To start old oak was very tight grained new oak is from fast growing trees and has a much more open grain . It is actually why I hate new oak anywhere. I think now you only really have two choices live with it as it is or get the new oak to redo the DR .

Interesting. I’m certainly going to live with it at this point. There is an island on the kitchen side taking up a good amount of floor space. So we’re only talking about 60sq ft of ”new oak” vs over 200 sq ft of ”old oak.”

Does the ”more open grain” make the new oak ”softer” as well? There are a few depressions and divots on the new side where we’ve dropped or dragged things carelessly. But I created no such flaws on the old side in the 13 years I’ve been here.

The cut maybe different, without photos, one cannot tell.

I've posted this before--I have a dining room with 90+ year old oak abutting a kitchen with 8 year old oak. They are both finished in Special Walnut, and both look exactly the same. My floor guy let the new oak adjust in the house for 2 weeks before installing it, then sanded, stained, and did one coat of high gloss poly, then one coat satin poly. He said the high gloss protects better, and doesn't affect the final sheen.

Here's a photo--can you tell which is the old and which is new?

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There is bound to be some difference between the two oak floors that you have. Oak trees are living organisms and the wood they produce can't be guaranteed to be the same. Are there areas where you can use rugs to camoflague the difference?

Really, @User, it's VERY subtle, even in person. And I think the darker colors mask the difference better than the light ones.

Yes I’ll agree that the charm of an older home is the character developed after so many years of use. I love old homes and can’t imagine living in a new one unless it was built to replicate one of an earlier era. But even new homes have irregularities and odd things!