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

The end product when you saw logs at the mill is only slightly under the sawyer's control, because the growth rings/grain vary at points throughout the log. Only riftsawn veneer is a reliable way to get that one particular grain format, because they cull through hundreds of pieces and get the veneer mill running just right. In 1890, they had enormous white oak tree trunks to pick through, which yielded unimaginably (in 2000's) wide and flecky planks of Q-sawn. If you want picture perfect matched rift grain, either use veneer or be prepared to have the costs skyrocket, because the cabinetmaker will have to pick through piles of lumber to get the best matching grain.

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 :)

can you show us what you've tried so far? Since the veneer is so much lighter than the rails, you're doing to have to use a darker choice on the panels. without experimenting w/some stain colors, going to be hard to advise you. see if you can stain the veneer to be the same color as the rails, and then use the rubio. try a Driftwood or weathered gray type of stain and see if you get close. you may have to mix the driftwood w/a brown tone that matches your natural oak maybe something like #5 or 3? these are bona Dri fast stains Clockwise from top left: 1) white, 2) driftwood, 3) Bona Traffic w/o sealer, 4) BonaSeal w/o stain, 5) 25% white and 75% birch, 6) birch, and 7) sand dune