Two boards of the same species can take one stain two different ways, and two species almost always do. Color matching means tinting and testing until new wood, old wood and mixed woods read as one floor. Customers have had us match a living room to an original dining room, a repair beside a removed heater, and new floors to old. We make the samples on your own boards, in your own light.
Why one stain gives two colors
Red oak has a pink cast and a coarser grain. White oak runs tan to gray and takes stain more evenly. Fir, maple and pine each take it differently again. New boards are fresher than the floor around them, too, so even the same species can land darker or lighter. We add a tint to the same stain and keep testing until the two match.
How La Cumbre Floor matches red oak to white oak
We use custom staining, bleaching and color matching to balance out the natural undertones of the two oaks. On this job it saved a floor.
“We took a project in a historic Santa Barbara home where the floor was a mix of 80-year-old red oak and new white oak. The client wanted a seamless, unified color without tearing out the original wood. The challenge was neutralizing the pink undertones in the red oak so it matched the white oak. I custom-bleached the wood, applied a specialized stain match, and sealed it with a 2-component matte finish. The result was a completely invisible transition that saved the historic floor.”La Cumbre Floor’s founder, on a job in Santa Barbara
Samples on the floor you have
A color chart is printed on paper. A sample on your sanded floor shows your actual wood and grain in the light from your windows. We tape off boxes on the bare floor, number them and let you choose. The photos below are from jobs on our Google listing.
Repairs that disappear
We cut in the new boards, then sand and stain the whole area together, so the new wood takes the color at the same time as the old. The customer below had a floor heater removed and boards replaced on both sides of a wall.
“From start to finish, TONATIUH was very professional and upfront about the cost. He repaired a section of our flooring on both sides of a wall that had a floor heater removed. He did a fantastic job and matched our existing flooring in terms of color and wood strips. We highly recommend him for your flooring needs.”Maria R. · Google review
“Tony & his team did a great job on our floors. We had new floors old floors to match up and stain. They worked efficiently and the results are fantastic. I would highly recommend him.”Daniel L. · Google review
Matching a new room to an old one
When carpet comes up in one room and the next room has original oak, we can choose and stain the new floor to meet the old one at the doorway. This customer describes exactly that.
“Tony & his experienced team did an excellent job, finally pulled the living room carpet, Tony was able to match the original oak from my dining room for the carpet replacement in the living room for a beautiful flow including entry way refinishing. Communication was outstanding. We worked together choosing the proper stain color & was able to coordinate their schedule with Signature Painting & Custom Finishes (Edmundo) to keep the project running smoothly. If you want the job done right, these are the right guys to hire, thank you”Mary Ann H. · Google review
The nine tones on the home page
The floor designer lets you try nine stain tones (natural, honey, amber, chestnut, walnut, espresso, ebony, weathered gray and whitewash) on nine patterns. The real sample gets made on your floor.
Questions
Can new boards be matched to an old floor?
Yes, as a rule. We sand and stain the new boards with the floor around them and adjust the tint until they take the same color. We’ve done exactly that on customers’ floors.
My floor is part red oak and part white oak. Can it be one color?
Usually. The two take stain differently, so we tint the color until they blend. Our Santa Barbara job above is exactly that: 80-year-old red oak matched to new white oak.
How do I choose a stain color?
From numbered samples taped off on your own sanded floor. Look at them in daylight and again under lamps, and pick the one you like both times.
Can a floor be stained gray or whitewashed?
Light and gray tones show the grain and any mixed species more, so sampling matters even more. The refinishing guide covers what each tone does.