Two boards of the same species can take one stain two different ways, and two species almost always do. Color matching is the work of tinting and testing until new wood, old wood and mixed woods read as one floor. Four Google and Yelp reviewers describe La Cumbre matching color on their floors: a living room to an original dining room, a repair beside a removed heater, new floors to old, and white oak to red oak. Samples are made on your own boards, in your own light.
Why one stain gives two colors
Red oak has a pink cast and a coarser grain. White oak runs tan to gray and takes stain more evenly. Fir, maple and pine each take it differently again. New boards are also fresher than the floor around them, so even the same species can land darker or lighter. The fix is not a different can of stain. It is a tint added to the same stain, tested, and adjusted until the two match.
“Tony and his guys were terrific and did a great job. There was an issue with my wood-some was white oak; some red oak. Tony was able to add a tint and make it all blend.”Georgene V. · Yelp · August 2025
How Tony matches red oak to white oak
Asked how he gets the two oaks to match, Tony put it in one line: custom staining, bleaching and color-matching techniques to balance out the natural undertones. Here is one job where that saved a floor.
“We took a project in a historic Santa Barbara home where the floor was a mix of 80-year-old red oak and new white oak. The client wanted a seamless, unified color without tearing out the original wood. The challenge was neutralizing the pink undertones in the red oak so it matched the white oak. I custom-bleached the wood, applied a specialized stain match, and sealed it with a 2-component matte finish. The result was a completely invisible transition that saved the historic floor.”Tony, on a job in Santa Barbara
Samples on the floor you have
Color charts are printed on paper. A sample on your sanded floor shows the real wood, the real grain and the real light from your windows. La Cumbre tapes off boxes on the bare floor, numbers them and lets you choose. The photos below are from jobs on the Google listing.
Repairs that disappear
A patch of new boards is cut in, then the whole area is sanded and stained together, so the new wood takes the same color at the same time as the old. The customer below had a floor heater removed and boards replaced on both sides of a wall.
“From start to finish, TONATIUH was very professional and upfront about the cost. He repaired a section of our flooring on both sides of a wall that had a floor heater removed. He did a fantastic job and matched our existing flooring in terms of color and wood strips. We highly recommend him for your flooring needs.”Maria R. · Google review
“Tony & his team did a great job on our floors. We had new floors old floors to match up and stain. They worked efficiently and the results are fantastic. I would highly recommend him.”Daniel L. · Google review
Matching a new room to an old one
When carpet comes up in one room and the room next to it has original oak, the new floor can be chosen and stained to meet the old at the doorway. That is what this customer describes.
“Tony & his experienced team did an excellent job, finally pulled the living room carpet, Tony was able to match the original oak from my dining room for the carpet replacement in the living room for a beautiful flow including entry way refinishing. Communication was outstanding. We worked together choosing the proper stain color & was able to coordinate their schedule with Signature Painting & Custom Finishes (Edmundo) to keep the project running smoothly. If you want the job done right, these are the right guys to hire, thank you”Mary Ann H. · Google review
The nine tones on the home page
The floor designer shows nine stain tones, from natural to ebony, and lets you try each on nine patterns. They are a drawing, not a product chart. The real sample is made on your floor.
Questions
Can new boards be matched to an old floor?
Yes, as a rule. The new boards are sanded and stained with the floor around them, and the tint is adjusted until they take the same color. Two Google reviewers describe exactly that on their floors.
My floor is part red oak and part white oak. Can it be one color?
Usually. The two take stain differently, so the color is tinted until they blend. One Yelp reviewer wrote that Tony was able to add a tint and make it all blend.
How do I choose a stain color?
From samples made on your own sanded floor, taped off and numbered, seen in your own daylight and lamplight. Choose the one you like at both times of day.
Can a floor be stained gray or whitewashed?
Lighter and gray tones show the grain and any mixed species more, so sampling matters even more. The refinishing guide covers what each tone does.