Valerie, Thanks, we had the hardwoods installed about five years ago, and I do not remember the name of them. They were prefinished floors, though. I have maids that come weekly, they vacuum and then use the spray hardwood floor cleaner on them that my flooring guy recommended. I don't usually have to clean in between, but I am not a clean freak. I don't have pets inside, but lots of teens in and out!

Linelle: your description perfectly captures the difference between my sample and what I'm looking for! My sample is flat and lifeless. What I want is for the wood to look rich and alive. The example I chose may be red oak. I know white oak can be just as lively as red oak though. There are plenty of QS white oak photos that look rich and full of figure. It's the rift white oak that I cannot find good photos of! ILoveRed: I have seen the photo of the tall cabinets in the first kitchen and it is gorgeous! It doesn't show the detail of the wood as clearly as I need but I'll add it to my photos. The second kitchen you found has some really good photos. Thanks so much for finding that for me! omelet: I'm not an expert either but I agree with you - the cut determines the figure of the wood more than the finish. But take a look at the figure on the unstained backside of my sample door: Unstained, it has a lot of wonderful richness and unexpected fleck in too. If they didn't leave the backside unstained I would have never known that RS white oak could look so lively and have such lovely figure. In one of my other threads, we seem to have figured out that they used a mix of woods and cuts on this sample door. The side rails look like RS white oak, top and bottom rails QS white oak and center panel is plain sawn red oak. That's a fantastic suggestion to post on the flooring forum! Off I go...

Bleaching will lighten the wood. If, it is yellow. It will make it less or eliminate it. Having white oak means that you can skip the bleaching process. Nordicseal is a good product for white washing. Since, it is also a sealer, it will block any tannins from bleeding through prevent the yellow. Also, if, you use a water base poly, the water base poly will prevent the yellowing. If, you use an oil base, then expect yellowing to occur. You can also use a stain mixture for white washing. But, you will need to apply a sealer to prevent tannins from bleeding through.

Medium Brown, Antique brown or Jacobean - Medium brown is the lightest, jacobean will be the darkest. The provincial has an orange tint to it. Don't use an oil based poly/topcoat. They turn orange over time.