this is the unfinished floor

I vote for darker.

This is very subjective and only you can decide. A good place to see pictures of white oak floors stained dark are in Craftsman style homes. It was very typical to have white oak in a craftsman style house. Natural or dark. That wild grain pattern you are referring to may be quarter sawn oak if you are lucky, and is very desirable in that style home. If you go dark ,the grain will be lighter and look spectacular!
Check any books or online for that style house.

We used white oak (installed unfinished) throughout our open floor plan. We met with the floor guy at the house ( new build) and he put different stain colors down to help us decide. It was shocking how quickly stain darkens things up. This was the lightest one, which we went with. I agree that it is a personal thing!

Our hardwoods are natural white ash....nothing but poly on them. They darkened slightly with age. We have always loved them. Our kids were 2 and 3 when we put the floors in. We have always had a cat, too.

The floors are extremely easy to care for, and they keep the house from looking dark. I would never have dark wood floors. They show every footprint and every crumb!

I think if you go with the natural color, (which is what I would like if it were my house), you might want to reconsider the wall color. It's hard to say if it will be washed out until it's all done, so wait and see. Also, if you were planning on putting down area rugs on top of the hardwood, you can easily avoid the washed out look.

I agree with Smiley....I do not care for the " mint" with your cabinets.

I like the color of Juudeans floors. Beautiful natural looking and keeps the room light. It's easy to darken a room, not so easy to lighten it once the floors are dark. And dark floors do show footprints, dirt and pet hair more so than the light

Hi---

Medium/dark floors. I agree with others, the wall color should be changed, sorry. Check Sherwin Williams' Conservative Gray and Anew Gray. Add a backsplash for that little extra something in the space. Hope this is helpful. Good Luck!

I'm a fan of the clear coat polyurethane over white oak (will NOT turn orange/darken as it ages). You have a perfect colour palette to handle the european style "colourless" white oak. The grain you are seeing is very good for oak. It has very low impact.

A real "clear coat" water based polyurethane (Bona, Loba, Rigo Step, etc) should NOT add colour...there will be no yellow added to the finish. You should be able to keep those pale blond floors without a problem.

Clear coat, non-yellowing poly, will keep your floors in the light/cool tones. If the finish looks a little yellow, then they have used an oil modified or "ambering" finish. I've seen so many German homes with these pale blond oak floors...they get better and better looking because they get paler and paler. They look great because scratches and dings are hard to see....especially if you stick with a low-gloss satin (mattes can be a hard to live with for other reasons).

Medium/Dark floors is the solution. No question about it.

Go medium/ dark floors but have them wire brushed, so the grain will pop.

whats a good wire brush technique?

@tcrp white oak will always want to turn golden. White oak stains exceptionally well. Don't bother with the wire brushing as that's an advanced technique that should be done prior to installation. White oak has a ton of tanins which is what makes it turn gold in color. Use a really good waterbased or use Rubio monocoat. You will have a stunning floor. @cancork - Bona?? Come on at least recommend glista instead. Didn't we start a thread about this a few months back? Ha ha ha

You will need an experienced pro to do an on-site wire brush finish. Improperly blended edges and overlaps will show through the staining. Wire type selection is important on the outcome of the actual look: brass, steel or nylon.

The other method of grain popping would be by using penetrating oils or hard wax oil finishes. Typically a two color layer, but you can layer up to three colors, depending on the experience of your floor guy.

For clears over stains, I wouldn't overlook X98 or Supra AT, compared to HD.

I have white oak floors that I sealed and then used 3 coats of "Traffic" on them (mat finish). They have darkened just a bit but the natural colors are wonderful. After 5 years and 2 small dogs and wall color changes have not diminished the natural beautify of the wood floors. Good luck

How about the tile that you use for the back splash...add that to your island would be pretty cool. The OSB will have to be dealt with but it might be a great way to tie in some elements.

@Ultimate...yah Bona isn't my favourite but almost everyone has heard of it...so I went with the obvious. Glitsa is a lovely product as well. The OP has gone natural/clear coat and I think it looks awesome.

i planned to to a white/grey glass tile on the backsplash. I think that might be too busy for the island.

What do you ppl think about using reclaimed barnwood stained grey or a dark color for the backside of the island?

Your floor looks really great. I think a dark gray for the backside of the island would be perfect. Be sure the gray for the island has the same undertones as the gray in your cabinet face or else they will clash.

I did the lightest stain possible with a Swedish finish. It looks great, is easy to clean, and shows no sign of wear. Dark floors show dust and footprints.

@cancork yeah yeah..... Lol

dark grey what?

Dark gray paint or stain.

Matching cabinet panels

Vermont Natural Coatings- matte finish

Your floors are stunning! You will be so happy with that choice!

Why not finish the back of the island with wood that matches the cabinet? Although not overly creative, it would give it a solid, finished look in my opinion.

I love your floors and am facing the same decision. Can you share the exact brand and finish you used? Are you still happy with your floors?

Loba 2k or Glitsa max

I used bona traffic with a satin finish

I personally like white/light walls with natural or light floors ....

I have poly-only white oak floors with 5 kids and love it!

I have seen Bona Traffic on white oak flooring and it kept the floor nice and light and natural looking. Soon I think I'll try Bona Traffic on some bath cabinets.

Bona is infamous for white line syndrome,tannic acid pull,uneven sheen/solids pooling and the mil thickness pertaining to build is extremely low. Also their taber is not as good as they claim.

Help! Just just had solid white oak #2 flooring installed in my den. After sanding I loved the natural look of the wood including the knots and imperfections. It was light and made the room appear larger. When it came to a finish, I didn't want any red or yellow coloration. My contractor recommended leaving it natural and using a Bona Mega finish which was supposed to dry clear. However, as you can see from the photo, after the first coat, yellow dominated the room. After reading on the website about this particular water-based finish, I learned that while it might dry clear, it leaves an amber color tone--just what I did not want. I talked to the contractor and told him that I had to figure out a different finish. I plan to call the Bona company tomorrow to get their assistance. I told the contractor, if he could remove the first-coat finish, I would purchase the right finish for him to use. I fear, though, that the amber color has penetrated the wood since a sealer was not used and I am stuck with a yellow floor. My question to tcrp6566 is did you use a sealer first? I realize your flooring was "select" not #2 and that makes a difference. But was the Bona Traffic absolutely clear? How did you retained the natural color of the wood? The picture I attached is with one coat of Bona Mega using no stain.

Monocoat makes some wonderful finishes for white oak flooring. You might want to get a sample of the Monocoat White 5% or the Monocoat Smoke and try them.

Here's a floor finished with Rubio Monocoat.

White Oak = TANNIN PULL. A water based finish will accentuate the tannin pull of white oak. A sealant must be used to STOP the tannin pull. Bona Mega CLEAR HD is the "non-ambering" product. The advertising for Bona Mega CLEAR HD says this:

"Bona Mega Clear HD increases the physical performance and look of Bona
Mega with the addition of a second component and the elimination of the
amber tint. Allows the floor owner and contractor to meet various
performance and appearance demands at an incredible value."

That tells a tale, "...and the elimination of the amber tint."

I would say your GC got a little confused. The Mega CLEAR HD is what is a true "clear coat"...but s/he picked up the regular Mega - not realizing the difference.

If your GC works with Bona, then make them bump up the grade of finish and work with the Mega CLEAR HD. That should get you what you want without messing around with another line. And Bona recommends sealer to be used if the floor is natural.

I love the flooring and grey island combination. I'm curious how the white oak with natural finish looks with age. Can you post a picture of what it looks like now? I realize not much time has passed, does anyone have comparison pictures of newly installed and white oak natural looks like in 10 years?

Ours yellowed after 1 year. We did have natural sunlight, but made me so sad.

Floors look great.. but that green looks off.. maybe just my eyes. Btw love that you left the wood in its natural finish.

Now that you are 5 years into your floor finish decision, how has it held up? Does it still look natural? Just to be clear, did you use Bona Natural sealer and what finish?

I’m also curious how to floor is looking now!