We are refinishing 2 1/4 red oak, and I'm having trouble choosing a stain. I want to keep things light as we don't have a ton of natural light in our townhouse. I love love love the way the raw, natural red oak looks throughout the house. Kitchen + entry red oak is new install that was tile before, but the rest on both levels is the original wood. Our walls are SW Pure White, interior doors are black, kitchen cabinets are white and the backsplash will be a subway that is variations of whites, creams, slight grey tones. Countertops are quartz. So things are light, white, and bright right now! Planning on bringing in wood tones, brass, tan, black, and creamy neutrals with our furniture and decor. Our kitchen is small and opens up into the great room/living area. We will potentially install a built in either an European oak color, black or green.

We will be using Duraseal stains. I'm looking for recommendations for stains or mixes that are light-ish. As light as possible. SJ McCarthy " light mushroom brown tone" and think that might work too. I have read the threads, I know that the pink from the red oak will come through. I am okay with that to a degree because I want lighter floors, however some things we have tried have looked dreadfully muddy/greys with purple and pink. I tried Country White, and I actually like it, but I know there are horror stories of pink floors so I didn't pull the trigger. I feel like there's a solution with a nontraditional mix/ratio but I can't continue to sit there playing mad scientist with Minwax, plus we aren't using Minwax! I am having a hard time communicating this or figuring out the right combo with our flooring contractor. I just want to be able to point them in the right direction to get some new samples down and stop over complicating/overthinking this. Thanks in advance!