I'm not an expert but I do live on the coast. IMHO, there's more than one way to accomplish the coastal look and feel and still have it be appropriate. I personally prefer touches of darker furniture and/or accents to add some contrast and grounding to all the 'floatiness' of the typical whites and light blues. As far as espresso furniture goes it seems to be a more recent trend, which may explain why it wasn't common years ago in coastal decor, but I'm definitely seeing it used as an evolving, updated version of coastal decor in the PNW. I personally have an espresso dining table and chairs...I'll be adding short, white slipcovers to the chairs for our 'summer' look, and I think it looks great with white slip-covered sofas and white kitchen in our great room. We have a few other elements that tie in the contrast and it all just works. The photo and link below give at least a rough idea of what some darker elements can do for the coastal look for those who prefer it... From Coastal Living: Here is a link that might be useful: Morgan Harrison Home--5 or 6 photos in all

We have quartersawn white oak floors that have no stain and just an aluminum oxide finish for protection...they were pre-finished in a very matte finish we specified to be put on at the mill. The quarter sawing changes the appearance of the grain so they may look a little different from yours unless yours are also quartersawn? We love the color and though they do scratch a little (we have two VERY active larger dogs, a Border Collie and and English Shepherd)the lighter color hides the scratches so far and doesn't show a lot of dirt. Night shot with flash Daylight with no flash Good luck! Kat :)

I found it! Thank you all for helping me have the courage to find the best color. I also have white oak not red and white. Silly me. They put some color mixes out for me to study. Right onto my floor. They can sand off what I don't like. And I love Mahogany and English chestnut mixed together. It goes with the lighting I have and seems to be dark but not so dark that I have issues with dog hair. It looks closer to your color Erikanh. Kelleg, I was disappointed with Ebony mixed into the English chestnut. Not at all the warm beautiful glow of yours. Your floor guy must have perfomed magic! Don't lose your floor guy. Pbrisjar, The image you posted was the closest example of what the colors looked like. I can not thank you enough. I noticed the Ebony not being what I really wanted but not realizing it until they stained my floor a small section. I should have studied your images better. thank you for them. I will post pics when I get a chance. They are not staining until next week. They are still sanding everything. I am truly happy with the choice, I just hope it looks as good as all of your floors. Even half as good and I will be pleased. Thanks again everyone. ~boxerpups

Since this is for resale, and white is very popular right now. It is probably a good choice. Since she wants to use SW paint, take a look at Alabaster.