I also have the open burners, so am not who you're asking, but am wondering...If the black surface is the same on both, and is a pain to clean when you can take it to the sink to scrub, I don't know why it would be easier to try to clean in place? Not trying to argue, like I said, just wondering. I also went from electric smoothtop to the Wolf gas rangetop and it was a bit of a shock for someone who likes easy-care. ;-) When I got mine, there were people here who had gladly replaced sealed burners with open, because when things spilled in the sealed area, it was so hard to clean out.

The white cedar single stains described in this thread are mostly applied by dipping the shingles in stain at the factory which provides the best protection. Weatherwash is a brand of interior furniture stain that can be used on exterior wood with a protective coating of Weatherwash's Exterior Water Sealer. That seems like additional expense for less protection.

Since you do not want extremely dark floors, I would not stain the floors since the yellow orange color will dramatically get darker and richer and so will all the colors on the floor. I feel the floor will be richer and more beautiful and dark enough. Now if you told us you wanted very dark floors, then I would say stain them and they may get even darker. It is whatever you find beautiful. I really love the colors of Brazilian Cherry and that is why despite the darkening and color change under my furniture, it is what I have been wanting. I can't help you with finishing the floor since I never finished a floor before but I like semi-gloss and satin finishes on darker floors since high gloss on dark wood seems to show every drop of dust but that is just my opinion. Semi-gloss is my favorite finish on any hardwood floor.

The Cabot product you posted a picture of is acrylic, which is a water based product. One sure way to tell is if clean up is with mineral spirits it is oil based. If clean up is with soap and water it is water based/acrylic. Again, it is always best to use a oil based stain on outdoor stuff that will be exposed to weather. Although oil based stains have a more natural look. If you are looking for more coverage you will only get that really with a acrylic stain.