I have hardwood on the entire first floor and I love it. Most of it is the original from the 40's. I had it stained in a medium walnut called "special walnut". I really like the color and it is not so dark that it shows every speck. I think it would go with most any color because it gives a medium brownish look. Some stains lean a little orange or reddish, even pinkish. Does this make sense? Hope it helps.

I vote for very dark floors...not blackish, but a deep rich dark brown.
There are three primary reasons I think this:
one: Dark floors are the best backdrop (or perhaps I should say underdrop??) for pretty rugs, and for every tone of wooden furniture, whereas lighter tones often don't work with the variety of furniture finishes we all have.
two: Dark floors are very good in both traditional and modern schemes, and add elegance to the picture.
three: Dark floors make rooms seem larger and taller by receding underfoot.

If you are talking about wood finished in place, I often recommend Minwax's "English Chestnut," because it is rich and lovely and has only warm brown tones...no red or orange or gray or yellow. The store samples often don't show this quality to good advantage, but on site it is rich and deep and gorgeous.

Remember that the floor and the ceiling are the largest expanses of space in the room, and have to work with everything while not calling attention to themselves.

One other note, based on what you talked about in your post. If you really don't like the pinkish tone in your tile, you should know that you reinforce the pinkness by using green on your walls. They are opposites on the color wheel, and intensify each other when used together. Just a thought, as you move forward.

Thank you these two thoughts do help. I will check them out.

Bronwynsmom - you've been a wealth of help to me lately. :) Interesting points on the darkness of the flooring. I had not thought about those points.
- What if I am not finishing it in place... any suggestions. I have thought of finishing it here and of buying it pre-finished.
- On the tile, what would you suggest to neutralize it instead of the green?

If anyone is familiar with prefinished floor colors, would love a suggestion to consider.

Sorry to be slow...have been a busy person this weekend!

There are color experts here that are smarter than I am about this...but here goes.

To neutralize the pink a bit, I would look for a soft gray or taupe with a very subtle lavender undertone. You don't want it to read purple, but something like Sherwin Williams "Grayish" (SW 6001) or "Snowfall" (SW 6000) or "Chelsea Mauve" (SW 0002). BMoore's "Rockport Gray" (HC-105) is grayer still, but has a good neutrality.

Alternatively, a fawn or tan with some peachiness in its undertone will also soften the pink effect. SW's "Reticence" (SW 6064) is a nice soft one with that characteristic; also "Familiar Beige" (SW 6093). If you like the idea of something almost mauve, look at "Doeskin" (SW 6044), which is a sort of rich malted milk color, as well. (I don't recommend the color that is actually called "Malted Milk.")

Any neutral that you like that goes more toward the mauve side and less toward the green will help. Notice I say "toward" - not all the way!

A good way to test this is to collect some paint chips in pinky beiges, bring them home, and choose one or two that are closest to the colors in your tile. Take those back to the paint store with you, and hold up chips you are considering next to them. You will begin to see how some colors intensify the pink, and some pull it back toward creamy beige.

I am going prefinished and probably will have LL's new Koka Oak. It is a very rich dark brown that masks a fair amount of the grain. The only drawback is maintenance issues - dust, smudges, scratches etc that show on a dark floor much more than a medium tone. I was going to go with their lighter Mocha Oak, but it seems that's been discontinued.

I really love a dark floor and I have a Roomba and a handy partner so I think the maintenance issues on the Koka won't be so bad for me. But, it is something you should take into consideration.

This is the wood I chose because I wanted lower cost 3/4" thick solid (not engineered) hardwood.. if you go into a higher budget, thinner and/or engineered wood you will find more choices.

Here is a link that might be useful: Koka Oak 3 1/4 width