I went with white oak also because I didn't want red undertones. My flooring co said red oak will usually have red undetones regardless of what color stain is applied. Mine are stained with a mix of 75% Jacobean and 25% Coffee Black (similar to Dark Walnut from the more common stain company). I love them! Not so dark that the show every single speck of dust or cat hair. That sounds like a cleaning nightmare to me! And shout out to Nini whose floor is my inspiration. She graciously supplied her formula to me so I could try to replicate her beautiful floors!

This is going to take some investigation on your part/flooring professional's part. You will need to pay for this investigation...with full knowledge that the investigation may not pan out the way you want it to. It is *possible (again, this would come with a full investigation...ie little demolition points to confirm what is underneath) to remove the layer of vinyl+plywood substrate. It is *possible you can get all the subfloors back to the original situation. Assuming that this will work, the kitchen isn't going to be much of an issue, and here's why. A floor cutting saw (which is PURPOSEFULLY DESIGNED TO DO THIS) can be used to cut the floor right at the foot of the cabinets. In fact, the floor cutter can cut at an angle for a small "undercut" under the cabinet boxes. This will be covered up later by some well chosen trim. You will be dropping the floor in the kitchen but you will be ADDING 3/4" hardwood at the end...it should all work out in the wash. Once the kitchen floor has been removed and the original floor height exposed, you can go ahead with your installation of your wood flooring. But remember: you - as the homeowner - MUST have products tested for asbestos and lead BEFORE the full demolition goes forward. You will probably have one of the two (most likely both) substances in your home and it is up to you to protect the workers. You can do that by taking some of the demolition cuts and having the layers tested for asbestos (lead was rare in flooring materials...but you never know when some cheap homeowner wanted to throw down some paint in 1969). Once you have done all of your due diligence to ensure the project can be done safely and successfully, you can go ahead with your remodel. Cabinets can be left in place. No worries about that. It is done all the time.

We went with natural red oak - we love the lighter flooring throughout our home - and a contrasting stained white oak cabinet (I think it’s with special walnut). Contrast is more restrained in person and cabs are darker than we envisioned - originally we were thinking less contrast - but we’re very happy with how it turned out! We also have a good amount of white in the kitchen.

@jjam Your floors look beautiful. @Angela Wacker I hope your floors turn out beautiful. @mdln these are such a good ideas/solutions next time I am doing a renovation I will make sure to get this kit. I went by the house in the morning and took a closeup photo (prior to getting confirmation from the contractor and subcontractor) It does look like white oak. @SJ McCarthy thank you for all the information, it gave me ideas on what to ask the contractor and how to have a conversation about the floors. I even came up with a few more stains to try in case the original choices did not work out. The contractor e-mailed me early this afternoon agreeing to test a few more colors. We asked him, again, regarding the type of floors we have and the new ones they installed, initially he said the floors were red oak, but then he texted us an hour later letting us know that the sub had informed him that it was white oak!?! What!! @Beth Thank you!!!! @SashaDog Thank you!!!! @G & S Floor Service @Timothy Winzell it appears you guys were right - it is white oak -probably. Quality/grade? who knows! I cant believe the contractor did not know this! It appears my worries about the floors looking red after a light stain were unnecessary. We stopped by the home to see the samples on our "white oak" and the white stain looked nice with the top coat on it, not pink. The birch was nice, but we decided to go with the white as it looks more like the natural color of the wood we love. I am still anxious about the overall outcome, but crossing fingers that it turns out nice. I am going by the house tomorrow and working from my car so I can take a look and stop the workers in their tracks if it looks bad lol. I am just kidding...but maybe I am not :) Here are the two samples we tried Bona Birch and Duraseal White with bona HD on our "white oak" floors (this is not 100% for sure lol). Leaving the picture here in case someone is looking for a picture of these two stains. You are all such a wonderful group of people! Thank you for helping me through my anxiety. This morning I felt so stupid to have been worrying about a floor stain when so much more important things are going on in the world. Anyways, thank you and much love to you all. Stay healthy!! -Mari