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Flooring Kitchens

White oak stain help

last year

need a white oak stain similar to Early American but lighter

First post- I’m struggling with stain colors for our white oak floor in our kitchen remodel. The kitchen will have white shaker style cabinets, light gray backsplash, and white marble look quartz counters, dark ORB hardware, and brushed brass light fixtures. Paint tbd. We added new white oak to match the old white oak in the dining room (removed the wall) and it extends into our foyer. The kitchen connects down a couple of steps to a family room that has Brazilian cherry floor which we are not changing right now. The house is a pretty traditional 1970s colonial in the northeast.

I’m wanting something light to mid brown, something fairly warm and rich to contrast the white of the cabinets and counters, that will complement the cherry but not look like we were trying to match. Early American (#3) is close but a little dark for my preference.

Can anyone suggest a stain to try that would be lighter than Early American, but deeper/ less yellow than #1, 4, and 5?

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Comments (9)

K H
Original Author
last year
The more finished kitchen posted is not mine but seems to have the same cabinets, counters, and backsplash.
darbuka
last year
Don’t be afraid to mix stains. For our site finished white oak floors, we did a combination of Early American and Natural to get the results we wanted.
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I am having some doubts about the 4" White Oak floors that I had installed recently. I requested 2 coats of Bona Nordic Seal and then 3 coats of Traffic HD Anti Slip. For some reason I noticed when the wood was delivered it looked pinkish, and yet the stamp on the wood said White Oak -- - BUT not all the wood had this stamp just the ones placed at the very top of the stack. I thought why should I question what is stamped on the wood. Now that everything is installed, the floor looks pinkish especially in natural light. What do you think based on the photos. Does this look like White Oak to you?
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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.
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It's odd to have a milling issue twice on one order. I can probably count the milling issues I've seen from 1985 to present using the fingers on one hand. I can't determine much from your picture but the color does remind me of products I've seen where the wood was treated chemically to achieve a unique appearance that's not achievable with a regular staining process. I'd love to see a bigger picture. In the US we have lumber grades and some milled flooring species have grading rules set by manufacturer's associations, Finished products generally require referring to the maker since they're not governed by the associations. In unfinished Oak you have Clear, Select, #1, #2 and #3. In prefinished items you'll often see just a select grade and maybe a rustic grade. Sounds like you're describing the difference between unfinished Clear and Select. Manufacturers don't sort for color, but they might cull out boards with sapwood in the Clear grade, leading to a more uniform coloration. Don't know what you paid but I'm buying some 6" wide 2' to 10' unfinished engineered White Oak and it's over $8/sq.ft. Recently a contractor requested a bid to install wood being purchased by the homeowner and the product was around $20/ft. for Rustic and $25/ft. for Select. Prices are kind of crazy out there.
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Hi! I need help picking a stain for my white oak floors
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Comments (8)
The flooring contractor should be able to show you patch samples on your floor of what a clear coat would look like, and you could also sample some stains if you decide you want it darker. You should be trying to be two shades lighter or darker than your island, but have the same tone (yellow, red, green). Stains have undertones just like paint colors. You may have to stain the new and not the old in order to get the two to look alike, but an experienced floor refinisher should be able to work this out. I had an addition put on my previous house and had new wood floors next to old which were blended seamlessly - I didn't even have the old refinished. If you didn't know where to look for the transition you couldn't tell, and even knowing where it was the difference was very fine - and I'm pretty picky. There was a 4-5 foot opening between the two rooms with no threshold.
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millworkman
last year
Speak to your finisher about blends. Most i am aware of have custom blends they have used and use somewhat regularly.
K H
Original Author
last year
I asked the flooring guy and general contractor about mixing and both of them said they don’t recommend it. I’m aware lots of people do it, but if they aren’t comfortable with it I’m not going to push them. And we can’t change the floor company at this point.
herbflavor
last year
if the stray board sitting there is the other area Id pick 4. option 5 looks the most yellow of all of them. 4 appears to have some more red or at least non yellow browns. pick 4.
PRO
G & S Floor Service
last year
You want a color lighter than early america. Just mix a little white to whichever color you choose.
Rachel Lee
last year
Try the EA right where you see the two floors together. You need the actual light in that spot to make the best choice.
K H
Original Author
last year
Rachel- they haven’t actually put the flooring down where it meets the other floor yet (it’s a tricky spot with lots of angles so the owner of the company wants to do it himself). But I am planning to put some of my favorites on a spare board I can move closer.
PRO
G & S Floor Service
last year
Make sure you sand the floor before sampling on it. It will give you a more accurate representation of the stain color.

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