We just put in white oak floors. I chose a Bona water based poly finish because we wanted a natural wood look (no stain, and oil based finishes yellow or amber over time).

Here is a photo of our white oak floors with a light stain and brown glaze applied.

We had the original white oak floors previously and I believe they were refinished with just poly. They appeared very "orange" to me compared to what we have now.

I used to have a clear stain but the sunshine turned my
oak floors over time to a golden huge. Pre-Reno

This time I changed my floors to a dark English chestnut
look. Bonakemi.

Our 12 year old medium unstained oak floors. They too have turned a bit more orangey over the years.

{{!gwi}}

When you say "stain" how dark are you talking about? I have a friend who stained her oak floors pretty dark, and EVERY crumb shows. It's a PITA. She regrets it. One of the best things about natural oak floors is that they don't show dirt, that is, unless you stain them dark.

As others have noted, some finishes can change the oak color if sun hits it. My kitchen faces north, with trees blocking most of the light, so I don't worry about my unstained natural oak floors - they were last finished 7 years ago and look the same now as they did then. But if your kitchen has, e.g., a south-facing window, you should ask your floor guy what is the best preventative for color changing.

Unstained red oak floor laid last July...

Thanks everyone....very nice floors! We had new floors put in the new kitchen (used to be fugly green tile) and are refinishing the dining room and living room to match. I think I want just a little color for warmth, but not really dark. Thanks ak for the reminder about crumbs. I am not a fastidious cleaner!

CaliWendy, I haven't heard of a glaze over the finished floors. Very pretty. Is it durable?

Thanks Joanne. I had never heard of it before either. I knew I wanted something in a medium-brown color, but every stain the floor guy put on really pulled out the oak grain, which I didn't like being so prominent. He ended up putting a light stain first (which minimized the grain) and then a coat of the brown glaze which gave it the color and depth I was looking for. He finished it off with several coats of poly, so I think it is as durable as other finishes. Except, of course, when I do things like drop my iron on the floor, which leaves a big gash in it. ;)

Love your floor color, Boxer. :)