This is the hard part

Laying out space in functionally efficient ways and organizing storage and rooms comes a thousand times more naturally to me than choosing finishes.  We are just about done with the spatial decisions, and now I am out of my element!

This week's agony was the hardwood stain selection.  27 of my closest Facebook friends weighed in on the question:  "Hardwood floor color choice poll: 'Dark chocolate/espresso' or 'light natural oak'? Imagine it with dark wood furniture in a midcentury modern house with white trim. Help, design friends!"

The input was super helpful, and in the end, we chose Saddle (in right column, second from the top).  It's darker than we have now (the sample is resting on our existing hardwood floors), but not as dark as the Dark Chocolate.  We hope it shows less dust, and doesn't darken the ground floor level as much, while still contrasting with our dark wood furniture and white trim.

I should note that this is another "whileweareatit" item - turns out, we'll be replacing all the existing floors, since the contractor worried that the mid-room transitions wouldn't work well for a variety of reasons.  He's not charging us extra for labor, just the additional material cost.  Hurray!

3/4" thick white oak hardwood samples