Color

Many experienced designers believe that the most important single decision they will make when designing a space is the color of the wood floor. Along with the walls, the floor is one of the two largest visual elements in the space, but unlike the walls, the wood floor color is very difficult to change once the decision has been made. That’s why many designers choose the wood floor first, and then move on to selecting the rest of their color palette from there.

Color Variation

Because it is a natural material with plenty of natural variation, an installed wood floor can sometimes surprise people who made their selection based on a sample containing only a handful of short pieces. It’s important to go into this process knowing that the floor will have color variations and other natural characteristics that aren’t represented in the sample. Embracing that natural beauty is key. Otherwise, why use wood, right?

Different species have different levels of variation, but all have variation, and the variation in the finished floor is determined largely by the stains and coloring techniques that are used.  In general, dark stains tend to hide color variation much more than light stains, and clear finishes won’t hide it at all.  For example, Hickory is a wood with extreme natural color variation, but a dark-stained Hickory floor will be more uniform in color than a European Oak floor with a clear finish or a lightly applied white stain. 

Some of today’s more popular coloring techniques can actually accentuate the natural variation in the wood. Fuming and reactive stains rely on the tannin content in the wood to create color from within, rather than traditional stain pigments, which paint over the top.  Each board reacts differently to fuming and reactive stains depending on the concentrations of tannin in that board. Within a tree, boards cut from close to the ground or from the center of the tree will have higher tannin content than boards cut from higher up or closer to the bark, and trees that grow slower have higher tannin than those that grow more quickly. This variation is visible in the floor, which is one of the reasons these coloring techniques are so popular. The color looks natural and inherent to the wood, rather than the more painted look of a traditional stain. But if variation is not your thing, a traditional stain might be a better choice. Generally speaking, color variation in most wood floors tends to even out as the floor ages. See below under COLOR CHANGE OVER TIME to learn more.

Integral vs Topical Color

We refer to the natural color of the wood as ‘integral’ color, in that the color permeates through the entire thickness of the wear layer or solid floor. Integral color can also be created by deep fuming or carbonization, which involve heating the wood to caramelize its sugars or treating it with ammonia gas. The advantage of integral color is that if the floor gets a deep scratch, the wood that is revealed underneath will be similar to the finished surface and easier to touch up.

‘Topical’ color, on the other hand, exists only at the surface.  Traditional pigment stains and reactive stains are both examples of topical color. The advantage of topical color is that it can be changed some day by refinishing the floor, whereas integral color cannot. 

Color change over time

Light vs dark floors

Specialty Stains

The dramatic advancement in coloring techniques have expanded the colors and hues that can be achieved in prefinished floors.  These techniques have also allowed manufacturers to achieve the colors sought after by customers in natural-looking finishes, avoiding the traditional high-build, high-gloss floor finishes that once dominated the market.  The final color of a floor is less a single step then a cumulation that blends the color and organic makeup of the species, the texture and the coloring technique applied.

• Fuming (aka Smoking): Achieves a darker finish. Popular with Oak, (contains lots of tannin in wood) creating a uniquely natural variation due to the inherently varying tannin content in the wood.

• Carbonization: A warm, rich caramel brown color is achieved through a heating technique that caramelizes the natural sugar content in wood.

• Reactive Stains: Natural salt, acid and mineral compounds that react with the natural tannins and extractives in the wood to create incredible depth of color, natural variation and ‘positive grain’ effects that are impossible to achieve with traditional staining methods. The color is integral to the wood itself, as opposed to traditional wood stains that simply paint over the beauty that nature created. (learn more)