I prefer a mid tone brown (cool in tone = same effect as gray) like Early American or Walnut. The walnut has a green base which means it will kill the red in the red oak. Going gray is a tricky business. We've seen gray (imagine a watery paint sloshed all over the floor) make pet stains (any liquid stains actually) look WORSE. And that's the last thing you want to see.

Thanks!! Its been a long 10 month reno haha. The floors were my most nerve wracking thing and i’m so happy with this color. They are original 1922 red oak floors and were so orange when we bought it. Bona Warm Gray was perfect for us but i struggled big time picking!

I don't think you will be able to get that light look consistently with red and white oak. You probably need to go with a medium neutral stain on all floors, one that has green tones in it. Green is the complement to red/pink, and mixing complementary colors neutralizes them. I've had success with Special Walnut stain throughout my home. The floors in the original (1920s) part of the home are oak, not sure if red or white. The new white oak floors in the kitchen were installed in 2014; all are stained special walnut. Here is a photo of the transition area between dining room (above the saddle) and kitchen (below the saddle). The color is not too dark and not too light. Depending on the light it can look warmer or cooler. It's my "go-to" color for me and my clients for many years.

Have you done your floors yet, Emily? I'm pretty pleased with the progress on mine. In the photo you can see the raw just sanded red oak- and it's really red!! The other side has been sanded, treated with 1 coat of Berger-Seidel Pinkqualizer, 1 coat of their Nordic White, and 1 coat of Royal Matte. It will get 1 to 2 more coats of Royal Matte before it's finished. There is a lot of variation of colors in this red oak flooring, but I wasn't about to rip out the whole first floor of our home and I'm kind of liking all the different shades now. It's a really pretty floor in person.