I went with white oak also because I didn't want red undertones. My flooring co said red oak will usually have red undetones regardless of what color stain is applied. Mine are stained with a mix of 75% Jacobean and 25% Coffee Black (similar to Dark Walnut from the more common stain company). I love them! Not so dark that the show every single speck of dust or cat hair. That sounds like a cleaning nightmare to me! And shout out to Nini whose floor is my inspiration. She graciously supplied her formula to me so I could try to replicate her beautiful floors!

yeah, i don't think you can make red oak look like white oak. i have several french antique pieces in european red oak. it is very dark, and i love it. i bought some antique chairs recently to go with a red oak table. i thought they were dark too, but they are in white oak. i believe that i can make the white oak chairs darker, but vise versa is another story. i would definitely make him redo those cabs in the wood that you chose. he should not have changed that without your permission. i hate it when i pay someone for a product/service and they just take it upon themselves to do what they want to do. my poolbuilder moved my pool about a foot and a half without telling me. i noticed it was not lined up with a planter after it was built and he admitted that he had done this. i guess its too late to make him fill that pool in and re-dig another one a foot and a half over. but, i would consider cabinets a different story. make him do it over.

Like jfcwood states - the FINAL colour is the true test as to whether the experiment "worked". The other problem contractors have would be the use of oil based or oil modified finishes. It is impossible to get a white floor when the top coats turn ORANGE! I once had a "professional" (15 years in the refinishing business) tell me he worked with "water based" finishes all the time. He then named every SINGLE oil based product on his shelf. It turns out he thought that anything that was liquid - like water - was water based. He couldn't name a water based finish if it jumped up and slapped him with a lawsuit! The "old guard" are having a hard time adjusting to the "new" thinking. The Low VOC stuff, the 'non ambering' stuff, the low-odour products are relatively new (to North America...they are de rigueur in Europe) and are different to use. They require training. Training is no big deal in Europe. You have to do it to keep your license. North America is still the wild-wild west. If you have a sanding machine, you can call yourself a floor refinisher (sad...but true). Add that to the fact that red oak is cheaper than white oak and the trend is white flooring, you get a powerful mixture of fashion together with lack of knowledge and a healthy dose of "cheaper is better". A whole bunch of hearts have and will continue to be broken - on both sides of the professional-client fence. My advice: If you want the look of European Oak, then you should start with European Oak. If you are lucky enough to like the reddish tones of Red Oak, then go ahead and work with Red Oak; count your blessings and the money left in your bank account.

Sample this where the two woods meet. So you can see how big of a contrast there is. On my screen, the water base looks good.