Problem: 3" red oak flooring in kitchen area which is structurally sound but aesthetically displeasing to me in that I do not like oak flooring, particularly not the run-of-the-mill variety.

Objective: a flooring that will blend with kitchen renovation (custom shaker-style cabinets with milk paint finish probably in white, soapstone counters on perimeter, copper apron front sink, copper clad hood, Bucks County ledgestone wall 9' wide and two stories high housing Jotul kinnebec wood stove insert and black double oven). Also needs to blend with abutting reclaimed heartpine flooring which will eventually have a tung oil finish.

Limitations: Money!

Possible Solution: White wash pickle stain or ebony stain topped with tung oil.

While I like the ebony stain, I think I would grow to dislike it over time. The kitchen is very light, but a floor that dark may be . . . well, depressing, particularly with the black counters, black fireplace, black slate hearth and black slate in the entry.

The white blends well with the stone, but will there be too much white with the white milk paint cabinets? Walls, incidentally will have wainscotting. Paint above wainscotting will be Ralph Lauren's Mexican Feathergrass, a light to medium sage depending on lighting/time of day.

Have I overlooked other, better solutions? Or, is my solution not a viable one? Please speak up now before I make another renovation blunder.