Our guy applied large swatches (about 1 by 2 feet) of different combinations of stain to the actual floors after sanding so we could see the options in the actual space. Then he just sanded them off prior to applying the finish we chose. Keep in mind that you can mix stain colors and ratios to get the nuances you want. We ended up with a combination of two colors plus a "neutral" stain in a 1:1:2 ratio, I think. We wanted to emphasize the grain and the neutral did this since the stain is absorbed disproportionately by the open grain areas. I had looked at lots of photos online and had an idea of the look I wanted. I showed this to the flooring contractor and he brought several stains. After he applied the first one I'd comment and he'd make adjustments before the next swatch. He wrote the combinations on the floor in pencil next to each swatch so I could think about what we liked and didn't like. I think we had six or eight swatches. Long-distance, you'd want some good photos taken in daylight and artificial light. You'd also want some time to think about it!

suggestions for staining red oak floors... would like a dark but not black stain without too much red or yellow.

@katiejeane i am glad i came across your post of red oak flooring. i have been trying for months to get the color right and love your home and floor. I have some questions and hope you dont mind me asking. do you get a lot of natural light? What sun exposure do you have? id love to see the floor up close to see the background color and grain. would you mind posting a picture? what poly did you apply and what finish: extra matte or satin? hoping you did not water pop or pretreat the floor to get the red out since we are not doing those things. you still love it and have no regrets? i have tried every combination that i have resorted to non-mixed colors of special walnut, and provincial, and mixed of medium brown/rustic, chestnut/rustic and going to try your mix of medium brown/weathered. what were your runner ups. So afraid to pick wrong again (first pick i selected weathered oak and what a distaster - way to pink on red oak). yoir guidance and insight are welcome. looking to put this part of the project behind me.

If you like your current colour then go ahead and put down a new version of it. If you want something different then I would go lighter. I love the look of red oak in the 'buff'. It is a pretty wheat/sand coloured wood. So long as you work with a high-end water based polyurethane that does NOT yellow, you will have a very pretty 'pale wood' floor without much effort. Your existing finish appears to be oil based (or oil modified) which makes the floor yellow. The strong gold tones in your wood right now = the finish. Did your refinisher apply a coat of FINISH over your colour samples? If they did NOT....then you are picking BLIND. And I mean screaming and crying and tearing your hair because your beautiful gray floors turned to a muddy orange mess. Not good. Do you see the pale colour of the raw wood? You can keep that colour (very close to it) with 3 coats of water based polyurethane like Bona Traffic HD. Keep the gloss level a snick on the low side (satin is a nice low-gloss option) and you keep that pretty 'swedish blonde' look.