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

Janice , the best natural finish over White Oak comes from Bona with their Bona Traffice Naturale'. <- link Its Greenguard indoor air certified and very durable. Its made to offer the highest levels of durability and protection for the flooring while maintaining nearly the look of unfinished. We apply it to our American made flooring. Here is a list of recent projects using this finish <- link .

man, too bad they didn't spread those red ones out here and there, instead of keeping them in little groups. you sure someone didn't replace some planks down the road? I don't think you have to go dark. why don't you get some red/white oak planks and do some sample stain colors on them? this way you'll get an idea of what looks best.

Red out works similar to how wood bleach works to remove the pink undertones in the red oak. If you are trying to make your red oak floor look like white oak, this product will help you achieve that. If you like how your floors look when they are sanded down to barewood and don't mind the slight pinkish undertones that red oak tends to have, I would use the naturalseal. This product has a bit of white in it so it will also help keep a lighter natural red oak wood look without it looking bleached out. Using water-based finish is also ideal if you don't like the orangey red tones so your floor guy is on the right path there. Oil based poly will amber over time and eventually you'll end up with exactly you are trying to get rid of. Not an expert... just sharing the feedback I received elsewhere on the same topic as I am having my orange red oak floors refinished as well.