I think you can ask for a custom stain, too. My mother did that when she was building her house because she didn't want any red undertones.

Special Walnut. They will do a large square for you to see samples. Even have them mix two for a custom stain, if you don't see "the one."

Any reason why you won't go with natural again?

Your floors follow a rule I learned here. When doing a wood floor with wood cabinets, they should be at least two shades apart. Otherwise you get the "cigar box" effect.

I agree with nosoccer. and grapefruit

I agree there needs to be a difference between the color of the floors and the color of the cabinets, but the two shades apart can go either way, right?

I'm not sure I would want to go natural again because it always looked a little orange to me. Is there something that would be lighter, like the natural, but be more brown? I guess that's actually a question for the floor guy who will be arriving later this morning.

I agree that the natural tends to turn orange over time. I tend to like Special Walnut in general.

Special Walnut does seem to be a well liked stain color. That's the one I hear mentioned most often.

I also think the current lighter color looks excellent. I've had all shades of wood floors and prefer lighter, more natural. The darker they are the more they show dust, pet hair, etc. Also the more natural the color the less scratches and dings show since you're not scratching off stain when it's the same color all the way through. Whatever color you choose I would recommend picking one that is the same tone as the cabinets; i.e. reddish vs. grayish, etc. Looks better and more seamless in my opinion.

Are you having waterbased finish coats? Oil based do tend to amber over time, waterbased not as much although that depends somewhat on the wood. If you consider a natural finish at all ( I know it's not your first choice) make sure they are using a waterbased finish. We have Bona Traffic HD on our floors and the finish is basically bullet proof with a light stain. We had red oak floors at our old house with a medium brown stain and it was the most forgiving floor ever. No idea what the actual color was but a basic neutral brown without red undertones.

IRL the current, actually old now because it's all sanded off, color is too orange for me. The finish will be water based as was the old finish. The old finish was something called Street Shoe from Basic Coatings. Not sure if it's still available, but it has been untouched for over 20 years.

Oh yeah, that was always Lou Manfredini's recommended floor finish!

So, the samples are down and I've already ruled out one of them. I know these are not the best pictures and in person is the only way to get a truly accurate idea of what each looks like, but here goes.

In this picture, top is Special Walnut, right is Chestnut, bottom is Spice Brown and left is Nutmeg.

In this picture, top is Nutmeg, right is Special Walnut, bottom is Chestnut and left is Spice Brown.

The cabinets are such a PITA. I'll post additional pictures tonight taken with the kitchen lights on. Should I be taking more pictures now from a different angle?

I’d paint the cabs, myself. Never been a fan of the “wood floor, stained wood cab” combo. This way...you can get the floors you want without worrying about cabs.

The one thing I do have in my favor is the cabinets are maple with very little, if any, grain and the floors are oak.

My DIL thinks I should choose the stain I like best and paint the cabinets, but she's a 30 something.

Can u take a cabinet door off and hold it up to the different colors?

Tracey, that's a great idea! Why didn't I do that in the first place? Give me a minute to grab some pictures I'll be back with the results. Thanks!!!

These pictures were taken with no flash and with the ceiling fixture on.

This is Special Walnut.

This is Chestnut.

This is Nutmeg. Sorry this one appears to be a little blurry.

I just found this picture of Duraseal Nutmeg with cabinets similar to my color.

HOLBROOK - 3 1/4" RED OAK INSTALLED/REFINISHED NUTMEG STAIN AND TRAFFIC HD POLY · More Info

Chestnut looks like the undertone is a good match. I still like S Walnut. Nutmeg looks to close in color.

Right now, I'm going back and forth between Nutmeg and Chestnut. I really wanted the Special Walnut to work. I've heard great things about it, but I don't think it's the right brown.

If we have the cabinets painted, we would definitely hire it out. I know a number of people who have had their cabinets painted where part of the process includes having all the doors removed, everything is taped off and a spray box is set up for spraying the doors.

Not a pro, but I like the nutmeg better than chestnut. I have special walnut, but have white cabinets. It has a oil poly finish and has warmed to a nice color that could match if applied lightly. With the water based they will be way too cool. I think the top coat also makes a difference.

I am not a pro, but I like the nutmeg best.

Nutmeg is my pick. I like Chestnut second.

The only one I like is the nutmeg. I think the others kind of clash with the existing cabinets. I'm curious and a bit worried but, how are the going to get that stain off of the floor? Does it just come off?

They sand it off! :)

I like nutmeg. We had the cabinets in our kitchen (they were really dinged up from previous owner) & painted white with the method stated above. The finish is hard & very lovely & custom looking, but I will say we've had some yellowing & some chips. Not sure I would do it again. In our bathrooms, we had same cabinets with same problems & we chose to reface & I like it better.

I had considered upper cream cabinets and darker bottom cabinets for my kitchen but didn't do it. That could be an option for you - to paint just the uppers to lighten the look. If that was the case, I'd go with chestnut or nutmeg.

Nutmeg. Sometimes decisions are made for us. This is the case here.

Nutmeg. The other two seem to bring out the red/orange in your cabinets, which is what you wanted to avoid.

I do think you should look at a custom mix, starting with the basic Nutmeg blend and changing the proportions as needed to darken if that is the way you want to go.

Well, please don't hate me, but we have made a decision and here's how we arrived at Chestnut. When we put a cabinet door next to each sample and covered all the others, the Nutmeg had more orange and blended too much with the cabinet. Chestnut is more brown and made the cabinet look less orange.

There are many who felt Nutmeg was the way to go and if I had only the pictures I posted to base a decision on, I probably would have "voted" for that, too, but IRL the darker floor seemed to work better. I really do appreciate all of the responses.

Good choice! Post a photo when its done. Your eyes and gut instinct should always win.

Tracey, you were one of the few who chose Chestnut. I will post pictures when it's done, but will wait until it's complete. Should be over the weekend.

I'm not sure I mentioned that the hardwood flooring begins at the front door, goes into the living room and dining room, into the kitchen, and down the hall to the bedrooms. I think the Chestnut is a good color for all those spaces.

Photos can be deceiving, so you can certainly be a better judge in your overall lighting. Glad you have made the decision.

The chestnut is beautiful! It is going to look great. Looking forward to photos!

That is the problem with sharing on the computer. Only you can really make the right choice when it comes to color.

Your floors will look amazing.

You are right, eld, but I still find it helpful to post here. Work has begun and I hope to post pictures of the finished product over the weekend.

Chestnut was my second choice but you are standing in the room and I’m only looking at phots, so I defer to your decision. Choices like this make me crazy.

Here's a picture of the newly refinished floors in the kitchen. This picture is pretty close to what it looks like IRL, altho, IRL all of the colors look "richer" to me. Duraseal stain in Chestnut with Pallmann Pall-X Gold in Satin. Right now, it is A LOT of wood (and I'm still getting used to the change), but we still need to have the island reinstalled and add a new table. This brings me to another design decision about the island. As I just said, we have a lot of wood, so I'm thinking maybe we should have the island cabinets painted a creamy white. I am also anxious now to change the counter tops!!

It's very warm and inviting, which is wonderful for a kitchen. The creamy white island might look beautiful, but it may be a bit too off with the white appliances. I'm sure you'll get great suggestions here.

Can't wait to see what you're thinking about counter tops!

Thank you, jojo! That's the feeling I'm getting there, too, as well as in the living room and dining room. The appliances are 15 years old and the color is bisque. Remember that color? We are considering replacing the appliances with stainless. For counter tops, my first thought is a light color quartz to blend in with the backsplash.

I love the idea of a painted island!

The floors came out so well! I also like the idea of a painted island, but Jo is right that if you want to paint it cream, you’ll have to change the appliances. What’s a girl to do?

What's a girl to do? Change the appliances, of course! Well, we'll see. The current appliances are not white, tho. They are that color called bisque from 15 years ago.

I was on what felt like my death bed last week (ok a bit hyperbolic!) so caught up just now and the floor looks great! I like it a lot and think you made the right call. I like the idea of a painted island, creamy white would be nice but don't rule out color. As for the appliances not matching if you do a white island, that problem goes away with color for the island. You may need/want to replace your appliances sooner than later but I would not let the island bully me into that even if you go with a white. It might not be ideal but you can change the appliances at a later point.

Gee, Deb, hope you're feeling much better! Do you have any suggestions on a color I could consider in addition to a creamy white?

Your floors look great and I’m sure IRL they are even better.

Are you into countertops with a lot of black for contrast or lighter? I think you should think about what you are considering for counters and think about what to do for the island cab color. You could go dark for the cabinet and then light for the counters or vice versa. and are you keeping the appliances for a while or changing? I know...if you give a mouse a cookie, right?

outside - My initial thought is to change to a lighter countertop. With so much wood in there now, I think I'd like to go lighter on the island, as well. As much as I'd like to change the appliances, I am having a hard time justifying that. However, I am pretty good at rationalizing many new purchases! The refrigerator is counter-depth, so I'd like the same there and the stove is slide-in, so I'd like the same there, too. The only appliance that really could use replacing is the microwave and if there was a way to relocate it and have just a hood, I'd like that.

Are you redoing the island completely? Could you move the microwave to the island? It would be low but I don’t even use mine all that much so for me it would be a minor inconvenience. Or maybe put it on a rolling cart.

The island will not change at all. All of the cabinets that make up the island are indispensable! Eliminating the microwave over the stove is just a dream.