You may need a personalized mix of stains to get the colour shown in your inspiration photo. Ebony can look like "painted wood" it is SOOO dark. Jacobean is moderately dark with hints of green in it (often used to tone down red oak). It is not as dark as you think.

As Patricia mentions - you probably need another professional if he uses Minwax and doesn't do water popping.

You will have the professional do a full sanding job. Then they will put down (with water popping and a coat of finish as well) a colour patch in several different options. You will then take a day or two to decide which one you like the most.

The professional will then sand out the colour patches and then apply the stain that you have chosen. You view the unfinished floor prior to application of 2-3 coats of finish (2 coats if a sealant is uses...3 coats if no sealant was used).

Ask your flooring guy what finish he wants to use. That's always a good way to judge the level of craftsmanship/skill the person has. A low grade finish (like Minwax) can indicate a lower grade professional (not always....but it can help you understand what you are purchasing for the price).

I know this is not an answer to your question, however why on earth would you want a dark finish on your hardwood floor? So many people think they do & then after they do realize that it is almost impossible to keep them looking perfect.

Every speck of dust, thread, cat hair or anything will show. If you have a housekeeper who will monitor the look of the floors or you yourself are a perfectionist & also do not allow your guests to come in w/o removing their shoes or putting on booties, a medium or light stain is best.

As Patricia said, "get a different flooring guy"...(person).

I happen to love dark floors and IMO not any harder to look after than light ones . They tell when they are dusty so get a swiffer it will be your best friend.I had these dark floors with 2 big golden retreivers it took 5 minutes to swiffer , not exactly a big job.

I don't think the color in your picture can be achieved without water popping. It's hard to believe a finisher wouldn't do such a basic thing. Maybe they had a bad experience in the past, like boards splintering, and don't want a repeat. Perhaps if you offer and extra 60 cents a square foot to apply a thin coat of water before staining and to include an extra coat of poly, it would change his mind. That's my upcharge for water popping.

Those look great! I think they are much better than your inspiration picture because you have the light and dark tones still shining thru, which is the best part of a wood floor, IMO.

Everyone has different likes and dislikes. I don’t follow trends, have a very traditional bent, and love dark wood.

Have your flooring guy do stain samples on the same flooring material so you can decide how dark you want to go before you do the whole floor.