@falusiaa I know this thread is a few years old now but did you end up getting your floors reinstalled? We're looking at having this exact same floor installed in our home- Maxwell unfinished engineered white oak in select grade. Have you been happy with it? Did you apply a stain or go with the natural finish? Like you, we are opting for a bit more modern and don't want the knots and character defects that make it a little more rustic. Thanks!

Try searching for European Oak. The colour you are showing is more commonly seen with European Oak. You will need to search the internet for photos then find the maker of the tiles AND THEN you find the closest retailer who carries the manufacturer. They probably won't carry the EXACT tiles but if they carry the brand you can special order the product. Right now the pale wheat colour is not very popular in wood-look tiles. It might come in...but it might not. Be aware that if you find a manufacturer you are most likely looking at a special order and special orders carry special price tags. They cost more and they rarely have the option to cancel or back out of the order. A quick Bing search for European Oak wood look tiles shows this: https://www.wayfair.ca/home-improvement/pdp/supreme-tile-birch-glazed-6-x-36-porcelain-field-tile-mxem1395.html It is very close to what you want. With that price tag, that is going to be a VERY expensive installation. But it looks very close to the COLOUR you want. Remember: the colour is more important than the 'wood species' the tile is trying to mimic.

Semigloss will reflect light more than satin, but if there’s no light to reflect that won’t help you. It may also accentuate any defects in the floor. If electrical upgrades aren’t an option can you bring in more lamps? Even with overhead lighting, lamps improve the ambiance significantly. Lighter paint also reflects light, but again you must have light to reflect. Whites really need natural light to look good in my opinion, otherwise they accentuate shadows and make the room feel dingy.

There are refinishing products to lessen the red in oak. Ciranova has a Pink Blocker L ink. Bona has Red Out. Here's another- You can finish with zero gloss water poly that does not yellow the wood. Cranova has Ecofix Plus and Woodlook Plus. Bona has Traffic HD and Nordic. The look that is popular is flat cut Western European quercus robur Oak. This species is denser without the open grain of domestic red and white oak. You can see lots of sources for this product, including Monarch Plank Link. And Forestry Timber. Link. 7 to 12" wide engineered planks can show off the wood structure of flat cut. You can't get that with solid wood planks 4" wide. How do you get the best looking floor? Here's a plan. Test your red oak to see if when sanded and dered and finished with water ploy, you like the look. Now comes the hard to evaluate part. I'd consider carefully pulling the 1st floor wood and lightening and refinishing it for use upstairs. Then get a wide flat cut rustic or prime European Oak engineered plank for the 1st floor. DIY may help in budgeting. The Flooret direct to consumer $5.50 7" wide Silvan option may help. Link. Stairs are Silvan Lyon.