Ive refinished hardwood floors for over 10 years. And while both maple and white oak have differences its mostly down to color that seperates them. Maple is "harder" based off the Janka rating system used by industry. But dont be fool all wood will dent if something is dropped. But back to color. Yes maple is lighter in natural tone but doesnt accept staining well. It can be done and look good but not as evenly as oak does. Oak is of course darker and also has thicker grains then maple. If you are going natural with the finish i personally like white oak over maple. Maple tends to become too orange as the floor ambers over time.

I bought quarter sawn red oak cabinets for my previous kitchen and although the doors were quartersawn, the interior faces of the cabinets were regular red oak veneer. That's the way they were manufactured. Since the doors were full overlay, the parts of the cabinets that were not quartersawn were never really visible and I had "furniture" sides so those were also quartersawn. However, red oak and white oak are different species, with the white oak tending more towards browner tones. If I were you I would buy a sample door and see how the color match goes with your current boxes. Or you can buy an unfinished door and see if you can play with stain to match the color. You might be able to find a stain close to your current cabinets in tone that will be good with the honey oak. .

The end product when you saw logs at the mill is only slightly under the sawyer's control, because the growth rings/grain vary at points throughout the log. Only riftsawn veneer is a reliable way to get that one particular grain format, because they cull through hundreds of pieces and get the veneer mill running just right. In 1890, they had enormous white oak tree trunks to pick through, which yielded unimaginably (in 2000's) wide and flecky planks of Q-sawn. If you want picture perfect matched rift grain, either use veneer or be prepared to have the costs skyrocket, because the cabinetmaker will have to pick through piles of lumber to get the best matching grain.

Wow, those tiles will be stunning! Yes, great minds think alike lol. It’s nice we found each other, Houzz can be a lonely place when you aren’t doing a white shaker with marble look counters. There is absolutely nothing wrong with white and marble and when done right it’s beautiful- but it would be so so wrong with my house and my existing furniture and decor. My house is a 70s contemporary and since it has lots of natural stone, medium brown woodwork and exposed beams, the Mission style works very well with it. Having said that, I also thought a slavish reproduction of Mission/Arts and Crafts wouldn’t fit, but incorporating some of those elements was my goal. My parents were both antique collectors and a lot was passed down to me, so my decor is a lot of Mission but with some Empire, Eastlake walnut, and a few 60s-70s pieces thrown in the mix, in homage to my “contemporary of its time” house. My eclectic/eccentric style, for lack of a better term, isn’t something I see much in the modern HGTV world, but I often find inspiration in real estate photos from England, where I used to live, where being eccentric eclectic is a more accepted way of life :)