We have really liked samples of darker stained, hand-scraped hickory in a wide plank. We first saw a home with a hand scraped floor when we were house hunting a couple of years ago. The builder had used 5" handscraped pre-finished oaks floors. It was stunning, but I have been concerned about the long term beauty, since we don't know anyone who has had it in the house more than a couple of years. I asked what happens when the Aluminum Oxide finish is scratched or damaged, and nobody had a good answer.
Having been recently introduced to a tung oil finish that is easy to repair and maintain (kind of like periodically soft-sanding and oiling our old soapstone), I am feeling a lot better about a hand-scraped or foot-worn finish.
Below are all examples of hand scraped hickory in shades of stain I like.
I also love walnut floors. It is potentially more formal looking that we want our house to feel, but I think if it were finished properly, it would work out great.
I love the photo below from Carlisle Wide Plank's website.
I visited their showroom in Georgetown. So far, I like the walnut, the antique oak, and the hickory. I am leaning towards the hickory because it is so hard, and the way they finish it, it has the look we want. I would do a brown stain close to the walnut photo above, and seal it with tung oil so that it could be easily maintained. The rep said they clean tung oil floors with vinegar. Hickory ends up being the most economical of the the woods too. It is about the same cost as White Oak.
I just want to make a note and say that when some flooring people think of Hickory, they think of very random natural hickory with strong color differences ranging from blond to red striping. THAT IS NOT WHAT WE WANT! I want the look of the floors above, where the boards are selected to create a soft dimensional color change, and the over all look is more like antique oak, but harder and cheaper.
Below is a pattern idea for the future gallery hall, the design is from a company called Patina Old World Floors out of CA.
