Why don't you try to access the site from your phone so you can get the photos without transferring them to your computer?

It's hard to comment on your situation without seeing pics, but I can tell you that I when I moved in the red oak hardwood was stained a harsh shade of red-orange, made worse by the fact it was DIY job that had obvious sanding marks (!). I had it all sanded down and re-finished natural - they're beautiful. So, it's definitely a do-able fix. How bad are the cabinets, though? If they're truly Halloween orange territory, I don't know if I could live with them...

They are old-growth fir with an oil stain, so instead of being a lovely light colour they darkened to very orange. We actually added some matching shelves in the living room.

I can live with the cabinets. They are beautifully made custom cabinets and they match the doors throughout the house. My real desire is to change out the flooring, but I'd need advice on which way to go with that.

I'm sorry I can't post pictures. I have not been able to work out how to do that with my new phone.

Ah. I just saw the post about using my phone. I will post pictures. Thank you!

these are the two woods.

Nice!

The floor can probably be refinished lighter (or even darker) but I think you are a good candidate for a large kitchen rug.

I bet it'd be better without the blueish counter and backsplash though...

The counters are actually slate greys, blacks and white, not a hint of blue in them. The backsplash is history as it was poorly installed last year

I quite like the cabinets and floor. I agree the countertop and backsplash don't match - they are cool colors and the wood is definitely warm.

The cabinets are great! The floor would be better as light with no stain, or darker with something like Special Walnut. But those blue counters and that blue splash need to go. Plain white goes with everything. Corian in a white would be perfect.

Do you have photos taken after the backsplash was removed? I think the counter looks blue in the photos at least partly because of the reflection if the backsplash. It is hard to asses the true color of the countertop with the backsplash in.

Guys, seriously, the counter tops have absolutely NO blue in them. They are grey, white, and black. I chose them with my awesome decorator to go with the cabinets. The tile is also slate grey with a hint of brown. not remotely blue.It matches the tile my decorator chose for our living room wall. Seriously, they have not a hint of blue. What you are seeing is a function of my phone's camera, not true to colour.

I wood lighten the floor and either pickled oak, sun bleached or classic grey stain

maybe this is a better view of the counters

as you can see, the counters have no blue in them at all.

If anything the counters lean to brown, but no blue.

Guess we need better photos. :P

Yes, phone photos are not the best for colour. :(

But the floor is my real concern. I could live with it otherwise, but it really is terrible with the cabinets and my kitchen is BIG. I mean REALLY big, about 25 feet long and about 12 feet wide, and it dominates the Great Room in my house.

I like some of the wood samples above. I really like the Classic Grey and Sunbleached. Either one would be nice and airy. The floors we have are decent-quality engineered and can be refinished several time. I hope that means they can be re-stained. I'm pretty sure they can.

Engineered wood? meh. Yank em and put in solid wood. Or stone tile. Or Marmoleum.

(All floor suggestions depend on actual layout and extent of the floor.)

I think that your floors and cabinets are beautiful and classic. They are only “ orange” because someone on a TV show kept telling everyone that they are orange. It seems that you have already added gray walls and countertops so you can add some coordinating accessories and enjoy your big kitchen. I would not change the floors to anything “ gray”.

Replacing the floors altogether would be a big job, but if that was required I would do it.

Grapefruit1_ar, thanks. but honestly, I knew the orange kitchen would be a big problem for me when we saw the listing photos for this house. It's waterfront, so we bought it anyway, but we hate the kitchen and have to change one of the two clashing elements. The cabinets are certainly worth keeping. They're solid wood and a timeless style.

We will be replacing the handles for something more up-to date, as that can have a big impact, too.

Thanks for the lengthy response, S.J. McCarthy.

Yes, I truly wish that the original owners had not used an oil stain on all this wood. We had some shelving installed around our fireplace that matches the cabinets and the unstained wood really is a beautiful soft colour. Of course, it has now darkened to match the cabinets, which is fine because the shelving, which holds art, not books, is spaced so the orange doesn't dominate against the grey tile around the fireplace and the light walls.

I would have to see if the engineered floor can be stripped down. I've got some of it left in the original box so I can find out.

Having a light floor would make the place look airy and fresh. It would be a huge job moving all the furniture, though.

Laura F, I feel your pain. The previous owners of our home installed nearly identical elements: vertical grain fir cabinets (and doors, windows and trim) with an oil based poly, along with fairly closely matching engineered hardwood floors. Please post a follow up with what you decide to do with your floors. I've not explored my floor refinishing options, but I'm not particularly happy with what we have now.

Dam, both of those kitchens VGDF Cabinets are beautiful. In my honest opinion VGDF is one of the most beautiful wood species. Would be a shame to trash those. I would absolutely look into what can be done to refinish those floors as SJ McCarthy suggested.

No worries millworkman, I don't think the OP is doing anything to their cabinets and neither am I. We've made other incremental changes to the house to reduce the overall "orangeness" but I think refinishing the floors might be the solution.

Laura - definitely listen to SJ McCarthy! If you don’t like the “raw” look of some reason, definitely do not use pickled or sun-bleached - my understanding is that you will wind up with pink looking floors instead of the orange ones you have now. If you want a medium brown - you probably need to use a stain that has some green undertone in it to counter the red.

Blue and orange are opposites on the color wheel. That means they set each other off & seem more vibrant. Eliminating your blue backsplash will help some. At least it won't make your cabinets scream orange:

I tried to eliminate the blue color cast in your counters.

There's a topcoat product called BriWax that you rub on. Somebody on the web toned down her orange oak cabinets by using a light coat of Tudor Brown BriWax. I have no idea if it will work well on your grain-less cabinets or how long lasting it is.

https://inbetweenchaos.com/2017/10/01/refreshing-worn-wood-with-briwax/

I can't seem to post pictures today. Sorry. Trying again:

Wow. Since we have to remove that backsplash anyway (the contractor did a very poor job and tiles aren't level) I will most definitely be replacing it with light grey. That looks fantastic!

Ok, your cabinets are not "Halloween Orange" LOL! They're actually quite beautiful. Take the above advice to sand down the floors and leave them natural -- it will make world of difference and you may grow to love those beautiful wood cabs!

I don't mind the cabinets on their own. And I wouldn't have minded the floor on its own. But the combination...OOOOH! My eyes!

There are some other decorating crimes in my house, not the least of which is the awful tile in the bathrooms and front hallway. Again, orange, fake terracotta. Nasty things. These, too, are on the hit list.