Services

Hardwood Flooring Species Guide

From time-honored oak to rich exotic species, we offer an outstanding variety of styles, woods, stains and finishes to suit any decor.

A nearly endless selection

Find the wood that fits your home

Each floor we create is a unique reflection of the customer who requests it. Here are some of the most popular species we install.

Origin: North America
Appearance: Red Oak offers a medium range of color variability, from lighter tan tones with pinkish highlights to darker browns.
Light sensitivity: Red Oak undergoes a medium degree of color change over time, with a slight ambering of the pinkish tan-brown color it has when freshly milled.

Origin: North America, with related species throughout Europe & Asia
Appearance: White Oak has a medium-high degree of color variability, ranging from light tan to medium tan with a grayish cast to medium brown.
Light sensitivity: Ultraviolet rays will change the color of the wood, removing some of the gray tones.

Origin: Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Venezuela, Suriname, Nicaragua, Mexico, Guatemala & the Caribbean
Appearance: Brazilian Cherry varies from yellowish hues to pink/reds to dark reds with black striping. A quartered selection yields the most uniform look and color range.
Light sensitivity: Like domestic cherry, Brazilian Cherry changes dramatically over time, from a yellow/tan/salmon color when freshly milled to a deep, rich red. In direct sunlight the change happens within a few days; out of sunlight it oxidizes slowly over about six months.

Origin: North America
Appearance: American Cherry has a cream-colored sapwood that contrasts sharply with the reddish heartwood, which ranges from pinkish red to darker red. Small dark brown gum veins are part of the character of this species.
Light sensitivity: American Cherry undergoes an extreme degree of color change, darkening from a pale pink when freshly milled to a dark red when fully aged. This happens within a few weeks in direct sunlight, or over six to eight months out of sunlight.

Origin: Paraguay, Bolivia, Brazil, Peru, Guatemala & Mexico
Appearance: Mahogany shows a medium range of color variation, from a light orange-brown with yellowish overtones to a dark reddish/purplish brown. Most of the species falls into the medium to dark orange-brown mahogany tone.
Light sensitivity: Mahogany undergoes a slight degree of color change, with a slight muting of the color range over time.

Origin: Argentina, Paraguay & Brazil
Appearance: Amendoim ranges from a pale tan, orangey brown to a medium tannish brown with reddish highlights.
Light sensitivity: Amendoim shows a medium degree of color change, muting over time into a more uniform, darker tan-brown with reddish highlights.

Origin: Europe, with related species in North America
Appearance: European Beech offers a medium range of color variability. Steamed Beech yields a pink/orangey tan color, while unsteamed Beech yields a blonde tan wood.
Light sensitivity: European Beech undergoes a medium degree of color change, with a slight muting of the orangey tan colors and an ambering over time.

Origin: North America
Appearance: American Maple has an extreme range of color variability, from the pale cream sapwood through tan/brown tones to the dark brown heartwood.
Light sensitivity: American Maple undergoes a medium degree of color change, ambering slightly from cream/white to a more golden cream over time.

We also install species such as American Walnut, Brazilian Walnut and Brazilian Teak (Cumaru). See them in our projects.

Call to set up an appointment and we'll help you compare species for your home.