"Can one stain 'New' Red Oak to match 'Old' Red Oak?" This is tuff to do. When we do a repair in an old Vancouver Home I often use some Shellac first and then top coat with Polyurethane. The shellac gives me the aged look or yellowing and the two seam to work well together. Some times we tint the top coat a little. Judgement calls since sunlight and time will yellow the top coat so making it look right now might make it look wrong in a year.....

Like jfcwood states - the FINAL colour is the true test as to whether the experiment "worked". The other problem contractors have would be the use of oil based or oil modified finishes. It is impossible to get a white floor when the top coats turn ORANGE! I once had a "professional" (15 years in the refinishing business) tell me he worked with "water based" finishes all the time. He then named every SINGLE oil based product on his shelf. It turns out he thought that anything that was liquid - like water - was water based. He couldn't name a water based finish if it jumped up and slapped him with a lawsuit! The "old guard" are having a hard time adjusting to the "new" thinking. The Low VOC stuff, the 'non ambering' stuff, the low-odour products are relatively new (to North America...they are de rigueur in Europe) and are different to use. They require training. Training is no big deal in Europe. You have to do it to keep your license. North America is still the wild-wild west. If you have a sanding machine, you can call yourself a floor refinisher (sad...but true). Add that to the fact that red oak is cheaper than white oak and the trend is white flooring, you get a powerful mixture of fashion together with lack of knowledge and a healthy dose of "cheaper is better". A whole bunch of hearts have and will continue to be broken - on both sides of the professional-client fence. My advice: If you want the look of European Oak, then you should start with European Oak. If you are lucky enough to like the reddish tones of Red Oak, then go ahead and work with Red Oak; count your blessings and the money left in your bank account.

The carpet sample is our carpet, and the white board represented white baseboards. I LOVE Special Walnut, but it was a smidge more golden than it appears here, and I had to consider that it would yellow more with time. 50/50 Dark Walnut/Weathered Oak is our choice (the bottom one), and I love it too! I'm nervous and have been second-guessing myself all day, but I haven't called them to change the order so I think it's sticking! They stain tomorrow! It was a hard call and it didn't help that one was my favorite at night but I liked a different one in the morning light. Trying to remember that however it's stained, it's a beautiful, neutral background for the thing I already love - furnishings, fabrics, etc. I'll post a picture next week when it's all done. White cabinets are on my wish list, but that won't happen for a long time.

This is a great post and info, I am glad I came across it! I have Timborana hardwood floors that I've hated for years now. I love the wood grain, but I can't stand the color anymore... yes it's red, and it shows absolutely everything (foot prints, paw prints, hair, etc). I came across this post as I have been looking for a green undertone stain color. I am trying to figure out what to do. Those pieces are the back side of this flooring so it shows the natural color. On the right is the sample done by the flooring guy. This is the color that I really like, not too dark, not too light. This is a sample piece that my flooring guy sanded down and tried 4 different alternatives. I was shocked on how light it turned out. Not sure what the top color is, but I don't like it (too yellow). The second one I think is just the natural finishing coat. The third one has more white mixed with the finishing coat and the bottom one just a little white. I am really debating if I should go with one of those 3 options, there is such a difference in color between boards, I am not sure what it will look like. I am wondering if I should ask him for something a little darker, not sure if something like the picture above could be achieve in any way. Of course Timborana has a lot more wood grain. Any suggestions? and then I have to choose tiles to go beside the wood floor 🙄