Did you post this in another forum? I could swear I answered it.

I honestly believe light or dark is the same maintenance. I have had natural light oak and now have dark stained oak and the care is exactly the same to me. One does not wear worse than the other. Wood in general is going to be higher care than a ceramic tile. For me I would chose beauty over function when it comes to my floors. I have 2 boxers, 3 kids and a messy family. I LOVE my dark stained red oak floors. My mother in law, neighbors, a few friends told me I was crazy to go dark with two dogs. I would do it all over again. Dh says: "why did we wait so long." Do they show dirt? No. They are vacuumed weekly. And swept or mini vac'd if something terrible happens. Does the dog hair show? No. I have boxers who have that horrific short hair that gets into everything and is like porcupine needles to get out. And have no issues. One dog is Brindle and the other a flashy gold fawn. The dog hair does not show more or less on a dark floor. Some folks on GW joke that get a dog to match your floors is the key to clean. Do the floors get scratched? My dogs also have long nails. One is stubborn about trims. Yes, they get scratched but it is minimal. I had travertine floor tiles crack more than the scratches. The stain is so deep into the wood that if they have a tiny mark or scratch you can not see it. My floor guys used bonakemi traffic. I've heard it's awesome and for my floors I say yes. No scratches looks like soft matte wood. I love my dark stained wood. What look do you love? Do you love light? Light can be really pretty too. I will post some images below. Or do you love the dark? I find if I like something ( counter, tile, floors, lighting...) it is not a horrible chore to clean it. ~boxerpups

Hi John, do you have any photos of the space you could post? That might be helpful. In general, it's trickier to make wood floors work with wood stained cabinets, but I've done it. Since you don't want reddish floors, I'd aim for a cooler brown - more towards a walnut. I would NOT do ebony floors; those super-dark floors are impossible to keep looking clean. They show dust, lint, grass, etc. Also, what stain product is your contractor using? Most come in pre-mixed colors. That may determine the palette you have to choose from. Other stains can be tinted or adjusted if needed. Adding green to a stain color, for example, will help cut the red of the oak floors. You have to go easy though, you don't want to end up with a noticeable green tone. You're welcome to email me directly if you want more info - I don't check messages on here very often. Thanks Info@PaintColorHelp.com

I would recommend against staining your floors gray. Look at non-reddish stains for the most timeless, classic look, either lighter or darker, according to your preference. (I have Jacobean on white oak. It is a darker, not red stain. )