Often these discussions are heard, "should we put Walnut in the formal dining room and leave the rest of the job for a red oak or such?" Combining different species from one room to another never looked attractive in my opinion with the exception of handling some border work.Some people are inclined to go with a harder species for instance when installing hardwood floors in kitchens. Their thoughts are I don't have to worry as much about the upkeep; it's always best to maintain them properly regardless. Although there are differences in hardwood floors as measured by the hardness factor, I find it to be overused as making the buying choice.
Other compelling thoughts from prospective floor owners are what hardwood best matches my cabinets and the like. Matching isn't the best idea, but finding something that contrasts is a better choice. Example in the photo above shows red oak cabinets with an exotic Brazilian Teak hardwood.
Here's the classic question on many minds..."what's the best hardwood for an active family of kids and running dogs?" All floors will see damage in one form or another regardless of how careful you may be. For those that obsess over the issue I've always suggested a hand scraped or distressed floor. Any incidental damage caused just adds to the character of the floor. Besides these kind of floors are extremely popular today and could help sell that home you've been trying to unload. Whether or not their popularity will continue is any ones guess but for a country type setting I don't see it changing.
