I know this is not what you asked but I originally started out wanting a light floor. My 1951 home has white oak which had never been refinished. The contractor put down a sample of special walnut and chestnut. The special walnut looked washed out next to the rich warm chestnut. Even though it is not the light flooring I had originally desired, it is just beautiful. And it is a medium neutral brown.

Here’s white oak with 50% special walnut/50% weathered oak

I agree with the clear coat. I’ve found with our light (matte) finish you don’t see dirt or dust as much as you would on a darker floor. Means you don’t have to clean as often! 😜

Yes we went with a dark floor and it has been making me crazy for six years now. If I could do it all over again i would have gone much much lighter. Your new floor is gorgeous.

I’ll also mention that it will darken a little bit when you do the clear coat - as our mantle is white oak with just a clear matte poly finish and it did come out a little bit warmer/dark than it was before the poly coat. I don’t have a before picture but this is it now with a clear poly finish.

Love it. Keep it.

My recommendation - and I’m using it right now with great success - is Osmo PolyX in neutral. It has a slight white pigment to keep it close to an unfinished raw color. Clear is another option. You can find application techniques on you tube, but basically get 3M white scrub pads, cut them into small credit card sized pieces and gently work the finish into the wood in thin applications. (The website also has video of technique for larger areas using long handled applicators. They can help with more advice) Smooth out as you go, let dry and add a second coat. Finished! It’s a hard, protective penetrating sealer. All in one.
https://osmocolorusa.com/product/polyx-oil-high-solid/

https://www.woodcraft.com/search?q=PolyX+&button=search

theresen, have you lived with the osmo finish? The penetrating oil finishes have their pluses, but also minuses.

we have white dove walls and restaining our white oak floors matte finish with 1 coat of bona nordic and coat of clear matte high traffic matte. My wood floor guy sys this is his popular finish right now- the 1 coat of nordic will have a very very slight white to take out the yellow of the oak that develops over time. No pics yet- they will be done in september.

Don’t mind the state of the fireplace and all the boxes, but this is duraseal 3/4 weathered oak and 1/4 country white with bona water based poly on red oak. I think it would look great on white oak too. Definitely have your flooring person do samples and you can see what you like and adjust as needed.

@daisychain Zn3b - yes, but the Osmo finish is different than classic penetrating oils. It also seals like a hard wax. It’s been great! I love the natural feel underfoot. The new floor is factory finifinished with Osmo PolyX. I'm currently finishing the base moulding to match with the retail version in neutral.

This is my white oak floor after 6 years. We used Bona traffic naturale extra matte waterborn laquer. It was great choice. no wearing, no scratches.

I’m glad you are taking your time to choose the finish for those floors. they are spectactular and getting the finish right will be key.

We are happy with our penetrating oil finish but one thing ive found with the oil finish is that water spills need to be wiped up fairly quickly or they will leave a mark. For us this is minor as we dont have it in our kitchen or bath. we have rubio but our friends got the osmos and they were horrified that their new puppy’s pee accidents left marks everywhere.

we also find that the matte finish shows footprints like crazy. we have to wipe down the floors more often than when we had the satin and semi gloss poly. This really surprised me as i had expected the opposite.

Like i said, there is a lot to love about the finish but after living with it for five plus years, ive realized that, like other finishes, it isnt perfect.

one thing i absolutely love is the colour. we went with Rubios natural (or maybe its called pure?) and, while i know that cool light floors all all the rage right now, this warm natural colour makes me so happy and goes perfectly in our 110 year old home

Nice

We just went through this with original white oak tied in with brand new white oak. We looked at a bunch of duraseal colors from natural to golden oak and ended up choosing fruitwood because it’s super neutral. It’s like the greige of stain colors. I originally wanted very light too but when I saw it with the finish coat in the sample I knew it was too yellow for me and would clash with our stuff and our style. I personally think adding some sort of colored stain is a smart idea to push the wood in the direction you want it to go. Basically don’t let the wood color dictate the style of the home because it’s going to be there a long time!

Nice

I used the following:

• Bona Dri-Fast Stain Natural
• Bona ClassicSeal Sealer
• Bona Mega Satin

If possible, I'd try a small area without the stain before deciding whether to use it.

I considered NordicSeal Sealer but didn't want the whitewashed appearance.

I certainly wouldn't darken or tint the floor further as was done by other commenters.