Mixing hardwoods and white oak inspiration ~ House-Pretty

Mixing hardwoods and white oak inspiration

I spent my weekend polying the lower cabinets in our kitchen and we're no further along on the stair remodel. Drywall finishing is happening next week though, so I guess I should start mentally preparing for more dust. Lots of it. We've also invested in some important, but decidedly unglamourous, improvements lately - like new gutters and a new oil tank. Hardly what I want to be spending my money on, but the gutter guy was able to take the old ones off with one gentle tug, so it was time. As for the oil tank, when you need a new one, you need a new one.

The good news is that I have an active imagination, so there's been lots of daydreaming about eventually spending money on pretty things again. Like new floors on the main...floor. To jog your memory, these are the floors we installed in all three bedrooms upstairs (as seen in our guest room):

They were pretty dirty from the baseboard installation here, but you get the idea. The plan is to lay the same floors in the upstairs hallway (after the drywall guy does his thing, of course). We already own the flooring, it's just a matter of setting aside some time to install it.

And while I still love the hardwood upstairs, I definitely want to do something different downstairs. I know people are of different minds when it comes to mixing hardwood, but it seems like the general advice I've read is to choose your transition wisely and make sure you go different enough - if the flooring is too close in colour, it'll just look like you goofed. I'm 85 percent sure that I want to paint the stairs white (treads and risers) and add a runner. I think it'll make for a smooth transition between the medium-toned hardwood upstairs and the lighter-toned hardwood downstairs.

I have my heart set on a wide plank white oak for the main floor, but we still have to figure out what makes sense cost-wise, since we'll likely outgrow this house in a couple of years.