Schafer's V3 unfinished engineered white oak finished with two coats of Bona Natural seal and two coats of Bona Traffic HD extra matte. The hardwood plywood base keeps it straight during acclimating. No bowing or twisting. Installation goes in tight when glued. 6mm wear layer. Traffic HD finish system is a premuim quality finish. No need to waste time looking at prefinished samples.

Sorry but really someone elses choices are never helpful with out giving us some context . Too many choices just adds confusion so my advice narrow it down to 3 at the most then figure out from those 3 the one you like best , then buy a box take it home and lay it out in yourspace . I would prefer white oak if oak is what you want . It is more expensive but has lots of options for lighter floor color. Your lighting your stuff all need to be part of this decision thta really only you can make.

Its just my point. keep it simple and go with unfinished. there are too many prefinished to choose from. You will lose your mind trying to narrow 1000 choices of prefinished to just three.

Monark Plank unfinished prime grade French Oak 7-10" widths. Produced in France. Square edge. Baltic birch ply core.

Unfinished rustic grade French oak. 7-11-3/4" widths. France. same specs.

Flat cut showing more figuring is possible because q. robur French Oak has a more closed grain than NA white and red oak.

90% of engineered European Oak flooring is produced in Asian countries. Russian oak species can be used. There are 300+ oak species worldwide.

Ciranova Ecofix Plus water-based PU finish. Link.

What someone else loves in THEIR home has no bearing on what you may love in yours.

Get offline, go to a dedicated flooring store, not a big box. Take a few samples home....and when you narrow it down, you buy a box, which is the only way to see how much variation exists in the flooring.

Thank you. I have been to several flooring showrooms and currently have samples in my home, I was hoping for real life recommendations on what brands/colors people were loving in their homes that are wearing well and holding up well.

I understand...........

"I have been to several flooring showrooms and currently have samples in my home, I was hoping for real life recommendations on what brands/colors people were........"

But. PEOPLE and their habits vary a lot! The light in a home varies. Whether folks use a walk off mat, sweep or vacuum regularly? That varies in degrees you can not imagine! How many kids in a house, is the garage so dirty, that the daily track in is mind boggling!!

If you get an UNFINISHED engineered product, in white oak, you will have a forever floor, stained/finished to your liking and with reasonable care will last for EONS.

Otherwise, you look at what you have in those samples you like well enough to drag home, and you order a box of each and lay them out.

I, as well as many others I have spoken to involved in the same process as I, would find it invaluable for there to be a thread on this site that had photos posted by actual consumers of their engineered floors in their home along with manufaturer and color and their recommendation on how the product has worn in their own experience. I understand how different colors vary in different spaces, etc. and am capable of taking that into consideration. I have a blank slate I am working with and finding a finished engineered wood floor is my first step. As a designer I am sure you take into consideration how content a homeowner is with the wearability of a product once it is installed in their home and, if something falls short, you more than likely won't recommend that product to your clients in the future. With that said, if you know a product varies greatly from the sample boards I am sure you pass that knowledge along to clients, despite the variation in light, color, etc. in a client's home. That is the type of information that I am looking to asertain here. Hope that helped clear up any confusion. Thanks for your input.