you said it is a small space. Choose a large fomat tile.

a nice chance to do something fun and interesting in a small used space.

I don't think you need to match or compliment the white oak.

Make it a space you are proud of.

Natural slate?

Any type of porcelain tile with a high performance grout will work. There are tons of looks with porcelain. You can find concrete, brick, travertine, marble, slate, granite, and cement tile looks.

Daltile Society is one of my favorite slate lookalikes. It's much more durable, and will never scratch or shale.

I like the look of this slate tile if it would work.

https://www.thelilypadcottage.com/grey-and-blue-mudroom/

Cement is very porous, and will etch when exposed to acids. A better choice is a porcelain lookalike. Especially for a high traffic area. I've used the linked Daltile options innumerable times. I also like their Brickworks line for a brick, without the porosity and difficulty cleaning that real brick has.

@DeWayne - thank you, that is what I wanted to know, and that Daltile link is helpful too!

Here's our laundry with cement tiles from Home Depot. I loved them. Make sure you seal the grout!

I got this image from naosfloors.com. I love the look but don’t know what the natural stone material is. The cat makes me think it would look great up againt white oak. :) They have lots of photos to enjoy.

@ffpalms - that is Belgian Bluestone in the "Romano Stylo" finish. I believe that finish is where the Bluestone is lightly distressed at the edges. This link is to a European website, but I am linking it because it has a lot of photos of the Belgian Bluestone in that finish:

https://www.hullebusch.be/en/bluestone-belgian-bluestone-stylo-romano