You’ve decided to stain your hardwood floor. That’s great! A stained and beautifully colored hardwood floor isn’t just something beautiful to accent your room with, it’s also a great boost on your investment in the value of your home. But it’s not as simple as deciding to open a can of stain and get started. You need to consider quite a few things about your hardwood floor before you get to staining it.

Staining hardwood is a specialty and professional trade and there’s good reason for that.

The thing to remember is that hardwood is not like other flooring, it’s unique and has a lot of details about it that matter a great deal towards its longevity. While there are things like décor and color schemes of rooms to consider, you also need to consider what kind of wood you’re working with, what stains work best with your floor, and other detailed and unique questions.

Below are important things to explore before you commit to any single type of hardwood floor stain.

Tree Species

Your hardwood floor was once a tree. And tree species are as unique as any other various species of animal in the world. Different species of wood are easier to stain than others, require different pigments, or have different components. Some wood is more porous than others, making it difficult to stain while some are simple and take to virtually any stain pigment with ease. It all depends on the type of wood your floor is made out of.

Color and Décor

Assuming you have a fair amount of freedom when it comes to your stain color options, next you’ll want to make sure you’re matching the color scheme and décor of your room. You can match it to the colors or accent. You can darken a room or brighten it. You can modernize a room or give it a more rustic feel. A lot can be accomplished based on stain color alone.

Room Lighting

It’s important to see the stain color as it will appear in the home. Light will have an effect on the way the stain shows up based on the lighting. You may find it has a completely different effect than what you anticipated due to the way light works in a room, so make sure to do your research.

Related Questions

What species of wood is best for staining?

Oak is one of the easiest woods to stain and is quite popular both stained or not stained. Some woods are stained before their finished, like beech, birch, ash, and gum, because of the difficult in staining after.

What will be a better investment?

If you’re looking to increase the value of your home, oak is always a popular hardwood floor choice because of its variety and versatility, both stained and not stained.

Talk to a hardwood flooring professional to find out about your staining options and the best things you can do to ensure the value of your home.

If you need help picking the perfect hardwood flooring or stain for your home or business, Cameron the Sandman is the perfect place to start. As experts in the flooring industry, we have been providing hardwood flooring services to Michigan residents for over 80 years! Our services include sales and installation, refinishing hardwood, restoring wood floors and more! We manage each project from start to finish. If you are ready to fulfill your dreams of installing wood flooring or refinishing the wood floors you already have, call us for a consultation!