Different Hardwood Floors in Connecting Rooms?

by E.B.
(Schenectady, NY)

Our family room has oak hardwood floors with a light reddish tint to them (about 5 years). This room connects to the living room with a 6 foot opening. We want to lay hardwood in the living room, which is carpeted. Instead of matching the woods, which is difficult, we decided to contrast them and may purchase a Brazilian Walnut a darker wood. Our furniture has darker wood on some of the pieces. We are concerned about the woods clashing. We will put an area rug down. Also, what should we do about the part of the floor that will separate the family room and living room? Should we lay something that matches the walnut or something different? Any suggestions are welcome. People have told us that it will look fine and others feel it may look to patchy or piecemeal.

Giorgina's Answer: My suggestion is to keep the color uniform throughout. This will give the impression that the space is larger and you will have that consistency in color with both spaces. If your goal is to keep the color the same, you may wish to consider staining the hardwood in the family room to the color you would like in the living room.

Generally, a transition piece is placed between two areas that have different flooring. However, this may look odd since it is hardwood next to hardwood and the areas are joined. Since the family room and living room areas are connected, I would advise against different flooring colors.