Hardwood floors are a timeless flooring selection that are meant to last for many years when installed. However, eventually, you may want to refresh the look for your floors and opt for a new color. While changing the entire flooring may be expensive, you can opt for changing the color of your hardwood floors instead.
Changing the colors of your hardwood floors
If you are looking for ways to alter the color of hardwood floors in your home, there are a number of possibilities which you can achieve. It does not really matter whether you wish to go from a darker color to a lighter color, or the other way around. Light hardwood floors, dark floors, red hues, greys, blacks and walnuts are all achievable as long as you use the proper methods to achieve the end results. The main method of updating the colors of hardwood floors is through sanding and refinishing / staining.
Sanding and Refinishing
The most common method of changing the color of hardwood floors is by sanding the floors and refinishing them. This allows flexibility in opting for colors as sanding makes even the darkest shades relatively light. When going from a dark color to a lighter shade, this is a trusted method. One downside is that it can take a lot of time, depending on the flooring area. This method works best for solid hardwood floors.
All you need to do is thoroughly sand the existing floor and use a staining color or paint stain of the color of your choice to finish the floors. It is essential to note that you might need to sand the solid hardwood 3 times to achieve a smooth finish. If the floor is not smooth after sanding, sand it some more, as otherwise, the finish of the paint or stain will be blotchy and uneven. Let it dry, put on another coat if needed, and you will have brand-new-looking flooring. It is essential to note that you would ordinarily require 2-3 coats of the stain, and each coat takes about 24 hours to dry completely. Finish the project with a top coat to seal everything in and give it a professional finish.
Sanding and refinishing generally won’t work with laminate floors and and engineered hardwood floors.
- Laminate flooring solutions: Unfortunately, laminate hardwood floors do not offer the flexibility to change the color of the flooring. Thus, if you have laminate hardwood floors, you have no other option instead of ripping them off and replacing them. In short, if you need to change the color of laminate hardwood flooring, you need to save up enough money to purchase a new flooring set entirely and replace the old one. This would also include replacement costs or labour costs (which vary depending upon various factors).
- Engineered Wood Hardwood Flooring: When dealing with engineered wood floors, it is possible to change their color. However, this is predicated on several circumstances, and the final result may or may not be as good as you imagine. For this type of wood, the primary factors affecting the possibility of changing the color are the thickness of the top layer of the wood and the manner in which it was installed.
How to choose the right color?
When choosing the color to change your hardwood flooring into, you must be very careful about the formulation. This is especially important when going from a dark to a light color. The end product needs to resemble raw solid hardwood. As such, using natural dyes may be a better idea. However, your quality or grade of hardwood will significantly determine the right kind of wood stain for your purpose. To identify this, you may want to employ the services of a professional. Your local flooring expert or every paint and hardware shop may be able to guide you with this.
You may also want to consider different colors. For instance, while it is possible to go from an ebony to a walnut shade, there may be better ideas in your particular case. If that is advised to you, you can also consider a color like Mocha. This will give your floors a fresh look while ensuring that the colors are close enough to look odd. If you are adamant about going for a super light color, you may need to bleach or whitewash your hardwood floors.
An excellent approach to redecorating your house is to refinish your hardwood flooring. You can combine it with a complementary area carpet to go with your new floors. If you are hoping to sell your house soon, this can also be a great way to drive up property value. It does not take a lot of investment and can significantly drive up prices, which is a significant plus. Recoloring your floor is a terrific method to revamp your house, whether you’re just painting it or giving it a brand-new finish.
