Pillog, you are right on. The other half of "we" is DH. He immediately got on board, no hesitation, when I told him I was thinking of woodgrain instead of white. You're also right that whatever makes a "happy wife" is good by him. ("Happy wife, happy life" -- something a husband on "Househunters" said.) I like your way of thinking on including him. Jenny, I'm so glad you mentioned no oil base on the floor because I was planning to have them use oil-based Duraseal this time, thinking it would look richer. Thanks again to all. I/"we" are still sorting this out and will let you know what we decide. Still have to learn to post pictures. I'm not comfortable with the fact that my photos apparently have to be available on the general internet, as in photobucket. Correct me if I'm wrong about this.

@lv2plyglfgal No...I have not tried those products..just the Bona Naturalle. My goal wasn't to get totally unchanged raw look, but to find a product that gave a slightly fumed look like my inspo picture below, that could also be protected by poly if necessary, and find a protective coating that did not alter the colors. The Pallman's white came close, as you can see from picture above, but it looked too pink on larger sample. Apparently, certain character grades of white oak can include a small percentage of red planks. I did like the sample I have of a board with a bit of reactive stain and poly, but it did have a tint of yellow from the Bona. I started this process months ago and totally went down the rabbit hole trying to figure out how to achieve this look below without spending a zillion dollars, Lol. We even literally fumed some planks ourselves. Rubio's Monocoat smoke was nearly perfect in appearance, but it just has too many reported issues and no poly coatings that the company "recognizes" as adhering. The Ciranova Unico did the same thing with better protection options,etc.. I'm also testing options for my cabinets, stains, waxes, etc.. There is a woman who wants what you want...here is a link to her blog keeping white oak(if that is allowed here.) When you start testing, I'd love to see your results; we can narrow things down without each buying everything..LOL...my DH would rather me spend 100s now to help decide rather than thousands later if I hate what we did. But the biggest issue I have had is replicating results on larger samples...(Oh, and PS, apparently the Fortico is much easier to apply that Bona. You do not need a Phd in flooring...)

Will do when it's light out. Don't say I didn't warn you...

Sorry, just saw this. I feel two coats of finish is sufficient when applied over sealer at the prescribed rate. This is especially true for Traffic which goes on heavier (350-400 sq. ft/gallon for Traffic, 500-600 for Mega). More coats of finish make the floor smoother, filling in the grain, and making wear and scratches more evident. If you're in a situation where you need more longevity, you can have more coats applied and live with the consequences. In most residential situations my customers want their floor recoated when it looks bad due to wear and scratches, not when the finish wears through. The surface accumulates the same amount of wear and scratches whether it has 2 coats or 20 coats, at which point it will look a bit shabby and require a recoat.