From your link describing using the tung oil, I'd go with that. I would stay away from polys at all cost as they are so difficult to repair without redoing the whole thing. I am hoping to do my kitchen floor--don't know what's under the vinyl tiles or the several layers underneath, but the rest of the downstairs is oak--white I presume? I think my trim is red oak--is that possible? My house was built in 1908. I would replace the registers also, but don't go to the expense of the linked site--they seem to only sell ones to fit modern ductwork; check out salvage shops/antique shops...there is one in my town where I've bought a couple registers from their large pile--all the good old cast iron black, some with louvers, some without, but all with varying designs of patterns for the grate. I put in an additional duct to my living room, and absolutely had to have the large register if I ever move furniture to match the one in the open near the dining room doors. Your idea of tung oil has given me another and easier option than sanding insanely and doing smelly chemicals. Thanks!

I failed to mention in my original post that the wood we're considering is an engineered wood, so I don't think warping or cupping would be a problem. ?? But what are your thoughts on that? Do most of you have solid wood? We live in Indiana where we have drastic cold/hot temperature variations, and I don't want to see gaps in my wood floors. But I prefer the idea of solid wood for long-term care and refinishing. Aside from that issue, I'm still grappling with what would LOOK best! This is a small simple little house, and after coming from a big rather grand house, I think I'm trying to make the smaller house feel really 'grand' too. :-) I want something to distinguish it...a classy look. But maybe I should do that through the furnishings and decorating rather than the floor. Sometimes I try too hard to be 'different' or unique.....that isn't always the best approach. Do you understand what I mean? :-) Thanks for any advice!

Rift and quartered flooring is going to be more stable because of the movement in cell structure. Vapor barrier underneath the flooring is something that is a minimal investment for an invaluable benefit. You might be fine without the vapor barrier 90% of the time, however, if you were to have a warranty claim this is a big red flag for any flooring inspector. The vapor barrier does not completely block moisture from coming through, rather it allows moisture to pass through at a safe level for your hardwood flooring. A good example is if the basement floods and you have the vapor barrier installed underneath your flooring on the main level, it might save your hardwood from cupping. Having finish on all sides of a plank is useful for slowing down the moisture changes in the wood allowing it to withstand small fluctuations in humidity. Flooring with grooves on the bottom side allow for the planks to get more surface area which is the most important for glue down installation. After analyzing your particular situation, I feel like with a 6" plank it is best to opt for an engineered product with a decent wear layer (3 mm or more). If you can get quarter sawn that would be the best, but this will be a more costly option and limit your choices because not all manufactures produce their floors in quarter sawn. The main thing to monitor is moisture, try and keep things between 35-55% RH and you should be safe.

I do like the cerused look myself and its really what I initially had in mind as my stain. Its not a finish everyone offers, is likely to be an upcharge if it is offered, and is going to look best on a rift or quartersawn white oak which isn't cheap wood to start with. I'm happy with how mine turned out and everyone who sees it seems to like it. It's driftwood on maple with an black glaze. Without the black glaze, the pink of the wood showed through and was too much. It's definitely grey, but it has an underlying brown and slightly pink tone so its warm and not GREY. I think it fairly different/unique/unexpected. Would probably have been a bit much for the entire kitchen though, I'd be careful of using grey flooring though, it's such a huge surface can be overwhelming.