Finding the Right Wood Stain for Wood Floors

We found the perfect wood stain to match our wood floors! It's called Summer Oak by Rustoleum. We first tried Red Oak by Minwax and it was too red. Next was Golden Oak by Minwax and it was closer but still not the right stain color.  My husband and I went to many hardware stores looking for the right stain. When we came across Summer Oak Wood Stain by Rustoleum we knew it was the one. It’s the perfect match for our one hundred year old wood floors

Here are our test samples we used. Summer Oak is on the left, Golden Oak is in the middle and Red Oak is on the right. 
You can see the section that we fixed with the new wood oak boards. We were a little worried they would not match the antique wood floor boards with the new wood stain. 
The new oak boards took the stain a little lighter. But once another coat of stain was applied the new boards matched the one hundred year old oak wood boards flawlessly.
I use to wish my wood floors were darker in color. Now I'm seeing lighter floors coming back in style. Ya! I'm so proud to say my one hundred year old wood floors are in great condition. I have grown to love the small dings and scratches the floors have. The oak floors give my home wonderful character and charm. My entry is finally getting the much needed attention it deserves. It's so nice to be rid of the entry tile that was hiding all the beauty of the wood floor underneath. 
I owe it all to the fabulous Summer Oak by Rustoleum. You would think I'm doing an ad promo for them. I'm just so happy they are making a stain that was so popular one hundred years ago. 
Clearly you can see a match made in heaven! We could not be happier with the outcome. My husband put on the first coat of wood stain and I applied two more after that. I wish I could say this area is finally finished. With the frigid cold weather and mounds of snow we have been having it will have to wait to be finished. You see we put down a temporary threshold made out of pinewood. We have an oak one that needs to be cut down to size and stained but with the cold weather it will have to be done when it's warm. We can't have cold winter air and snow blowing under our front door. In the meantime I put a coat of Minwax Clear Satin Polyurethane on the newly stained wood floor. I can't wait till its warm enough to open the windows to do some touch ups.
I'm looking forward to spring as our autumn and winter have been bitter cold. So much for global warming! 
It hasn't been this cold in YEARS!!!
Thanks for stopping by!
XO,
Dee

22 comments:

1CardCreator said...

Dee, what a perfect match! It looks gorgeous, well worth all the work. We went with the lighter oak floors for our home too. Although the dark floors are very stylish and dramatic I think they will fall out of favor and then become dated. I have also heard from people who have them that they show every speck of dust, and who needs that, lol. ~Diane

Dawn said...

Great job matching the floors perfectly. Im not fond of my stain color but to late to change it now.

Gypsy Heart said...

Perfect match! I can imagine how happy you are...the space will be amazing when you can finish.

Where I am now has what they call hand scraped hardwood floors and they are very dark. Beautiful but awful to keep clean. Tile in the bath and carpet in the BR ~ so I stay pretty busy with these floors. :(

xo
Pat

Debbiedoos said...

Nice Dee..Oh Lord what a job! Back breaking for sure. Gorgeous floors though.

Mariette VandenMunckhof-Vedder said...

Dearest Dee,
What a great find this summer oak Rust-Oleum wood stain!
Oh, the weather is dictating our lives so strongly. We too had to put off the tile job because of the frost and the rain.
But it will eventually all be done; just being patient is hard at times.
Step by step we manage to create your own NEST! You are doing great and it is so rewarding.
Hugs,
Mariette

PS Nobody would nor could ever reimburse you for all that work... God forbid you ever have to sell your lovely home after so much back breaking work that went into it.

Lauren @ My Wonderfully Made said...

Wow - you always amaze me with the projects you tackle! The floors look gorgeous -- and you can really see the pay off for all of your searching and effort.

Donna Wilkes said...

Gosh what a change from the old tile floor. Good choice for the stain color. I used English chestnut for my red oak floor and love the darkness of it, but I like this light stain. Like you I left the dings and scratches to add to the floor's character. And we have a whole lot of character around here!

Shirlee said...

Wow, what a stroke of luck finding a stain to match your beautiful wood floors. You both did a fantastic job of replacing the old tile with the new oak.
We had dark floors in our last house which I liked at first, until every little bit of cat hair and dust showed. Now we have more of a honey or golden oak and I much prefer it, even with 65 years of wear and tear showing on them.

ℳartina @ Northern Nesting said...

What a perfect match Dee...they're going to look beautiful!

Becky said...

We went through this when searching for a stain for our wood trim to match our kitchen cabinets. You are very lucky to have found such a good match. I know how tickled you had to have been.

chateau chic said...

Your floor is looking so good! So glad you were able to match the old boards.
Mary Alice

Daniela @Frugal Aint Cheap said...

it's amazing how great it looks!

Danni@SiloHillFarm said...

Your floor is beautiful Dee! I think at this stage in the game, I think I'm glad not to be staining wood floors...but then I see yours and I'm so envious of all of that real wood beauty!

Poppy said...

Hi Dee,

What a rich, beautiful colour; they look lovely! Bet all that hard work is worth it! Enjoy!

Poppy

Cottage and Broome said...

I have a 100 year old cottage and my floors are about the same colors as yours. I love the color, I think really dark floors can make a place look smaller. So happy for you that the stain matched! Laura

Little Miss Maggie said...

I have never heard of this stain color before and I have used tons of Minwax stains. I wonder if it's more common back east where there are more older homes. None the less, it is the perfect stain for you and I'm so glad you were able to keep the integrity of your antique flooring. Wood floors are the best thing around. They add such warmth and character to any home.

The Polka Dot Closet said...

What a job, but in the end it turned out perfect! And bonus....Finding wood under tile! I am sending some Florida sunshine to your poor folks up north...what a year!

Carol

Rhissanna said...

Lovely seeing progress on your floor. This is a fabulous project; I love oak and oak flooring and it's so nice to see something restored and not ripped up. Wonderful! Thank you for popping over to my doll blog and being so sweet!

Anonymous said...

I'm so glad the lighter colors are coming back, what rich warm shade,
Its me, Laurie, from I love a cloudy day, in december my vision finally failed me, my blogging was finished, I gave up my blog, then magic happened, we found a computer program for visually impaired which has allowed me to start over, I'm so glad I found you!

Anonymous said...

Hi! The floor looks amazing - we too love the warm color like rich honey. Hope all is well!! All the best ~ Sharon and Denise

Pam said...

Wow...great job. It is looking really nice.

Anonymous said...

Dee, this is fabulous! I've been working on a project and this stain may be my answer! Thank you for sharing this! Your floors look fabulous! I didn't realize Rust-oleumn made stain!

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