I'm considering an engineered Brazilian Cherry floor and read where it has a tendency to darken considerably within a few months of installation and exposure to sunlight.

Does anybody have before and after photos of this that you could post? I really like the look and color of the wood but am a little nervous that a few months after installation I might have a completely different looking floor color wise than I expected.

Is the change really that dramatic or just slight? I have dark brown leather furniture and am worried if it darkens very much it won't look good with the furniture or that it will brown or redden to a shade I might not like.

Any answers or advice would be greatly appreciated!

The color change is quite dramatic. A few months isn't accurate in my opinion unless the whole floor gets direct sunlight. Although I've heard differences of opinion on color change and how long; two years is a safer guesstimate. Have you considered Santos Mahogany?

Ken,

No, I have't researched the Santos Mahog. I really like the Braz. Cherry (new) but would sure like to see it after it's been installed for a year or two.

I'll research the Santos Mahog tonight. I guess most woods including exotics darken over time. Some more than others I'm sure.

Here is a little FYI...

I have installed a lot of Brazillian Cherry from different manufacturers, over the years and one thing for sure is, they all have a diffent color when shipped.

The last WFI BC I installed, looked like it was pre-UV'ed! It was very dark, right out of the box, and there was not a whole lot of variation. Have not installed WFI in over a year, since they changed manufacturing to cheaper production.

Mannington, BC has a lot of variations out of the box, with light carmel colors to dark ebony boards and all in between.

Westhollow, BC was light carmel in color, and a little variation with darker boards, but not real dark.

Tarkett BC, is very mixed, but each carton seems to be the same huge, so open about 10 cartons at a time to mix and rack the floor with, instead of the usual 4 or 5 cartons.

BR-111 BC, was like the Mannington, with a lot of color variation.

Kahrs, multi strip, floating wood flooring, has a mellow carmel color with some variation, but not bad, it looks like grain variation more the color.


So, it is going to be hard to tell you what to expect.