Choosing a floor color you will still like in five years

Retail lighting is bright, cool, and overhead. Your living room is a north window in February and two lamps at night. The same plank can read gray in one and brown in the other.

This is the whole reason we bring boards to your house. Set the sample down, look at it in daylight, then look again after dark with your own bulbs on.

Dark floors show dust, lint, and pet hair. Very light floors show dirt and scuffs. Mid-tones with visible grain variation hide daily life better than either extreme, which is why they dominate the lineup.

Floor color has to live with white trim, stained trim, cabinets, and stair rails you are not replacing. Bring the sample up against each one before you decide, especially where wood tones meet.

Wide planks make a small room read larger and calmer. A pattern with few repeats can look artificial across a big open floor, so on large jobs we look at how many unique boards a line actually has.

Leave the two finalists on the floor overnight and walk past them in the morning. The one you stop noticing is usually the right one.