What Are the Best Hardwood Stain Colors?
Oct 29, 2018
Whether you’re looking to sell your home or are simply giving your home a facelift, refinishing hardwood floors is a big undertaking. Choosing the correct stain color to suit your needs is important, so follow along for our best advice on choosing the best stain for hardwood floors.
What are the Best Hardwood Stain Colors for Selling a House?
If you’re staining your floors to better sell your home, we recommend choosing more classic tones like brown or a light neutral, as these are flexible to fit with various tastes and décor styles. Everyone has different tastes so it’s best to avoid trending colors when your ultimate goal is to sell.
Browns are a classic color stain that can work with various design styles and décor, while also making your home look elegant and classy. Having light hardwood floors is another top contender for increasing your selling odds. And the stain colors to avoid?; red and yellow.
How to Choose a Stain Color
When it comes time to choose a stain color, it will be important to consider factors such as the style of the home, or if you have a specific species of wood, as some woods stain differently than others.
If you are choosing to refinish your home for a facelift, the décor and style of your home will affect what stain color will look best. A mid-century modern home will most likely use different stain colors than what you’d find in a beach home.
Popular Hardwood Stain Colors
While we recommend that you stick to classic stain colors if you plan on selling your home, feel free to choose a trending hardwood stain color if you’ll be the one enjoying the floors. Dark, cool tones are still at the top of the list, but there’s an uptick in brighter stains, such as grey and white-washed that are trending. If you do want a lighter stain, we recommend blonde, as this color has the potential to stick around and turn into a classic floor color.
Looking for more flooring ideas and trends? To get inspiration on the perfect floor for you, visit our room design tool, My Design Finder today!

Visualize Your Flooring Dreams
Want a preview of how new floors will look in your home? Try our room visualizer, My Floor Style. Upload a photo of your room, select your style preferences, and get a virtual look at each different flooring style. With My Floor Style, there are no surprises. Only beautiful new floors.