Gen, do you have more pics? And, do you recall details of the products used?

The inspiration picture looks like engineered hard waxed floors with oil applied.

your wood is going to dictate the lighter/darker tones. if you went with a natural finish, it should look very similar.

.

this one is Duraseal provincial and 3 coats of Bona matte (I know it's prob too dark for you, but you can see the finish topcoat)

> The inspiration picture looks like engineered hard waxed floors with oil applied.

The inspiration photo was definitely site-finished white oak, not pre-finished engineered wood.

Beth: Thanks for the photo. Yes, that's too dark for what I'm looking for. We plan on using Bona Traffic Satin for the top two coats. Trying to figure out what to do under that to achieve the look of the inspiration pic.

jaidog,,looks like it's natural. look into Bona Natural . that's what this is

I think the bona natural is what you want. If that is too dark, try the bona nordic.

Here is a picture of my white oak floors with different stains: https://st.hzcdn.com/simgs/4fb2a7960bbd534b_9-4285/home-design.jpg

This is the engineered hard waxed european oak just after it was oiled. The second picture is after it really dried and soaked in.

A +1 for Bona Natural. Our clients love it over White Oak and Black Walnut flooring.

I had just read that folks put 2 shiney coats on first and than the 3rd coat in Satin, because the shiney finish is tougher and will protect the wood better as it wears....this was regarding newly finished stained stairs in a home. You might inquire at your wood specialist store.

Also, wood floors are a favorite target for ...TERMITES. Do everything possible to protect your home from these destructive pests. A local specialist should be consulted. Luckily you do have OAK and not Pine, so that is a good thing..

robinlmorris: I read your thread when you were deciding on the finish for your white oak floors. Do you have or can you take photos of your floors with the birch stain you chose? I saw a few photos on your thread, but they were taken through a window and didn't give me a sense for what the final floors looked like.

I see lots of suggestions for Bona Natural. My fear is that this will result in a finish which is too light. The inspiration pic I posted is more brown and has more depth than just an unfinished floor, and I'm trying to figure out how to get that look. Perhaps a light stain with browns in it? Perhaps a sealer that has brown? Not sure what to use.

Floor is beautifu! Where did you get the wood and who installed?

Yes, I wondered too. White Oak was strictly for export because they paid a premium for it long ago....so Red Oak was all we were offered, so we went a different direction. Salvage was the other White Oak floor source at one time. I love them finished more to the lighter medium tone, than dark side, for the dust matches better.... LOL ..

Here's how the Bona Amber Seal looks on our white oak floors. As I mentioned, it has too much of an orange/amber tone. Looking for something with more brown tones.

Gen: Your second photo looks like the finish we're going for. Hard to tell what the floors look like in the first due to the lighting. If you can take anymore pics with natural light, I'd really appreciate it. BTW, what are the round circular marks on your boards?

jaidog, unfortunately our floors got completely covered the next day. They are still covered as the house is being painted, trimmed, etc... It will be 2 more weeks before we see them.

I got the idea for the birch from this blog post:

https://www.mommytomax.com/natural-looking-white-oak-floors/

Her before pictures are the birch (in satin which is why it is shiny) which she hated as they covered up a lot of the variation and grain. I didn't want a lot of variation or grain, so the birch in matte was perfect for us. I think you would be unhappy with it as you mentioned wanting to see the grain/variation.

If you can, get a bunch of medium brown stains (checkout bona's site) and the natural and put down a bunch of samples. Hopefully there will be one you like.

In all likelihood the floor you're trying to match has little to no added color. Rather than the AmberSeal (too dark) or NaturalSeal (too light) I suggest you try IntenseSeal. The other option would be to use ClassicSeal and custom tint it.

https://www.bona.com/en-US/Bona-Professional/Products/Coatings/Waterborne-Finishes-and-Sealers/

I think I've come to the conclusion that I will need to apply stain, then sealer, then two coats of Bona Traffic.

If I'm applying stain, wouldn't I want to choose a sealer which will not alter the color of the stain? Or, do folks use the combination of the stain color and sealer color to achieve a final look? That seems overly complicated.

Any suggestions for a stain which will slightly darken the wood (brown tone) and provide more depth?

Regardless of what you use for a clear coat, the color will be slightly different from when you stain. You can't accurately gauge a stain color until it has a coat of finish applied (and dried). When applying a clear coat type finish, the end result is always a combination of the stain color and finish. If you can achieve your desired color by staining, without a tinted sealer, there is no need for a sealer.

I don't think the floor in your first picture is stained. Look at the soft grain, especially on the lower right. If the floor was stained you would see consistent darkening in the soft/deep grain. Using slightly tinted sealer like the Bona offerings, in lieu of stain, is probably the best way to achieve what you say you want. Staining will likely accentuate the grain and make the floor more uniform (like you say you don't like with AmberSeal). If the Bona IntenseSeal isn't to your liking, custom mixing a tinted sealer is probably your best bet.

My flooring installer and I put a variety of stains and sealers on our white oak floors after sanding and water popping. Listed below are some observations of the stains and sealers. I've also included some pics, but it was difficult to capture the actual look so I would suggest to use the pics just to get a general sense of the color and finish.

First Coat:

1 - Bona Birch: Too murky, and not the color we wanted.

2 - Minwax Natural: Showed the beauty of the wood the most, but orange.

3 - Minwax Pickled Oak: Close to natural look, but had a slight whitewash look.

4 - Minwax Weathered Oak: Nice light shade of brown with very slight gray.

5 - Minwax Pickled + Weathered: Too murky, and with a greenish tint.

6 - Bona Classic Seal without stain: Decent, natural look.

7 - Bona Intense Seal without stain: Decent, natural richer look vs Classic Seal.

Second Coat:

1 - Bona Classic Seal: Flatter, less sheen than Intense Seal.

2 - Bona Intense Seal: More sheen than Classic Seal, and brought out wood grain more.

After looking at all the combinations under 2700K lights and with natural light, we liked both Pickled Oak and Weathered Oak. But, Weathered Oak showed more of the wood's grain and had a deeper, richer look so we have decided on Weathered Oak. Still unsure if we will use Classic or Intense Seal on top of it. I like Intense Seal because it brings out the grain of the wood more than Classic, but it also has a sheen which I want to avoid. Will ask my flooring installer if the sealer's sheen dissipates after sanding.

Below are the pics. Once again, they are not accurate, but at least show the "milky-ness" of several stains.

Hope this information helps someone else looking for a light to medium white oak floor finish.

Love the side by side comparison of ClassicSeal and IntenseSeal. Don't be distracted by sheen on a sealer. The urethane coats covering the sealer will determine the sheen.

@Johnson Flooring: What makes the sheen on the IntenseSeal go away prior to the application of the top coats? Is it the sanding?

We generally sand the sealer but it only obliquely affects the sheen. Sheen is dictated by texture of the surface finish diffusing light reflection. We often apply satin oil poly over coats of gloss or semi gloss. It doesn't affect the surface sheen. That why the sheen of the sealer should be ignored. as it's not a factor.

Film building sealers will produce a sheen. Like Johnson mentioned, don't let it bother you. It doesn't determine the actual sheen. The polyurethane does that.

For stains, Bona recommends using their DTS - Deep Tone Sealers. Which is both the Intense and Amberseal. It gives it a much richer look and does not fade.

@gs Thanks for the info. I was not aware that intense and Amber seal were meant for stained wood. Intense might work but Amber seal was to orange.

Floors were finished with Minwax Weathered Oak Stain, one coat of Bona Classic Seal, and one coat of Bona Traffic. Another coat of Traffic will be applied after cabinets and trim installation.

The floors did not turn out the way I expected, but I'm still very pleased with the final outcome. I would have preferred a less "painted" look, and more natural with just a tint of brown. But, I couldn't find any stains that provided this look. Someone mentioned that tinting the sealer might achieve the look I wanted, but my installer had not tinted before, and I didn't want him trying on my floors for his first time.

It was difficult to capture accurate photos. All the ones I took on an iphone were very inaccurate. The ones below were taken with a DSLR and capture the true look from various angles. In real life, the floors are slightly darker than the photos. Perhaps this will help someone in the same situation as me.

In hindsight, I should have sample stained and sealed a much larger area (maybe 3' x 3') with a couple of final choices to get a more accurate representation.

Looks nice!

@jaidog I'm seeing this just now. Very helpful! I'm having trouble reading and matching the 9 sample squares with the #1-7 first coat and the #1-2 second coat. Could you identify them from left to right/top to bottom? ie top row left to right, then second row left to right, and third row left to right.

@Paul Sappie - Sorry, Paul, I no longer have the original photos and can't read the identities of each square from the Houzz shots. But, just focus on my general descriptions (not the photos) and try the stains out for yourself on your own floors. Pick a couple you like and stain a larger section before deciding. Good luck!

@jaidog thanks for the suggestion. I'm leaning towards NaturalSeal followed by Traffic HD.

Beth H. Old thread but could you tell me what kind of wood this was in the picture you show with duraseal provincial and bona matte. We are using duraseal provincial and bona satin on white oak.. It looks much more washed out than your picture in the samples we have down. i Is the Bona in your picture a clear finish? Thanks

Judy, it says it's a white oak, (resembles red oak though) I'm thinking maybe it's a quarter sawn white oak.

i believe this is the link to the article

https://jennakateathome.com/freshly-refinished-stained-floors/

they also 'water popped' the wood (water applied to bare wood) to obtain a richer stain finish.

Perhaps your flooring guy could try that for yours.

some other colors

Thank you, I read the post and they did water pop. I asked the floor guy if he had done that and he said he didn’t like to do it. My husband doesn’t want him to do anything he’s not comfortable with. It also says they used bona’s wood line product. That explains the deeper color. In your opinion do darker stains with water finish look washed out. I’m struggling with what to do!! Thanks again

I just had my white oak floors sanded and refinished with Bona HD clear finish and it has dulled the vibrant look it once had.