To reduce the red tones the wood could have been bleached before staining, but that would also change the overall color significantly because the unstained wood would be lighter in addition to being much less red. The knots are what they are. The best strategy to color ones that don't take the stain is to apply a colored glaze between coats of urethane. Make sure your finisher uses a non-yellowing finish.

I think a different stain would help. Knots will always take stain a bit differently, but if you fight the nature of the wood, it will be more obvious. I think that if you picked a warmer stain, you wouldnt have as much of an issue, as the contrast of the warm wood and the cool stain emphasizes the differences in how the parts of the wood are taking the stain. I also think something warmer would work better with your fireplace and go better with Spanish style; I don't generally think of grey with Spanish.

The stain should have had more brown in it, the grey emphasizes the variation in the wood.

This may seem like a dumb comment but wouldn’t a poly that has a slightly yellowish tint make the stain appear more brown?

I really like the grey tones but understand the limitations of the wood/style. Can I apply a second coat of a more brown stain? (Dark walnut or Jacobean) or is my only option to sand and start over.

What b

Just seeing your posts now and I like they grey look of your floors. Did you end up applying another color over the grey or how did you get rid of the red tones? Thx!

I just kept it aged barrell, don’t really see the red in it any more. My main issue now I’d the super soft pine flooring...