White....Unless you like reddish/ pinkish tones that darken over time.

It almost looks like the posted pictures are reversed.

@Sina Sadeddin Architectural Design gave good advice. The white oak won't have the red/pink undertones. I recently had red oak installed in my kitchen remodel. It would not have been my first choice but all of the original floors throughout my 1935 home are face nailed red oak. I wanted the floors to match throughout the house.

My existing floors are a crazy mix of quarter sawn, rift sawn, and straight cut. It makes for a very busy floor, but as I said I wanted to match and blend as best I could with my existing 84 year old floors. Here are some pictures where you can definitely see the red/pink undertones.

Here you can see where the old meets new. At this point, the new floor had just been sanded.

Here they are with a coat of white shellac sealer being applied.

If you have pets or kids I would think twice about real wood in the kitchen. It is a pain to keep looking nice. I just had to replace my whole kitchen/greatroom wood floors after only 10 years of being very very careful with it (high quality wood that was supposed to be "life proof"). Installed a wood look porcelain tile, looks great and is really "life proof".

This room is Oak TILE:

https://www.lumberliquidators.com/ll/c/Classic-Red-Oak-Porcelain-Tile-Avella-24X6CRO/10043958?CATARGETID=420003430000824994&CADevice=c&msclkid=1f4cbb1f47511a539992e7557ce487b2&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=(ROI)%20Shopping_Flooring%20-%20Non%20Wood&utm_term=4582145991894066&utm_content=Wood%20Plank%20Tile

No scratches, No stains, No special cleaners, will never darken, change colors or need to be refinished.

@ Jamie Ludwig Why didn't you just have them refinished?

I always prefer solid white oak, site finished.

The OP's choices look like engineered flooring, which, depending on the quality, cannot be refinished as many times as solid oak planks.

@Diana Bier Interiors, LLC I could be wrong but it looks too thick to be engineered. It looks to me to be 3/4" prefinished tongue and groove.

Regardless, white oak will provide the most versatility.

Could be, missengima.

Yes, 3/4" solid. Just edited the above.

Thanks for clearing that up, Betty.

We just had our whole 2nd floor done in red oak (to match the downstairs) and I love it! Ours is engineered hardwood. Here are some photos as it was being installed so you can see the color. I love ours but am sure either would be fine in your home.

We had looked at refinishing but some of the stains were so bad they may not have come out. THEN we had a water leak and got mold under the wood so we had to replace everything, so refinishing was off the table. We had the new tile sealed with epoxy grout to make it water proof so no mold will happen under the floors again.

@Jamie Ludwig That sounds like an absolute nightmare! UGH! Well I guess looking for the silver lining you've got a much tougher floor that will stand up to the kids and pets.

I like both. I know that’s not helpful. I think of floors like blue jeans that, by and large, go with everything.

Red oak has the pink going on but white oak has the yellow.

What are you topcoating with?

What grades are they? Curious of the OP and Lawsonch’s flooring.

Thanks all for the comments! Love this website! My kitchen has a skylight, window over the sink and doorwall and windows by the kitchen table (lots of light). We will be taking the flooring into the laundry room, powder room, foyer and down the hallway to the bedrooms. Those areas of the house don't get nearly as much natural light making the natural white oak look like a medium to dark toned floor. I don't want dark. I originally thought I would do natural white oak but am waffling to the natural red oak which I have seen before. I've never seen the white oak in person other than the sample. The white oak can look green/gray/ or even pink-ish sometimes. Also, worried about the rays/flecks. They look like water spots and I envision that being all over the floor. I know they can hide them. Guess I'll take one more weekend to think about it and carry the flooring around my house. They are both nice. I like this kitchen.

Glastonbury White/Gray Kitchen Project · More Info

B Merrit , most new floors are White Oak unless they are being installed to match an existing floor. If this is a new project pick the White Oak option. And already mentioned, pick a thicker Engineered plank if you can. 3/4" will give you a 6mm wear layer most times.

Educational Plank Flooring Examples · More Info

I like the red oak. Your kitchen doesn't have a "star". Everything is white, so I think having a busier floor will be good here. I have hickory wood floors that have a reddish/pinkish tint in places & I love them. They have so much character & hide EVERYTHING!!

mark_rachel, that is what I told my husband! And, Oak & Board, I've been studying this off and on for at least a year. You are one of my favorite commentors. I have learned a lot from you.
Both of the samples are solid hardwood not engineered. KD is pleased with the quality of the floor and barely there bevel. Haven't seen a white oak floor yet in Michigan. Well aware of matching existing flooring of which we have none. Need a little more visual interest than the white oak. Considered natural hickory and I think it is too much for me. In my area, everyone is used to red oak. Boring Detroit area suburbs. Not a high end home.

I really like the red oak! It is a bit more warm and homey than the white. But you can't go wrong with either!

There is a difference between red and white oak. Red Oak is more popular because it has a nice reddish tone and and the grain had a wider patterns.

White oak is allot more stable because its a much harder wood and it stands out better to the traffic, also the grain is much more tighter so it takes the stain more evenly. If you check the hardness rating the white Oak is rated as being harder.

White oak been and still used where there is a need for a durable surface.

We just went through this and we are putting in a (mostly) white kitchen. We went with a natural red oak solid hard wood (3.25"). They're not in yet. We literally just selected them Saturday. The white oak looked too yellow IMO. There was just enough warmth to the red.

good luck!

YES! I am missing the white oak already. I dropped a can of cooking spray on the red oak sample and dented it. Months earlier I dropped a quartz sample on the white oak (much worse) and barely took a small chunk out of that. The white oak seems noticably more durable. My husband and I are going to miss that!

The hardness rating between the two is meaningless. Fractional at best. It's not a good way to go about choosing a hardwood floor. Additionally you'll see the same dents on the White Oak if you do it enough times. Some parts of the tree (boards) have different densities. This hardness thing pushed by internet retailers years ago is an average.

Natural Hickory doesn't have to be rustic. Here's a clear graded Hickory.

White looks nice!

Thanks Uptown Floors. Started thinking that small gouge was already there anyway but thanks for the extra details!!

I have site finished character grade hickory solid hardwood random widths 3,4, 5 love the floor have had it 5 years 3 big dogs and kids, is in entire house no carpet . I don't mind scratches as I can eventually refinish it - looks beautiful so easy to clean no stain. I am trying to convert to a LVP for next house but can't take the plunge yet as I love hardwood floors!

Ended up choosing white oak and it looks very good. Still like red oak but think it may have been too pale in the natural. Will never know! Can't have every thing :) The white oak is "rustic" enough for me too!