Dark Hardwood Floors - Brown, Black Stained & Natural

Black or darker colored stained hardwood floors have become increasingly popular Kahrs Black Hardwood Floor in recent years. Why, is not quite clear. Many prefinished manufacturers have made a sudden turn from more common natural and earth toned stained hardwoods to colors with names such as Espresso, Sable, Java, Merlot, Cappuccino, and others.

Prefinished Hardwoods

Several companies are filling the demand for black hardwood floors that include the floating floor industry leader Kahrs. Shown on the right is their Oak Coal which is one of a half dozen black or near black products the company offers. Other stain colors include slate, cocoa and lava. For solid choices a number of Canadian manufacturers compete against one another that include Lauzon, Mirage, and Muskoka. The latter presents a white oak solid plank named Night and an impressive hand scraped hardwood with the same name.

Wider Plank Floors

Other engineered manufacturers offering much darker stains include Mohawk's Brazilian Cherry Ebony or Dark Chestnut to name a few. Wide plank dark hardwoods that can be installed by the floating method show a number manufactured by The Garrison Collection. Taking a look at their seven inch wide French connection Oak Armagnac, Noir, and Toulouse fall into the darker stained category.

As of this update, few solid wide plank products are offered in some of the more well known brands except the BR111 Antiquity hand scraped line. All Antiquity products are exotic hardwoods with a few high gloss finishes. Searching for a natural black hardwood? Wenge is the only common natural black hardwood used for flooring but can be pricey. Expect to pay over $10.00 per square foot retail for a solid 3" wide unfinished plank. Wider material will be progressively more expensive and harder to obtain.

Custom Stained On Site

Can't find what you're looking for with black flooring? Options include having the hardwood installed on site, sanded, stained black, and finished. Over the years we've seen decorators take it to the extreme turning practically any species into what almost looks like a black paint job. I suppose everyone has their own particular taste but we find it hard to grasp why a beautiful natural grained hardwood is darkened to something that is barely noticeable.

Maintenance with darker hardwoods can be an upkeep problem.

Related Pages:

• Stained Hardwood Floors - What to expect, time involved.