They used a water based min-wax product first, which just couldn't penetrate the tight grain of the oak (it's a red oak floor underneeth). Another wood might have done better, but oak is tough to get a stain to take on. The initial color was dark walnut, and then they tried to go over with an ebony and dark walnut mix. It was almost invisible. Then the idiots decided they should go ahead and use an oil based stain over the water based...that didn't take either and turned to gum. THEN they decided to use an oil based product from sherwin williams, which was a great product, but the initial applications mussed up the application so when they then used an incompatible finish LOL Well it looks great until you walk on it and the finish peels off. Our real flooring guy says that minwax is a nice finish for furniture, but it's not able to penetrate floors (old floors in particular) deep enough to get a nice color out of it. In addition, it takes just a tiny bit of effort to scratch the finish and you come up with golden oak scratches on your chocolate floor. The oil based finish from SW was a much better product (used on the treads without any of the errors so you can see the finish). It's one of their professional lines (you have to ask for it) and not easy to apply, but it does work well. MinWax is a great product for furniture (I've used it and like it) but never again for floors!

Hi neighbor! Good timing! I'm just down I5 from you so I understand gray concern. My older neighborhood was built around the theory of cutting down as many mammoth trees as possible, which adds to the gray. I also have standard height ceilings and plent of new windows. My cabs are white and counters will be mostly Carrara. Wood floor area is about 1000 sq. ft. I also wanted a rich, warm brown for my new white oak floors. I loved Nini's floors too and was happy that she posted the formula. (Thanks, Nini!) I went through several stain swatches and chose a mix very close to hers. Mine are 75% Jacobean and 25% Coffee. I wanted to try the 25% in Dark Walnut like Nini's, but the floor guys didn't have that one with them. Coffee is apparently nearly the same as DW. Floors were stained only yesterday and the second coat of poly is drying this moment. Here's what it looked like earlier today when the second coat went down. It's a big change going from very light carpet to this. I do love it though! It feels so rich and yummy in the house now. (I did have a mini freak this morning after feeling like the color wasn't warm enough. The sun is out today, but when the gray comes soon I don't want the floors to seem cold.) DH, if he had his way, would have gone almost black. But he isn't the one who cleans! :)

You have three major things here that are making you dislike your kitchen - floors, hickory, and paint. Maybe a fourth - lighting. When cabinets are bad, I am usually the first to say, paint them white. But, your cabinets are so nice, and I personally would not paint them. I love wood floors, and want all my wood floors the same species and stain, so I would definitely want hickory floors in my kitchen. I know this is usually a "no-no" but I truly think with some tweeking in other areas you can make it work. See attached pictures from Houzz. Changing the terra cotta paint will make the biggest impact. Check out the green paint in some of these attached pictures or a neutral linen white (this is coming from someone who doesn't like white walls). Someone mentioned under-cabinet lighting - you probably need that, but hard to tell from the pictures. So, if that were my kitchen, I would intall hickory floors to match the rest of my house, I would paint the walls a lighter color (my accessories would help dictate that color), I would use a really nice kitchen rug to add color of my choice, I would use my bright, happy Fiesta dishes to make me happy. I am not understanding about the island - are you going to use one. If so, perhaps paint it a color (of your choice) to break up the flooring. Don't be afraid of mixing the hickory wood if that is what you want. If you google craftsmen room, you will see cabinets, trim, flooring, doors, etc in the same species and stain and it looks great. It is all in how other color is added. Here is a link that might be useful: [Houzz-Hickory cabinets[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/hickory-cabinets-phbr0lbl-bl~l_36965)

Keep it light. Dark shows every bit of dust. Also, little to no stain (I prefer non) shows the beautiful wood grain that gets rather lost with a stain. It has a multi-dimentional look that you don't get with a stain - stains rather "flatten" the look. If using no stain, with time it will darken a bit to more of a warm honey tone. That warmth is priceless! Dark stains are cold. When I re-did my floors in my last home - a condo - the guy above me did the same. I did the no stain, he went with a "gun stock" stain. They must have had a surplus as it was a bit cheaper. He said to me afterwards that he wished he went with the one I got. And after my aunt got flooded in the Sandy storm she got the same floors I went with. If you want the warmth of wood, stay away from stains, especially the dark colors! (Note: I did the L/R floors before the kitchen reno. We used a dark stain on the boards separating the rooms/different direction of the wood. I thought it worked better than trying to match up ends of boards....