You will never get the red out of red oak unless water popped for stain and darker. Over a large area, you WILL see pink.

I know there will always be a little red and I’m fine with that, I’m just looking for suggestions that tone it down. I’ve found Medium Brown has a green undertone that seems to look ok but it’s darker than we’d like so we mixed with Wearhered Oak to lighten. It’s just so hard to tell on a small sample so I was wondering if anyone else out there has tried that combo or has other good suggestions.

You have large variations in your boards, so any stain lighter than medium brown will make a visually busier floor.

I like the med brown/weathered oak 50/50, but try it on a larger section to ensure it isn’t too light. It doesn’t look significantly darker than the special walnut. The special walnut would be perfect without seeing the pink. I think you have to go darker or the pink will show through. Provincial or med brown might be your best bet

Would love to see how it all turned out, Katie!!!

katiejeane , do you have any pictures of the completed project?

red will always shine thru.

Having the same problem. How did yours turn out? What did you select?

What did you end up doing? Having the exact same problem!

Yes i had mine refinished 2 years ago with boma driftwood. Looks good.

Just found this thread and my floors are being stained as I type with 75% Weathered Oak and 25% Nutmeg! Fingers crossed! I'll update with a photo later.

Tammi, I would love to see a picture. I am trying to select a stain. Thanks so much :-)

Tammi how did it turn out?

Curious as well

Katiejean what did you end up doing? Can you please share pictures?

@Tammi Merrell can you post your pictures of you floor? I'd loved to see it!

Please post all the floors came out! I usually use Minwax special walnut. The only nutmeg I’m finding is by Dura seal… So are you using Duraseal‘s special walnut and nutmeg? Their special walnut is a different color than the one by Minwax… I like the Minwax one. I use it on a lot of my projects.

@katiejeane what did you end up with? Photo?

Katiejean you aren't kidding, beautiful! May I ask your wall paint color? That goes wonderfully with the floors.

I love it! I would also love to know your wall paint color.

@katiejeane it is beautiful!

@katiejeane do you happen to have additional photos in different lighting? it's so gorgeous!

@katiejeane, love the floors. Also, the wall color. Which paint was used for walls?

@katiejeane gorgeous!!!!!!

@katiejeane I just redid my red ok floors using the 50% medium brown and 50% weatherd oak duraseal too!!! thank you for posting your mixture pictures…it helped me narrow down from several different mixes! still needs 2 coats of clear

@katiejeane what polyurethane sealer did you use?

@Katiejeane would also be interested in that light grey wall color

It is Silver Satin by Sherwin Williams. It’s beautiful, especially in warm light but has a hint of lavender undertones at certain times of day. It complements the warm floors well.

Beautiful, @katiejeane!!! If you may, what hardware did you use on the kitchen cabinets?

We used equal parts of the following. Contractors used a professional oil based satin finish. Found this mixture on Pinterest that someone else used. First 2 pictures are at night.

@katiejeane are you floors a red oak or white oak? Your floors are lighter than Diana C's floors and I really like to be on the lighter side

@Diana C Diana, could you please post a picture of your floor after you put on the clear? In the photo you posted it looked like your floors turned out a bit darker than Katiejeane's floors

So my floors did turn out slightly darker but that was by design :) Hubby liked slightly darker, I wanted slightly lighter and we ended up going darker since it seemed to fit the bones of the house better. we ended up with 65% med brown and 35% parts weathered oak vs 50/50. i also drove my floor guy a little nutty in the process ;) I also had a little more red (I think) in my red oak so the 50/50 looked a bit too pinkish to me in end. good luck! floors colors are stressful!

Yes, my red oak floors look like yours and am worried about the red/pink showing through. We stain next week and didn't want to go too dark as my ceilings are lower. Are there any combos you liked that were a lighter warmer brown?

@katiejeane Your kitchen photos are like the whole package for me. I love the overall aesthetic. I have been agonizing over what to do with my red oak floors and orange-y maple cabinets, and this is the best example I have seen that helps me visualize what I might want (and how it all ties together). If you're still interacting with this old thread, I would love to know what make, style, and finish you chose for these cabinets. They really look fantastic with the brown floors!

@katiejeane i am glad i came across your post of red oak flooring. i have been trying for months to get the color right and love your home and floor. I have some questions and hope you dont mind me asking. do you get a lot of natural light? What sun exposure do you have? id love to see the floor up close to see the background color and grain. would you mind posting a picture? what poly did you apply and what finish: extra matte or satin? hoping you did not water pop or pretreat the floor to get the red out since we are not doing those things. you still love it and have no regrets? i have tried every combination that i have resorted to non-mixed colors of special walnut, and provincial, and mixed of medium brown/rustic, chestnut/rustic and going to try your mix of medium brown/weathered. what were your runner ups. So afraid to pick wrong again (first pick i selected weathered oak and what a distaster - way to pink on red oak). yoir guidance and insight are welcome. looking to put this part of the project behind me.

@Palvi Mehta what did you end up settling on for yoir floors? curious

This thread & katiejean's kitchen were a major inspiration for our remodel, so I made it a point to test her Medium Brown + Weathered Oak in our sample selections. We ended up choosing a bit darker/richer blend to coordinate with our darker stained island color, but most of these blends would have been just fine. Our final photos are 1:1:1 Medium Brown, Dark Gray, and Neutral (to lighten the blend to a nice medium tone. We wanted to make the island "belong" in the room, avoid pink & orange, and highlight the grain pattern, and not look too artificial (too much gray leans blue & purple and clouds the grain pattern). I also wanted to stay neutral enough so both browns and grays can be comfortable in the home.

We went with our contractor's preferred Swedish Finish, which does enhance & enrich all of the colors (and I hope it won't yellow/amber too much over time).

Are your floors red oak?

@sprrkls what did you decide on??

@katiejeane did you waterpop your floors / use red out / pinkqualizer prior to staining? You had red oak, not white oak, correct?

We’re replacing Brazilian Cherry w natural red oak -
Love the color you got -
Any suggestion on what stain we sh do to get to your gorgeous floors??

@katiejeane I love your floors. Was anything else used/done other than sanding and then the 50/50 stain? What sealer did you use?

Thanks! Nothing else done. The sealant was a clear poly. Not sure which brand.

@lauren No we didnt do anything other than stain and sealant. Yes, there are red oak.

In case someone searches for this in the future, thought would share my experience. I was inspired by this to try the 50% Medium Brown / 50% Weathered Oak on my red oak for entire first floor, stairwell and second floor hall, and while liked it overall, it was much darker than katiejean's pictures would suggest. Of course, all wood is different but I also think those shots are overexposed based on the lighting I see elsewhere in the photos. The color for me was closer in darkness to Diana c's picture and actually VERY close to Golden Brown (which I also liked and had done for my bedroom in the past).

In the end, wanted a bit lighter for such a large space and went with Early American which actually has similar undertones (both are warm). I expected the 50/50 blend to do more to stop red undertones of red oak and Early American to accentuate it, but honestly didn't see much difference in that regard. Just difference in darkness and how much the grain popped (50/50 made grain stand out more). Early American was a light to medium brown with red/warm undertones while the 50/50 was a medium to dark brown with red/warm undertones. Again, liked them both (they were my top 2) but just depends on your darkness preference for the space.

Below are samples on stair treads that were the same (old) red old that had to be replaced. Left to right: Early American, 50/50 Special Walnut & Dark Walnut, Golden Brown 50/50 Medium Brown & Weathered Oak, English Chestnut, and Provincial.

50/50 Special Walnut and dark walnut was waaaay darker than expected. English Chestnut and Provincial were okay, but lacked any warmth and almost seemed grayed out. Provincial seemed similar in darkness to Early American but again, lacking warmth (some may prefer that "cooler" tone).

In any event, hope the above and attached pic helps someone in the future!

which is the last lighter one?

Is that a question for me omlifeom? In my picture, the rightmost tread is provincial stain.