yeah, i don't think you can make red oak look like white oak. i have several french antique pieces in european red oak. it is very dark, and i love it. i bought some antique chairs recently to go with a red oak table. i thought they were dark too, but they are in white oak. i believe that i can make the white oak chairs darker, but vise versa is another story. i would definitely make him redo those cabs in the wood that you chose. he should not have changed that without your permission. i hate it when i pay someone for a product/service and they just take it upon themselves to do what they want to do. my poolbuilder moved my pool about a foot and a half without telling me. i noticed it was not lined up with a planter after it was built and he admitted that he had done this. i guess its too late to make him fill that pool in and re-dig another one a foot and a half over. but, i would consider cabinets a different story. make him do it over.

Agreed with the above. For fairly priced change. I’d paint the risers and balusters white. If you want to up the game a drop you can add a runner And for the wrought iron- you will have to do a lot of it. Also at the top of the stairs by the railing in the hallway. So it’s a big project. It is expensive. Not so necessary. But it would look nice :)

Did you ever have any luck with the banister? i have white oak, red oak, and fir in my house trying to make it all match or complement the look of natural white oak! If you found something that worked can you please share an after photo and the color used? thanks!

Sample this where the two woods meet. So you can see how big of a contrast there is. On my screen, the water base looks good.