Sorry, I reread my post and don't want to confuse. It sounds like my stairs are select alder. They're not. They are knotty alder like my doors. All of my cabinets are from select alder.
I also didn't mention everything was stained to match the darker knots in the oak flooring. I think that's why there is continuity (at least I think so! LOL)

kats,

Now it makes sense. I like the warmth of the stained cabinets and millwork against the natural white oak floors. I have always thought white oak is the prettiest, not as well known and popular as red but harder and MUCH more character. You probably already know this but the dark streaks in white oak are referred to by the flooring mills as mineral streaks and come from the ground over time as the tree grows.

Anyway, nice look! The tones really blend well and the natural white oak brightens everything up a bit.

Thank you for posting those pictures. It's all just beautiful together!

If you can get it, Ash wood is a cheaper alternative to oak. It is practically identical in appearance to white oak (minus the axial grain rays common in mission style furniture) when stained and it is very hard - that's why it is used for baseball bats.

I love alder and have it all over my house, but I also hate oak (IMO overused, bland, little grain character) so you won't see that combination of those two with me. However for your case, IMO they are way to different to try to stain them to look similar. I've said this many times on this forum. Think of wood like fabric. It comes in many different weaves and textures (aka grains) and you can always choose to color different looking pieces the same. The question is whether you want different looking fabrics w/ (nearly) identical colors in your design. My answer is no (I'd choose to highlight the contrasts rather than poorly disguise them), but your answer is your own and it's always the right one for you.

buzzsaw,

That is the beauty of building your own home. What works for some doesn't work for others. We looked at a plethoria of woods in darker grains and stains but chose the white oak and "play" off it's numerous darker knots by staining our other woods. In our common space area (1700sq ft) I see amazing knots and grains in this oak. I see where it "pulls" the other woods together which we find beautiful. The heavier grains (or darker stains) were to "busy"...for us... and not what we wanted to achieve. We wanted the floor to compliment, not over-power. We didn't want it to be the only thing noticeable when you entered our front door (like some heavily painted island counters I've seen). For us, I foresee a very comfortable space... once my decorating is complete that is! LOL.
I think we added to our home with the wood's character, not with paint. I don't think it was a rather "poor way" to disguise them.

kats, I never tire of seeing pictures of your beautiful home!!

Amy

Kats - I am interpretting your message to mean that you think I disagree with you, but it is not so. As we both discussed and show, you compliment your woodwork and are not trying to make two entirely different looking woods (e.g. alder/oak, oak/maple, birch/oak, etc.) look the same in a poor disguise of the same color stain. Nothing wrong with having different species; in fact it can be very nice looking if done well showing off contrasts while still having elements to tie them together like you did. Exactly my point.

You wouldn't wear a silk blouse, leather skirt, nylons, and wool jacket all dyed the exact same color. Why would you do that to woods that look equally different to anything more than a superficial eye.