Staining a Hardwood Floor

Tips from Real-Estate-Agents.com

Shades of Wood Floors: Wood floors can come in a variety of different shades and color, so finding a matching stain on an existing floor can be very difficult. You can probably get close, but perfection will be challenging.

Here are some options for existing stains:

Natural looks like bare wood.

Light is a very popular shade of stain because it darkens the grain and adds a subtle tone to the wood. It often has a slight tan hue to it.

Medium is another popular choice. It's darker than the light, so both the grain and the wood will have an obvious darker pigment. It's commonly a medium brown hue.

Dark has a very rich feel. Commonly a very dark brown.

Custom is any color besides the standard tan or brown tones you see with stains.

You can often come close to matching the existing wood, but a perfect match is virtually impossible. A good way to improve your odds is to use extra wood left over from the original installation. If these extra boards have been sitting in a damp area (such as a basement), let them dry for a week or two before installing them. Otherwise the boards will shrink and leave an unsightly gap.

-- Tips courtesy of Service Magic