Light Hardwood VS Dark Hardwood

With so many different shades of hardwood and wood visual flooring it can be hard to pick what color would be perfect for your home. It all comes down to light floors or dark floors. Let’s talk about the pros and cons of both to help with your decision.

Light Floor Pros

1. When used in smaller spaces it will make the room appear bigger than it is.
2. Having light wood floors can give the look of a newer home as lighter floors have been the trend for new homes for the last few years.
3. More flexible style options with lighter floors such as modern, farmhouse, or rustic aesthetic.
4. Creates a more natural and lightweight feel to your space.

Dark Floor Pros

1. Can give your home a more luxurious and sophisticated look. Perfect if looking for a more vintage aged aesthetic.
2. Fading is less likely to happen unlike lighter floors as well as stains are not as noticeable with darker floors.
3. Darker floors have a better resale value!
4. If you have lighter interior/décor a dark floor will give a more contrast look.

Light Floor Cons

1. Fades faster than dark floors as dark floors do not absorb ultraviolet light.
2. Not recommended for kitchens and bathrooms with light wood cabinets unless the monochromatic look is what you are trying to achieve.
3. Reflects light making rooms appear brighter, with a well light room and light flooring it may create too much brightness and drown out your home.

Dark Floor Cons

1. Dust, footprints, and lighter debris will be more noticeable.
2. Not recommended for smaller spaces as the dark color can make the room look even smaller and seem more cramped.
3. If you have or want dark colored cabinets or dark color furniture, then dark floor may not be the best choice as it will not create a nice contrast and look a bit flat.

Learn More About Our Newest Brand

Karndean was created by a former flooring installer back in 1973 with the idea to make beautiful vinyl flooring that was practical. From working out of the house with the motivation to create the most realistic vinyl flooring to now providing flooring across America.

Karndean's flooring is created with the upmost detail from the intricate grain details of each board creating a seamless wood visual vinyl as well as using the same level of detail to their stone visual vinyl.  With over 100 + styles and colors to choose from Karndean will have a flooring for whatever you have in mind for your home or commercial venue.

The differences between Hardwood, Vinyl, and Laminate.

When shopping for new flooring you will find roughly three different types of flooring to choose from: Hardwood, Vinyl, and Laminate. Let’s talk about what the differences are between the three, so you have a better understanding of what you need in your home.

Hardwood- Since real wood is being used the lifespan of hardwood flooring is longer than most vinyl and laminate but in order keep this long lifespan a lot of maintenance is needed. It does have a higher price per sqft then it is for any other type but it can an invest as it has a higher resell value. And of course no other type of floor can beat the beauty of real hardwood.

Vinyl- So many kinds of vinyl you can get such as wood visuals, tile visuals, and marble visuals. For a cheaper price and easier to install you can get wood looking floors without the high maintenance. But unlike hardwood you cannot repair a broken vinyl it must be replaced and if not taken care of it could have a shorter lifespan. Regarding maintenance it is still lower than hardwood as this flooring is mostly sold as waterproof there for you don’t have to worry about water stain. 

Laminate- If looking for a cheaper option but still want to keep the beauty of wood visuals then laminate could be a good choice. With laminate being more resistance to scratches and stains its not as waterproof as vinyl flooring. If you are looking at laminate in your kitchen you will need to keep spills to a min as standing water or strong humidity but cause damage. Just like vinyl you can only replace damaged or broken flooring unlike hardwood that can be refinished or repaired.