site will absorb of the stain and create a “Map of South America” in your living room. I have found that by starting in one area-brushing on and wiping the excess off-you have more control of the color…AND you can shade and blend previous damaged areas. Good Luck!
nina462 says
Thanks Madsarah—I looked down at my floors and the must be ‘shorts’ too. I never really gave it a thought. My floors (living room/dining room, hallway & 3 bedrooms) all need to be redone also. They are fine for me, but could use some TLC (maybe next years project). I think my floors are a golden honey color (possible maple). Mmmm maple, yummy!
MrsErinD says
Our 2 story colonial built in 1950 has all hardwood floors and a natural finish, I’d say matte, they have always been covered by rugs, even now, so they are in perfect condition. The only room that has them exposed right now is the second bedroom, we pulled the old carpet up when we moved in 7 yrs ago.
I vaguely remember my childhood home built in the 60s a split entry having natural hardwood too and my Grandparents house which is now my Mom’s built in 1957 has natural hardwood as well.
J.D. says
Great question, but there are a lot of variables.
If you are doing a new floor, you will have to use at least a light stain. Wood today-being harvested from newer growth sources and tree farms, kiln dried and quickly processed- is a few shades lighter in color than that used 50 years ago. Don’t forget too that the varnish used back then continues to darken over the years.
So if you are doing a new floor, you have two options…
1st, the “new in ’54 look”- use a light stain like “golden oak” and a good quality modern clear finish.
2nd, for a “vintage” look, mix equal parts of “golden oak” and “pecan” stains to get the warm “orange” glow of older wood, and finish again with a good poly-clear coat.
(In either case you can use real varnish instead, but it is tough to work with and you and the dog are both gonna get stoned!)
Same basic rules will apply when refinishing an original vintage floor. Depending on the sins committed against it in the last 50 years, you will still need at least a light colored stain to even-out the overall color. Remember that “natural” does not mean the wood has not been stained or at least treated to accomplish this goal, it simply implies the stain or treatment is not drastic. Tung oil treated wood for example is called “natural”, but the application drastically deepens (not changes) the color of the wood.
natalie says
Aww, thanks Pam! =) We are just now getting into blogging. Graham writes and posts more than I do, because I feel like I am not as witty as him. Haha.
And the wood in our room with the big window is more damaged than the parquet. =( I hope our future floor guys can fix it for us.
Oh and get this (this made me so happy), I found some of the original light fixtures from our house in the garage the other day. Looks like our pack rat previous owner kept them and left them! It made me so happy! Nothing spectacular, but I can use some of them in the hall and kitchen.
And yes please post some videos or pictures of your house! I love seeing other people’s houses, especially retro ones! 😉
natalie says
Ours is what I would call a “honey” color. It’s a rich light brown. I have attached some pictures. We will be refinishing it in the future because the previous owners did not take care of it – lots of water stains, scratches, and discolorations. We’ll hopefully be staining it a color very similar to what it is now, but that depends on the cost of replace the stained boards.
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_zdhV7–jKk4/Sd6ekBzwfcI/AAAAAAAAAFw/uCBIJKiohKE/s1600-h/DSC02723.jpg
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_zdhV7–jKk4/Sd6ekFaSAhI/AAAAAAAAAFo/PS8-C6XdKmw/s1600-h/DSC02722.jpg
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_zdhV7–jKk4/Sd6ejplqs0I/AAAAAAAAAFQ/zca6lCehP1k/s1600-h/DSC02719.jpg
And Pam – I was wondering, do you have more pictures of your house online? Before and afters? I’ve seen and been amazed at your kitchen and I’d love to see everything else.
pam kueber says
ah, natalie, so you noticed that i haven’t posted many pictures of my house :). don’t tell anyone, there might be a video soon….stay tuned.
oh and more importantly: the floors in your first two photos – EXACTLY like my dining room! These are not “thin parquet” pieces – they are full-sized pieces of tongue in groove oak, cut into 9″ pieces and then parqueted together. more expensive, higher end, i was told!
finally, you and graham are too cute, i will put you onto the blogroll and look more at your blog when i come back from yoga. ttfn
Kristin says
Our stain ended up not being as dark as the English Chestnut images I Googled, but more of a light red brown than the yellowed blonde that was likely original plus the age (per the poster above’s info!). The variation in each plank is great and I never get tired of looking at the varied grain patterns enhanced by going a bit darker. As we only have one true blonde piece of furniture (Danish Mod dresser) due to the refinish job on the Herman Miller dinette going more red so the stains would diminish, it really looks much better all & all.
The door issues kill me as ALL were painted over before we moved in with a thick high gloss white! We will eventually replace the door with a Crestview, but one of these days we’ll be in misery taking off all the pocket doors to get the paint off! I’m not even sure it’ll be worth it!
Hillary says
Our 1948 wood floors are red oak with a natural/clear matte finish. It’s very warm and there’s a lot of variation in color in the grain, from espresso to reddish to pale blond.
scathingjane says
Walnut stained oak floors were under the carpet in two bedrooms. Like Kristin, we have found that the darker stains help hide water & pet issues.
Retro Junkie says
My 1963 ranch has fir floors that we just refinished with “Early American” minwax stain and they look beautiful. They have just enough color to bring out the grain of the wood. We used a satin or semi-gloss poly. I know that hardwoods used to be treated with high gloss, but shows too many imperfections. I like a little bit of the age to show but I don’t want them to look beat up.