I think neutral and light would fit better with your cabinets. Dark wouldn't match well and make your cabinets stand out. Go with your gut! I agree with you. Like this maybe?

Be aware that re-finishing oak, (especially what looks like red oak) to make it lighter is not as easy as it seems. It's not easy to get the red out to make it neutral. The lighter you go the more contrast you will see between the variations of the wood and the grain pattern and adding whiteners can just make it look pink instead of orange.

Maybe some of the floor guys will chime in soon.

I am wondering if painting the walls and getting rid of the golden color would change the feel in this room. Gosh, I love that island!

do you want to keep the hardwood in your kitchen? I've never had it- but I imagine it's not easy to clean.
I agree that you may want to try something simpler at first- like the walls-

Thank you for your comments. I'm not sure what I would to with the paint. It is milder in the daylight. It is an open kitchen connected to the family room and is all the same paint.

Go with a dark rich walnut stain or even a wenge for the floors. I love the richness that your dark finished island and other dark pieces of furniture add to the space. Changing the floor dramatically will give you the change you are looking for and certainly minimize all the orangey oak. You may even be so excited with your new look that you will be brave enough to paint your cabinets - creating a total transformation!

Hello teresapw,

My vote is with Barbara... go with the dark. You might also think about (take a breath) painting your cabinets. Rich dark oak floors would provide some much needed contrast. Take a look at these examples for inspiration:







Best of luck with your designing and please let us know if we can be of any assistance,

Elizabeth Cabell, ASID, CID
Cabell Design Studio

Love your traditional kitchen with a lot of light! We just bought a 1992 house and we were having the same issue. Our cabinets, floor tile and granite were very orangey/rust. Even the walls were faux painted very orange/rust. Our cabinets are very good high quality cabinets and it would cost a fortune to replace. I had a professional come in and she gel stained my cabinets a dark espresso brown and painted my Island off white with a tea stain over. It looks amazing! It looks like a totally different kitchen and very up to date now. I even like the granite now! Everyone loves it!

It looks like you may have dark countertops? Black or espresso Island? You may want to consider painting your cabinets white or off white with a tea stain on top. I would have a professional do it. The contrast with your dark Island and countertops would be beautiful. If you neutralized your walls with an off white or cream it may take the yellow/red out of the floor. Your cabinet color is also contributing to the red in your floor.

UV damage has occured as well - so it's not just surface but a good 1/4" needs to be removed. The better new products offer some UV protection but the lighter the stain the sooner you will see yellowing/darkening again.

Yes, just like the picture above with the off white cabinets and the darker Island. Cabell is right! Good luck, you have a great kitchen to work with!

Here is an after photo of my gel stained cabinet

I also agree with Barbara - dark floors. Contrast is beautiful.

I found a few before pictures.

I think the floors would look better stained darker rather than bleaching them lighter. I would consider changing the wall colour as I believe it is adding to the orange look.

Perhaps this
http://houzz.com/photos/861183

Unless your floor is a 3/4" thick product you can forget about refinishing it. By the time you sand it down and rescrean it you will be in the vaneer. Most wood jobs that we come across with this look is the older Bruce Hardwood products. They are a 3/8" x 3" x RL (random length) planks. In your photo it looks as if there could be beveled edges, you will loose the beveled edges too if you attempt to refinish the product.
You have a beautiful kitchen and yes I agree, the orange 3" boards are not a good fit. I would recommend an Acacia wood floor (Asian Walnut), 5". You can get engineered wood floors 3/8" or 1/2" thickness. The thickness does not affect the durability of the product.
I am attaching a photo of Acacia. Keep in mind, there is high variation and several different color tones to choose from. My company installs this type of material, 1/2" x 5" x RL, $7.60 sf - $8.00 sf. Price includes materials, tax and labor (based on new construction). Depending where you are in our wonderful world, pricing will differ.

Wow thank you all so much! Great ideas. I do like the idea of the dark rich floor as opposed to light. I checked at an air vent in the floor and I do have over 5/8" solid wood so they can be sanded and finished. I will lose the bevel but it is actually a real pain keeping it clean. Eventually I am sure I will get to painting the cabinets. But like the pictures of the dark floor with light cabinets. Our granite is black/brown and the island is black, so too dark to go darker on cabinets.

Yes, I would go lighter on cabinets since your Island and granite is already dark. Basically the opposite of what I did. Love Elizabeth Cabell's picture above.

rrhome1, do you know what branch and color of gel used on your cabinets?

Letac, I love your cabinets. They look beautiful. I was reading some online reviews of the Rustoleum cabinet transformations product and I was wondering if you used the glaze. Some reviews said glaze was difficult to apply. How many hours did the project take? Thank you

seriously, I wish people would update!!

Hi Patthecat-

i did not use the glaze on these cabinets (white) but I have used it on my outdoor / poorhouse cabinets and it worked wonderfully.

I have used the Rustoleum Cabinet Transformations on 2 sets of cabinets as well as my mantle. It is a process, and you need to NA able to commit the time, but it is far easier than sanding! I have been very pleased with the results and find it is very durable.

The kitchen pictures above actually has 29 cabinet doors and 18 drawers. I spent 4-6 hours a day for a week. Most of the work is prep. My pool house cabinets that I glazed (4 doors and 2 sets of shelves) was done in 2 days.

i hope this is helpful!

Hello everyone. We are in the process of closing on a home and will be doing some updates before we move In. We can't afford to change the floor but the red and orange tones are not my taste at all. What can do to minimize these colors? I'm thinking of painting the cabinets either white or light grey and also changing counter tops and backsplash. Any other ideas??

Rugs will help a lot to break up the overwhelming wood