WWYD with this transition?

[Deleted]

Hi H&G!  I normally post on MM, but lurk over here quite a bit.  I'm starting to plan a basement finishing project, and have a question for you....

We have a cherry wood floor on our first floor, but are looking at doing much of our basement in a darker, wide-plank wood (think irish pub).  Right now, given our current basement design, it would make the most sense for the stairway to the basement to also be covered in the darker wood.

My question to you:  Is a wood-to-wood transition awkward when it is not hugely different in color / style, but different enough?  

You would be standing on a lighter cherry, then you'd open the door to head downstairs, and the stairwell would be a much darker cherry, with wider planks.

Going to see if i can find some links that approximate color, but I am not too worried about it...until my MIL started saying how odd it would look.

Second opinoins?

[Deleted]

I am on my tablet, so not the most dexterous at copying and pasting, but here are two lilnks that approximate what we have and what we are considering.

The top is close to what we have, the bottom is somewhat similar to what we saw and liked...it has an actual texture / waviness as you walk across it, larger plank size, etc.


www.bruce.com/hardwood/EHK69LG.asp

www.lowes.com/pd_36716-55270-PFHSBC5_4294856494+4294962447+8_4294937087?productId=1084685

[kaylie]

If you were doing it between two different rooms on the same floor that connected I'd say that would be weird. Since you'll have to open a door to even see it though, I think it's fine.

Not sure how floor savvy you are, but just in case you hadn't already planned for it you'll need to use an engineered wood in the basement or something suitable for "below grade" installation.

[Deleted]

Mar 9, 2013 17:35:08 GMT -5 @callmefia said:

I think I will be fine. However, I will say that I hope you have considered the lighting with dark floors. I think dark stairs & flooring heading into a basement sounds cave-like. But then again, I get very little light in our unfinished basement.

I can't see the link on my iPhone so I can't relate to what it looks like specifically.

Definitely. Our basement is a walkout, so we have two giant windows and French doors that open into our yard.

Thanks to you both for the replies, we are in very early planning stages, and I didn't want to have to throw out the darker floors!

[midwest07]

Will you have a runner on the stairs? I think that would help with the transition so it's not such an obvious change (as well as for safety in walking up/down basement stairs).

[FoxInFiji]

I think the transition is fine since it's behind a door. We're transitioning from one color flooring to another on our stairs as well but our door is at the bottom of the stairs. So the treads will match the upstairs wood floors and the risers will be painted white. I love the contrasting look and it helps break up the transition. When you're walking up the stairs you see mostly white.

I would suggest looking at a different selection for your basement though since you have a lot of natural light. Brazillian cherry is very UV sensitive and you'll have distinct color changes from where your rugs and furniture sit if the room gets sunlight. You have to rotate and move everything around on a semi-regular basis so it evens out. It will be noticeably darker over time. Instead you might want to look at a hickory or other HW stained with a darker cherry finish like your first floor. I must say reading that you had cherry floors I was a bit surprised. That is a very expensive and soft wood to use on a floor! It's only ever really used for accent details not the entire floor. But after clicking on your link I see it's really hickory with a cherry stain.