Currently I have a medium color hardwood (red oak or something like that) throughout the first floor which is the main living area. Upstairs where the bedrooms are we have a light colored carpet. The carpet starts on on the stairs. the carpet has taken a beating from pets scratching and is in need of replacement in some parts. I’d prefer not to stick down carpet and just have it get trashed again. I was thinking about replacing it with hardwoods for the stairs and hall, leaving the bedrooms carpeted.
I imagine it would be impossible to get a perfect match, so I’d probably need to get a different color, as something just off, would look a bit odd?
Perhaps I just need to bite the bullet and replace it all…
i’d say suck it up and carpet the stairs…then you can try matching if you want on the 2nd floor…but they won’t be close enough to try comparing. Or maybe go with a similar color by pulling a piece of the existing hardwood up, just getting a completely different plank size and wood grain. That way it won’t look like you tried matching exactly but can still have a color you like.
Just an FYI, we have rustic wide-plank pine in our downstairs (darker stain) that goes all the way up the stairs. We tore out all the carpeting upstairs and installed a different color hardwood (2" wide oak, dark stain) and it doesn’t look weird at all.
I know you might think it’s strange to have different colors, but I think as long as it’s a similar color it will look great.
Yea, that is the issue. I think it would work if the stairs were the same color as the floor downstairs, then when you got to the top, change the color… but it’d be a bit odd if the downstairs was one color, then the stairs and upstairs were different…
I think a lot depends on the space, but I would be REALLY surprised if you couldn’t find a reasonable match at the store. Dedicated flooring stores have A LOT of options and the workers should be fairly knowledgeable.
Also most flooring stores can give you samples to take home to compare. You should be able to get something close enough to match. I wouldn’t do hardwood stairs though, make a couple trips up and down and your feet will start to hurt. Not to mention the slip factor. I really like the carpeted center with hardwood sides.
My stairs are base, and my parents house (where I grew up) are bare. I only remember falling twice in the 25 years I lived there, and only once in my house. My dog however is not a fan of hardwood stairs as she took a trip down my parent’s stairs 3-4 times when she was young, and is just now getting to where she’ll do them again.
Don’t do the runner either. Especially not the one pictured.
