We Get This Question Everyday!
What are 2021 Hardwood Floor Stain and Color Trends
Overall, there is a shift towards darks and lights (yes, the two extremes), as well as cooler and browner tones. Redder and warmer tones are less popular and more polarizing.
Dark and cool toned hardwoods Yes, the trend towards darker colors keeps growing and growing. It has been on the rise for the last decade or so. We seem to find two types of customers:
1) Ones that prioritize style over maintenance and they tend to go darker and darker (these customers tend to be households without kids (either “pre-kids” or kids that have gone to college) or wealthier households that have extra help to keep the floors extra clean).
2) Those that absolutely love dark floors but want to go a bit lighter so that the floors are easier to maintain.
Either way, one thing is consistent: Cool tones are strongly preferred. There is a strong move away from warmer tones (e.g. reds, red/brown blends or yellow undertones) and a preference towards browns that are more pure and cooler (i.e no red undertones).
Cool tones are preferred both the walls (especially grays) and floors, and these work hand in hand together. I even see some customers blending in a touch of gray to the dark browns (both to lighten it a bit and to add coolness and depth to the color.
For those looking to go darker and darker, they are generally blending ebony/dark walnut (i.e. a 50/50 blend), ebony/jacobean or trying out the new true black. True Black is the newest stain from Duraseal, and as the name implies, it’s truly the blackest stain you can use – it’s more opaque for a darker look and more modern feel as it hides most of the graining you find in oak.
The picture above is True Black. It’s often a good solution if you find that you have a mixture of wood species in your home as it camouflages the differences more. But true black floors do show every bit of dust, so be aware of this.
Darker floors are a bit more challenging to clean and maintain. You may find this article I just wrote helpful: 10 tips to clean and maintain dark hardwood floors. For those looking to go dark, but a bit lighter (either due to preference or for easier maintenance), try dark walnut, antique brown, coffee brown or special walnut (or a blend of these).
