Transition from Old Hardwood to New

Q: I am in a house that is 8 years old. Originally the hardwood in the rest of the house was put down, sanded and stained. The family room had carpet laid but now we would like to put hardwood but need something to transition between the family room and the rest of the house. Because of the age (scratches, sun bleaching, etc.) of the original hardwood we can’t match the new floor to it without stripping all the old hardwood and that is to costly.
What would you suggest?!
Lisa
A: Matching a new floor to an old one is virtually impossible for many of the reasons you mention, aging from exposure to light, scratches and other damage which over time adds a bit of character to a floor and similar things which happen as our floors get exposure to life in a home.
There are two methods of thought here. You can look for a floor that looks very similar to your floor, or coordinates very well, perhaps a slightly lighter/darker stain of the same species, the install a transition which matches the new floor as it meets the old floor (typically t-molding).
Another method is to find a completely different floor, make the two floors very obviously different. This can give each area a more unique feel and with proper transitions as the new and old floor meet, can look very good. Sometimes a small change in the arrangement of current decor with a new floor can give a distinct feel as you move throughout a home, much like accent walls in a room, they add a bit of flavor. If you have a lighter floor like oak or maple, try looking into dark floors like walnut or Brazilian cherry. You can also look into floors with much more or less character compared to your current floor. If you have a fairly uniform floor like select grades or maple or oak, look into something with a lot of mineral streaking or complex grain. Good examples here would be Tigerwood, Natural Hickory, Natural Brazilian Walnut and more rustic looking Canadian Hard Maple.
Now if your goal is to have a uniform floor throughout your entire home, the best bet would be to replace all of the carpet and wood with the same floor, but then we’re talking a much bigger project both in time and cost.