Dont get pressured into rushing - you've got one chance to get this right! What are your other colours? I'd go with no stain, personally, and tbh I'd definitely install unfinished and finish on site. It is SO much nicer, easier to mantain, hard-wearing, easier to keep clean, etc. You could use a no-VOC finish like Rubio Monocoat, Loba, Osmo or Odie's, and then you can spot-finish when/if there are areas that get worn, vs having to strip and re-do the whole thing, which is what happens with floors pre-finished with urethanes. JMHO. :)

exactly what Jan said. why rush and settle for something (doesn't have to be perfect) on one of the most permanent selections you're living with?

to be honest, none of those flooring finishes you picked are nice. all 3 of those 'gun smoke' colors look the same. you want less red tone,,,more neutral brown.

like this one

are there no other options??

Mohawk Treehouse Oak

or Mohawk walnut

I completely agree. I almost put in an ideal situation I would just go with white oak. The time crunch is this project keeps getting pushed out and a week for sanding and staining might not seem like a long time but it would push me past my due date (baby #3) which would put me in a really hard spot.

I'm open to other suggestions, we get a pretty good deal from Mohawk so that's why we were going that route.

Bring the samples to the house, pick one of the medium-light colors for a classic look. The one you like first is usually the one you are most comfortable with in the long run. If the house has not been painted with the SW Alabaster yet, have the contractors paint a 2 by 4 foot or so piece of wallboard for you.

To make things easier, cover up the samples you already know you don't like with a piece of white paper or a paper towel. The less you have to look at, the better.

I would go with oak in a natural or light stain. It's been timeless for years with a relatively narrow plank. My designer also seconded that choice since I am going for a somewhat Craftsman feel although not a literal recreation and the flooring will go with other design choices I am making. I opted for red oak versus brown oak because I will have a lot of brown oak cabinets in my open floor plan and I wanted something light and less brown to contrast with them. I

I am replacing my old red oak natural floors with the same as I liked them for many years and they were innocuous so they weren't much of a design consideration i.e. I never had to factor them into anything colors or other furniture I brought in. I also found them easy to maintain as they hid a multitude of sins - they don't show dust as much and they don't show scratches or other wear and tear.

I had considered Mohawk but ultimately decided on Mirage engineered floors. They were somewhat more expensive - especially since I opted for the Select and Better - but I wanted the best finish possible. If it is in your budget, check out Mirage as it is Canadian made and a green product. I believe Mirage is made in China. I am not anti-China per se as some are on this forum but less expensive engineered wood floors imported from China are more likely to have formaldehyde and other potentially noxious substances. I was also impressed by the durability of the finish since I am most concerned with that aspect of the flooring.

As for refinishing on site, my original floors were finished on site and I could never imagine going through that again so I personally don't care if my wood floors are going to last for 70 years - if I am still living in my condo when the floors are at the end of their life, I will replace them just as all of my neighbors do :-). Aside from the mess, every piece of furniture has to be moved out of all the rooms as opposed to installing flooring that is factory finished where the installers can just keep moving furniture around. :-)