Comparing light colored wood vinyl plank flooring samples

I get a ton of questions about our Karndean vinyl plank floor and after having it for exactly a year, I thought I’d give an update to address those questions. Well, there are actually two main questions “Do you still love your vinyl planks?” and “How does the color compare to other light-colored wood vinyl plank flooring options?”

How does the Texas White Ash color compare to other light colored Karndean wood vinyl plank options?

This second question is a little harder to answer. I’ve been wanting a blog post where I can direct someone with a question like that but I didn’t have anything to compare my floor color to. So I got some samples in other light colors to show you the light wood color varieties in different lighting situations. In my house, my floor looks so different during different times of the day. I know some of you have noticed that as well.

Let me show you:

I knew that I wanted to have a floor that doesn’t have many yellow undertones without being a cold gray. I still wanted a warm wood tone which I think I nailed.

But some of you might want it to be lighter or less grainy or more grainy or or or… So I’ll try to explain with some photos the best way I can what other options Karndean has. It’s so hard to tell sometimes.

Living room view of Karndean samples away from light

Before I get started with the detailed comparison, I wanted to tell you that these are not all Korlok, they are a variety of different types of vinyl planks from loose lay to glue down.

In the below view you can see that the two first samples are definitely lighter than our Karndean Texas White Ash that we have. The other two samples in the back are definitely darker and look more like our floor.

Here is a cellphone photo in another darker lighting situation to show you how different lighting situations change the appearance. I always get asked why in some photos in my Instagram profile the floor looks so light and then other times it looks darker. The reason is that it has a lot of shade variations and is definitely a little bit of a chameleon. I love that about our floor.

The Karndean Pearl Oak is definitely more rustic, so if you want to go for a rustic vibe then that might be a good choice for you. I did not.

Ivory Brushed Oak is without a doubt the lightest floor out of all of them and doesn’t have a lot of grain pattern either. Another light version that I  love is the Natural Scandi Pine (glue down) but didn’t have a sample for it.

I think Glacier Oak is very similar to the Texas White Ash.

Living room view of Karndean samples towards the light

I also wanted to lay the light-colored wood floor planks separately toward the light. This is the view that you guys are used to and see a lot on my blog and on Instagram.

Karndean Art Select Glacier Oak

Karndean vinyl plank Opus Textum

I’m not going to talk much about this one since it was so different from the other sample pieces. Mostly gray and recommended as a commercial floor.

Karndean Looselay Longboard Vanilla Oak

Karndean Looselay Longboard Pearl Oak

Karndean Korlok Select Ivory Brushed Oak

Comparison Summary

• I believe that if you want something really light then choose the Ivory Brushed Oak (yellow undertones)
• if you want a light vinyl plank but a tad bit warmer with a hint of pinker tones then choose Vanilla Oak
• if you want a vinyl plank on the lighter side that is very rustic, choose Pearl Oak which has a lot of knots and veining
• if you want a light vinyl plank with more color variations from gray tones to warm wood tones then choose the Texas White Ash like I did
• Glacier Oak is similar to the Texas White Ash but is mainly with gray undertones if you’d prefer that

I hope this will answer some of the basic common questions I get about our floor color. I’m happy with the color I chose for our main floor.

Stay healthy and safe my friends.

Tschüß,