How Wood Flooring Change Colour Over Time?

Wood is a completely natural product and as such, its colour will be affected by light and time. When it comes to choosing the colour of your floor, it’s useful to look at what your floor colour might develop into in the longer term and not just what you will get at the start.

Wood is a completely natural product and as such, its colour will be affected by light and time. When it comes to choosing the colour of your floor, it’s useful to look at what your floor colour might develop into in the longer term and not just what you will get at the start.

Colour changes caused by light

There are several things you can do to avoid excessive colour changes caused by light. These include closing curtains to block light and moving furnishings around so that light gets the chance to flood your floor in its entirety, and not just in certain areas. What we mean by that is that if you have a rug on a floor and you leave it in the same spot all the time, then it is reasonable to expect that when you finally move the rug, there will be a tell-tale spot on your floor. This effect can easily be avoided by simply moving furnishings and rugs around to make sure that the light effect is entire.

Another way to avoid excessive colour changes to your floor caused by ultra violet light is opting for a UV filter in your flooring finish. Whilst this may not be necessary in certain rooms in the home, there is no escaping the fact that choosing this option in rooms where you either have a particularly sunny aspect or where you have a significant number of windows is a great idea.

The future colour changes in your wood flooring

Generally speaking oak wood will undergo a medium degree of colour change and will tend to become more amber or golden over time. Walnut flooring on the other hand tends to change colour more noticeably and the most significant difference is that it is likely to go from a very dark brown at the start to a more golden brown over time. However, there is more than just the species of the wood itself that will impact on the long-term colour change in any wood and here are some tips and hints that will help you predict the future colour changes in your wood flooring:

1. It is common for any wood floor to take on a yellow-ish tone over time. To avoid this, you should choose a floor with a UV filter.

2. Prime grade wood will retain its original colour better over time than rustic grade wood.

3. Generally speaking, flat or satin finishes will darker for longer. Gloss or semi-gloss finishing on the other hand will appear lighter over time.

4. Stained wood flooring will retain its colour longer than naturally coloured wood; this is particularly true with darker tones of wood.

Against this backdrop, it is important to say once more that wood is a natural product and that no two pieces of wood will ever be exactly the same colour. As a result, it’s best to invest with an open mind, but if you really want to retain the colour of your wood, you can minimise the colour changes in your wood flooring by doing all you can to protect it from light and by making the right choices based on our tips above.

For example, if you want a floor that starts its life dark and want it to stay dark, opting for a stained, oil finished oak with a UV filter will achieve the best long term results. However, if you want to start with a light coloured floor that will stay light without yellowing, selecting an oak floor with a gloss finish, complete with a UV filter is likely to hit the spot. If you are quite relaxed about your flooring and you’re prepared to take a bit of chance on where the colour takes you over time, then choose the floor you like that fits your budget and do what you can to minimise the risk of daily light damage.

If you have any further questions regarding wood flooring colour changes ove time or you are looking for an advice about the best flooring options for your home feel free to contact the ESB sales team. Contact us now to request your no hassle no obligation free samples or come down to our North London showroom for a closer look.