Try General Finishes High Performance Topcoat. I'm experimenting with it on red oak. It very much preserves the natural color of the wood. So much so that I'm wondering how to enhance the grain just a wee bit before I topcoat w/ it. No yellowing (on red oak) whatsoever. General Finishes contact phone # 800-783-8050. They're located in Wisconsin so Central Time Zone. I've called them before & will give them another call for suggestions on slightly enhancing the grain of red oak. It's available in satin, semi-gloss and gloss. McFeeley's has the best price that I've found. McFeeley's Oh, the stuff is super easy to apply. (I'm using a foam brush but it's sposed to spray nicely, too.) The only complaints that I've read about it is that it maybe dries too fast. I ordered some extender but haven't tried it yet since I'm only doing small pieces so far. Here is a link that might be useful: General Finishes High Performance Topcoat

Thanks again for the comments. gooster: Glad to hear you had good experience with Modernaire. I am probably overly harsh on them. Their service was probably as good as anyone else's. It was more that the range hood itself was just challenging. ppbenn: The island top is White Princess quartzite. The design of dark cabinets and light counter was really inspired by firsthouse_mp and annkathryn. Thank you to them! The WP is fairly consistent in color and not too busy. Has just the right amount of green and grey without being too splotchy. There are several threads on White Princess. I love it! The island size is 92" x 42". We wanted it a little longer to fit 4 comfortably but when we laid it all out we thought it was better to have more room in the aisle by the refrig. We have 46" there and 42" on the sink aisle and range aisle. @kaysd - the painting is oil on hemp. It is from a Vietnamese artist Vu Thang. http://vuthang.vxartgallery.com/Gallery/

Wow, those tiles will be stunning! Yes, great minds think alike lol. It’s nice we found each other, Houzz can be a lonely place when you aren’t doing a white shaker with marble look counters. There is absolutely nothing wrong with white and marble and when done right it’s beautiful- but it would be so so wrong with my house and my existing furniture and decor. My house is a 70s contemporary and since it has lots of natural stone, medium brown woodwork and exposed beams, the Mission style works very well with it. Having said that, I also thought a slavish reproduction of Mission/Arts and Crafts wouldn’t fit, but incorporating some of those elements was my goal. My parents were both antique collectors and a lot was passed down to me, so my decor is a lot of Mission but with some Empire, Eastlake walnut, and a few 60s-70s pieces thrown in the mix, in homage to my “contemporary of its time” house. My eclectic/eccentric style, for lack of a better term, isn’t something I see much in the modern HGTV world, but I often find inspiration in real estate photos from England, where I used to live, where being eccentric eclectic is a more accepted way of life :)

These places have a range of sources for European oak, including Monarch. . Engineered | Wholesale Woodfloor Warehouse (floorswww.com) . and . HARDWOOD FLOORING DEPOT, ORANGE COUNTY PREMIER HARDWOOD FLOORING OUTLET , IRVINE, ORANGE COUNTY, CALIFORNIA , IRVINE, ORANGE COUNTY, CALIFORNIA (oflooring.com) Eastern European oak is a different species and may use a Siberian Quercus mongolia more available to Chinese manufacturers. Besides the hardwood top layer thickness and the finish, check the core composition. A thin hardwood veneer and a softwood ply core can be prone to denting.