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Hardwood Flooring

How to Match Colors in Two Areas

This week’s question comes to us fro Gail in Helena, Montana: “We are thinking about replacing our living room carpet with hard wood floors. We currently have oak in the kitchen which abuts to the living room carpet. We’re not sure how to make the transition or if it would be best to replace the oak in the kitchen. We have a log home and we are not sure if that would be too much wood. We do like the looks of plank flooring and can get it locally from a lumber mill near here.

Thanks for your question, Gail. Your log home sounds lovely and to us the carpet sounds out of place. We bet all of that wood really completes a very specific look. Can you not get oak planks for the living room? You should not feel concerned about the raw wood matching the kitchen because if you go with raw lumber for the living room you can stain the new flooring to match what is in the kitchen. Also if you really want to get a fresh new look you can refinish the floor in the kitchen and then stain both rooms the same color. To get to a fresh surface in the kitchen you should head to your local home center at rent a U-Sander to help get a smooth and even surface. Then be sure to remove all dust from the floor. Apply your stain and allow to dry very thoroughly between coats until desired color is achieved. If you don't allow each coat to dry it will become very thick like paint and then never dry. Than apply a urethane top coat with a lams wool type mop. Give the floor a light sanding between coats of urethane for a smooth and durable finish. Make sure you really let everything cure before you go and move furniture back into those rooms. If you really enjoy the look of carpeting remember a rich and beautiful area rug can truly help complete the look of the room.

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