Oak is a great hardwood but it does have a bit of a pattern as you can see in your image of the floors. Are you trying to compliment or match? I would chose oak over maple because Oak takes stains better and Oak is much harder. So, the banging wear and tear of a busy family with the Oak might be a better option for you. Maple and Pine are soft and can dent easily. Have you considered walnut?

As far as color, there are combinations all over Houzz. You just need to see which ones appeal to you and see if you can sample some stains before the final choice.

Are those three options Cotton, Sky or Grey your options for the island?

I am not sure the wood on this island but the floors are oak. You can see going dark and light works nicely

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Rubio is NOT durable for a hard used kitchen. And those colors are all too gray/white ashy. I think a natural cherry that would deepen a bit over time would be better than trying to jump on the white oak bandwagon.

@boxerpal I’m trying to compliment the floor and the island. Thank you for your input on oak - I’d love for that to work. Walnut seems to be softer than maple and oak, when I looked online - is that still a better choice than maple? With colors, most pictures of the contrast I see are with lighter floors and dark cabinets, so I was hesitating on doing the opposite combo. The three colors I have there are just three of the popular ones that my cabinet guy has used recently, but there are more options with Rubio.

@minardi thank you for the input about Rubio - I am hearing mixed reviews about it too.. it was heavily pushed by my contractor as durable, or at-least great at hiding scratches, but may be that’s on the lighter stains…

If you look at European Oak from the many flooring sites, you'll see the difference the denser species without open grain makes when compared with North American Oak. Unfortunately, our cabinet companies aren't yet up to speed on this choice. Ikea Vedham is produced in Hungary with European Oak.

Shoji White can be quite yellow. Also make sure the white you choose for your cabinets complements the white used on your trim/doors in the house.

@dan1888, seeing how over the past year, you’ve been shilling for European oak, I’m inclined to suspect that you work for the European oak industry.

Not everyone is into the minimalist Scandi look. Graining is what gives real wood an earthy depth, and warmth.

Deepa’s floors are beautiful. A complimentary stain for the proposed wood island is attainable, without resorting to European oak.

I don’t have an island, however I do have white oak stained floors, and medium stained birch wood cabinets. The key is to choose stains that compliment, while offering contrast.

The open grain in oak as the OP pictured turns black when finished. I see that as giving that flat cut surface a two dimensional appearance without the multiple tones of cherry or walnut. You've seen this in Golden Oak kitchens used by builders in the 80s. in the US. Rift cut oak eliminates the open grain. Cerising fills the open grain with a light color paint to hide it. In Europe one domestic oak species without open grain is quercus robur,. They never went through the same phase. That species when flat cut shows off more character.

Of course, your preference is a personal choice, which isn't debatable.

Pale non-yellow wood is only possible with the development of water-based polys like Bona and Ciranova. The opl finishes 'warm' the wood appearance by yellowing it.

NO, the grain does NOT "turn black" when finished by someone who knows what they are doing. What a lot of claptrap.

"The key is to choose stains that compliment, while offering contrast."

^^ This.

I don't like any of the three wood stain samples you have against your flooring. Keep sampling.

New options become available as technologies develop. The combination of the color tones of European Oak, its closed grain dense structure, 7-12"wide flat cut veneer engineered planks and clear matte water based polys is an increasingly seen choice. Many buyers won't be aware of it. That's why I highlight it. One choice isn't the only choice.

^^ Some people just don't like that look. At all. I am one of them. Frankly, it looks like unfinished wood to me.

Regardless, OP isn't re-doing her floors, she made that clear; she wanted advice on the ISLAND, and an island in the type of wood look you're showing in flooring isn't going to coordinate well with her current floor (which is beautiful as-is IMO), as evidenced by the pallid stain samples she has.