Picking a Color for the Poplar Cottage Hardwoods
THE POPLAR COTTAGE
A couple of weeks ago, Garrett and I realized that Poplar’s hardwood floors would need to get refinished sooner rather than later. So we patched in missing flooring (with fir and oak we found at a salvage shop), rented a drum sander, and got busy. Then I went down the rabbit hole of hardwood floor finishing products (spoiler: we’re going to try Rubio Monocoat, a natural penetrating hardwax oil with 0 VOC’s) and finally to a finish color. We’ll share the entire refinishing process after we wrap it up, but first thing first…we need to pick a color. And we’re stumped. What’s your favorite? I’d love to hear in the comment section!
This past weekend we built a sample board and tried out 13 Rubio Monocoat colors. And honestly, we’re just as unsure about a color as when we started. But before we get to the colors, let’s talk about Rubio Monocoat and all the things we’re considering in this decision. We’ve included a video below and beyond that all the details and color samples we’re considering.
What is Rubio Monocoat?
Rubio Monocoat Oil Plus 2C is a penetrating Hardwax oil that’s made of natural ingredients and has 0 VOC’s. Rubio was recommended to us by my brother-in-law, who owns a hardwood company and has been raving about this product. We were really attracted to the simplified application - it goes on in a single coat - and the it’s matte finish. The 0-VOC’s means this product can be used on butcher block countertops and cutting boards, which we’re dying to try!
I wills ay that we have a couple of reservations about using Rubio - mostly durability for a rental and the fact we’ve never used it before. But we feel like Poplar is a great place to experiment and give it a try (we’ll keep you updated!). One thing that makes us more comfortable with the durability aspect is that Rubio Monocoat is relatively easy to repair. You can buff out a damaged areas and add more finish to that spot rather than refinishing the entire floor (lap lines aren’t an issue with Rubio Monocoat).
Wood Species
It probably goes without saying, but not all hardwood floor wood species will look the same with the same finish on them. Half of the Poplar Cottage’s floors (the original half) are fir. They appear to be original and sanded out to a nice light pinky color. There is definitely some damage from a century of wear including dark spots and likely animal stains. But we’ll chalk that up to character. For the most part, they look really great for 100+ years old!
We know from our Farmhouse that fir will turn oranger and oranger with age. Here are what the Poplar fir floors look like after the drum sander (they still their final sands with an orbital sander).
As I’m looking at these photos, I’m realizing it’s been awhile since we updated you on the Poplar Cottage. The photos above show the new opening between the living room and bedroom (we’ll be installing 4’-wide French doors at that opening). And here’s the new jack-and-jill entrance to the bathroom from the bedroom with the old closet demo’d.
The kitchen and bathroom are white oak, which we know and love from the Porch House.
Design considerations:
We don’t often opt for a color or stain when we’re refinishing hardwood floors. But at Poplar, we thought it prudent for a few reasons…
We want to tone down the orangey-ness of the fir hardwoods.
We know from our Farmhouse that the orangey-ness of fir just gets orange-er with time. So we want to pick a color that will help counteract this.
Blending the wood two species of woods.
With fir on one side of the house and white oak on the other, we’re hoping a color will unify the two species. Ideally you won’t notice that there are two different types of flooring. Why? Well we’ve found that continual flooring helps a house feel more cohesive and spacious (a big concern in a 580sf home).
And a couple of things we’re considering when choosing a light or dark color…
Formality
Dark floors can read more formal than light floors. And the white-washed looked has a more modern appeal. We want to strike the right feel with the floors since they’ll set the tone for the entire house.
Not shrink the space
We’d like to make sure the color we pick for the floors helps the Poplar Cottage feel more spacious and bright. I’m not sure if that removes dark stains from consideration…but maybe? Still thinking through this one.
Hiding damage
When working with 100+ year old floors, you’re bound to have some blemishes. The fir floors at Poplar have dark spots and animal damage and a colored finish would help hide that more, especially a dark color.
Alright, let’s get to the colors.
Rubio Monocoat color options
We ordered 13 color samples from Rubio Monocoat, which is by no means their only colors (actually they have 55 colors). But we spent some time looking over their color selection, looked on Pinterest for real-world example, read opinions by bloggers we respect, and picked these 13 colors.
The samples are in the order the bottles are shown in above. I wanted to show you what they looked like in two different lights - mid-day light and super warm evening light.
white oak and fir floors with Rubio Monocoat in (from top) white 5%, cotton white, smoke 5%, smoke, DC smoke, mist 5%, mist, natural, oyster, smoked oak, savannah, chocolate, and black color samples
white oak and fir floors with Rubio Monocoat in (from top) white 5%, cotton white, smoke 5%, smoke, DC smoke, mist 5%, mist, natural, oyster, smoked oak, savannah, chocolate, and black color samples in warm evening light
Originally Garrett and I predicted that we’d like the lighter colors, and we do, but we also really like how the darker samples look and how they blend the two wood species together. So many of the colors I really like on the white oak (what doesn’t look good on white oak?!), but not as much on the fir. Here’s a few closer photos showing the colors.
white oak and fir with Rubio Monocoat, pointing to smoke color sample
white oak with Rubio Monocoat in (from left) DC Smoke, Smoke, Smoke 5%, Cotton White, and White 5% color samples
white oak with Rubio Moncoat in (from top) black, chocolate, savannah, smoked oak, and oyster color samples
white oak and fir with Rubio Monocoat in (from left) black, chocolate, savannah, and smoked oak color samples
At this point, Garrett’s favorite is DC Smoke and Savanna…or maybe Black. I’m leaning towards Smoke, Mist, Chocolate, and Black. Basically I like how the dark colors unify the species and I like how the light colors feel bright. Eek it’s so hard to choose!
So we’re asking you…
What’s your favorite?
Real world examples
I also wanted to share some real-world examples of Rubio Monocoat colors on hardwoods.
Erin Kestenbaum’s home, Red oak with Rubio Monocoat in Black (with water-popped grain)
Reclaimed white oak floors with Rubio Moncoat in 2 parts bourban/1 part walnut (contractor: Southern Oaks Flooring)
Seabiscuit Farmhouse (Old World Timber), white and red oak with Rubio Monocoat in 5% White
More Resources on Rubio Monocoat
Here are a few resources that helped us decide on Rubio Monocoat in addition to my brother-in-law’s glowing recommendation…
Erin Kestenbaum is a really talented designer and DIYer and I appreciate how well thought-out her finish decisions are (which is basically the opposite of us who are always flying by the seat of our pants 😬). She opted for Rubio Monocoat on her hardwoods in Black and shared the selection process here and DIY finishing here.
Stacy (of Blakehill House) shared a review of her Rubio Monocoat finish after one year here. I really appreciated Stacy’s review and how it’s like living with floors finished in a penetrating oil.
Rubio Monocoat has a great website with so much information. I especially like their install videos and details for sampling colors. Highly recommend combing through this site before finishing your floors with Rubio. And here’s a helpful guide showing all 55 color samples.
That’s all for today. Let us know what color or colors you’re leaning towards in the comment section below!
