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Not sure how you can stain them without first stripping the polyurethane sealant, and the only way to do that is to sand it off. You can paint over them, or if you are really ambitious you can rip them out and lay down hardwood.

It would be a shame to stain or paint such a lovely floor. What about it don't you like?

I would be so happy to have floors like that!!

I'm not sure what you mean by not being allowed to "strip" the floors. Certainly staining won't work without removing any existing coating etc. Even then, staining old parquet floors is not easy. I tried on a 40 year old floor last year, and even after sanding and all sorts of tricks I couldn't get them to take a dark stain.

What about the parquet didn't I like? Nothing says late 60's. early 70's like a parquet floor, although my floor also was in much worse shape than the one in the picture.

I don't think you'll be able to stain them without stripping them. I think your best bet in a rental is a liberal use of area rugs (with some effort you can find some that very nearly fill the whole floor). They're really beautiful floors, in good shape, and a nice neutral blondish wood; I think the bits that stick out past the area rugs will bother you much less than the entire expanse of hardwood. And you can get lovely light rugs for the washed-out look, rather than staining.

That's probably one of the best looking parquet floors I've ever seen. And if you're not allowed to strip the floors, I think that implies they don't want you to do anything to them. You can't stain without stripping anyway - and sanding parquet, with the frequently changing grain direction, is very difficult. I know it might not be your favorite, but my recommendation is to find nice area rugs and pick a different battle. The overall color is really nice and it looks to be in really good condition. It actually almost looks like a basketweave pattern.

Definitely don't ruin these floors! Go with the rug suggestions, and leave the floors to be enjoyed by future tenants.

Get over yourself. It's a rental and life isn't a magazine.

i think if you can't strip, you're probably not allowed to stain either. i would look into it first.

BUT, if you can do something to the floors I don't think staining will work w/o stripping. maybe you could paint them using a floor paint.

good luck, but i think those floors are beautiful. maybe live with them for a while and they'll grow on you?

You can't.

If you try to stain the floor without stripping it first, you will be applying stain directly on to (I'm guessing) a layer of urethane -- it won't adhere or absorb, so there is no point.

The reason that the Coop board doesn't want residents to mess with those floors is that they are very thin, the grain goes in different directions, and so if you sand (which you have to do when you strip), you will be taking too much of the floor with you. These sorts of floors were not designed for a lot of aesthetic experimentation.

Go with rugs.

if it's a co-op, aren't there house rules about having a certain percentage of the floors carpeted?

you don't live in stuy-town, do you? that's what it looks like, but anyway:

i don't think everyone needs to be so harsh, but i think the point is that even if you don't like what's going on, they are still high quality floors in what looks to be a very nice apartment for your first. i actually just moved to my first nyc apartment too, and it's the tiniest place ever for two people but in a good location (which is 90% of what we're paying for, i'm sure) with pre-war molding and bricks, so i can't complain. but i think everyone's point is that it's all relative.

that being said, carpet tiles and rugs will be your friend if you've got a real problem with it. it is true that if you're not allowed to strip the floors, that would mean you probably can't do anything else (like if you can't paint the walls you probably can't install wallpaper either). but don't worry, enjoy living in nyc for the first time and sometimes things that start out bothering you can actually end up growing on you or working out in strange ways.

A while back I had a NYC rental with parquet floors in poor condition. I went to ABC carpet in the remnants section downstairs and found a piece that was discounted and large enough to have the entire apartment done, wall to wall. It made a big difference. They can do this without attaching it to the floor so there was no damage when I moved.

Flor Carpet tiles. You shouldn't change that floor unless you own it, then you can screw it up all you want.

what about the floating white ikea flooring?
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/60138090


white floor, you can remove. but honestly, after you live with a nice parquet floor it might not be that bad. take a few weeks to see how you feel with it. have you seen it in person? you said you have only seen a photo.

Well said, Feathers.

I don't see the issue - there are people (including myself) who would be THRILLED to have nice wooden floors like that.

Really off subject here, but I love the marble threshold on the floor here.

I don't see the issue - there are people (including myself) who would be THRILLED to have nice wooden floors like that.

That's so weird, bepsf, it's almost like people have different tastes or something - like some people might actually not like something that you'd be thrilled about!

And seriously, feathers and Northern Homebody, are you kidding? Cause if it bothers you that somebody wants to change something they don't like about their living space, this probably isn't the right blog for you...

Gotta agree withe everyone else. Spend your money on something you get to keep like a beautiful area rug and some artwork to draw your eye up from the floor. Once the apartment is full of your stuff they won't bother you anymore.

I feel your pain. I have the same flooring but mine isn't in as good as shape. My floor always looks dirty and the pattern is just too much for a small space. I started with area rugs and now am going to be putting down FLOR to get rid of it completely.
Good luck.

Lalaroo, I think it's Harlemite's tone that's upset us: "It goes w/o saying that good design was not in the developers' priority list. I saw a photo of the floor and I immediately didn't like it."

For twenty years I was an urban apartment dweller; living with standardized and/or outdated (crappy, over-painted) details like this are just part of the dealio, renter. At least (it appears) your flooring is in really great condition!
That said, I enthusiastically agree with Auburn. I still have all the area carpets and runners I'd purchased at DC's Eastern Market in my FL home. Don't sweat the small stuff.

Vincent B. is right -- it's the tone. OF COURSE Harlemite is free to like or dislike anything in this apartment. But the casual assumption that a subsidized apartment and good design are antithetical strikes me as narrow-minded.

Wow. There are a number of comments here that if I were the one asking for advice, I'd be mighty upset about being insulted. Bad form for a community, folks.

I'm also going to add my voice to those that suggested that staining/painting the floors is also likely against the rules. Double-check just so you don't get into heaps of trouble down the road!

If it turns out that the floor needs to remain as-is, I'd definitely look into carpeting (the remnant suggestion is a brilliant one) or floating floors if you have your heart set on wood. Depending on your interior preferences, you can even find thin rubber flooring (the kind that is currently vogue to put in garages) to really transform the space.

Cover the parquet with "Flor" tiles if you don't like the look of it.

I think parquet floors were more 50s than 60s or 70s.

We recently did a full spread on interesting floor solutions for every space. Have a look, you might come across an idea beyond sanding staining!

http://patternpulp.com/2009/05/01/flooring-solutions-for-any-space/

Butter.
Parquet.
Butter?
Parquet.

I like this floor as is --- I actually find it a pretty classic look and to paint it white would be a crime and probably pretty impractical too.

If you are in a subsidized apartment, the rules will definately state that no changes, even paint are allowed. Do not paint or stain them or even use carpet tiles as they do have an adhesive that may damage the flooring. Even IF you were allowed to modify them, this type of flooring would be seriously damaged/ruined by any type of sanding. Don't touch them!!
Although you may not like them, there is nothing you can do other than covering them with area rugs.

I should clarify that when I said I was moving into my first NYC apartment, that I meant I BOUGHT a subsidized apartment. For us New Yorkers, it means that the developers do not use the same materials as market-value apartments--this is a fact and it even states the different and "standard-grade" materials used in the offering plan.

So to Northern Homebody: I'm not being narrow-minded. There are market-value apartments in the same building I'm buying in and they use wooden floors and marble countertops while the subsidized ones use parquet and laminate. I paid less and I'm getting less. Of course I'm disappointed because even if I paid less, it's still a substantial amount of money for me, and who doesn't want to get what they dream of when they spend their life savings?

Sure it's a matter of taste. Some like that parquet style and I don't--that's why I've asked for people's opinion to see what someone who doesn't like it can do to change it.

I've been living in NYC for 16 years and I can't even begin to explain the excitement that comes with being able to finally buy. I'm very grateful. I don't mind parquet so much; I just don't like the alternate pattern. (I would have preferred the brick pattern: http://www.nogalink.com/industrial_parquet.jpg)

Thanks to all those who posted their answers and suggestions; even to you, Feathers. I will try area rugs first before I do anything drastic (that's allowed by the co-op, of course). Maybe it will grow on me.

Thanks, Harlemite