You may have already seen this, but here is an article with photo of Basic Emulsion on red oak. Generally, any finish with an oil product in it gets more amber/orange toned and slightly darker over time. Pure water based finishes get more whitish over time. Here is a link that might be useful: Popular Mechanics Emulsion DIY Article

I have ordered a few doors from Cabinetnow - one is the walnut one that you used - your kitchen is so rich and warm. My plans are to use the tung oil as you have as I can see why you are so pleased with the results. But.. I am back to "stupidity". I "get" the bases. You buy the frame (and hinges too I guess from what I have seen) from Ikea and the doors from Cabinetnow. Makes sense to me. But... If you have a frame for the lower base, how do you get the drawer boxes without drawer boxes fronts - since I will be also ordering these from Cabinetnow? I have been all over the site and I am just not seeing it. For those of you who have done this, please just point me in the right direction. TY

Beautiful, cozy, elegant! My black soapstone just came in. My cabinets are a very light maple shaker style. Appliances all Stainless steal. I will have an island. It's time to paint my newly sheet rocked walls. I'm leaning toward white with a different white for trim and ceilings but there are so many whites I can't decide. I am worried about making it too cold and sterile. Also thinking of a very slight gray perhaps on one walls. The kitchen has decent light but not great. The entry near sliding door has raja slate. I do not have high ceilings but they are 11 ft. It is not completely open to living room but partially open to dining room. Backsplash will be white sub tile. Any suggestions for paint color. We like clean, crisp, minimalist looks with straight lines but also cozy. Thanks for any suggestions!

I was not specific enough sorry. We are refinishing our old floor and we have added a lot of new flooring (due to cat urine from prev owners) We were going to stain the floors before putting on the final protective coating which in our case we have chosen "street shoes" a water based very durable coating, from what we have heard. We were going to use English Chesnut as the stain but feel it is too dark for the second floor. I have been able to see many pictures of "Natural" stain on the internet. But we are considering no stain just the clear floor with coating of the finish to protect the floors. In our last home I believe the red oak was sanded and then poly oil based was applied. I did not like how orange it became over time. That is why I am not wanting to use poly this time. So I am looking for any pics of floors that were sanded and then not stained, not even with "Natural" and then were sealed with something other than the yellowing poly. I hope this explains it a little better. Thanks for your help!! Amy