Just do red oak and stain it walnut. That's a nice budget alternative to either white oak or walnut.

@Minardi I was thinking about doing this, but the grain of oak is very pronounced and I'm worried it would look bad. Saw some pictures of red oak cabinets with a lot of grain and it deterred me, grain pattern looks like a zebra to me!

Custom cabinets from a local shop? Work with the cabinetmaker to get the look you want.

Here is knotty alder with mission oak stain. Maybe darker than walnut but you get the gist. I think the knottiness of it would be more pronounced with a lighter stain.

The grain of that is very pronounced because that is a low quality rotary peeled veneer. A better cabinet maker makes better looking doors.

what if we did rift sawn red oak? Red oak is cheaper but rift sawn is a more expensive cut, we may be able to afford that. With this option, you don’t have the crazy oak grain pattern but a straighter more uniform grain. I just don’t know if when you stain it, if the grain would be very dark and still very pronounced.

Yes to rift sawn red oak! I have a double closet door being made for me in RS red oak -- it's not finished yet so I can't post pics.

If you're not going to stain the wood it and want the ultra-light bland RS white oak look that's all the rage, you probably won't like that look in the red oak because the grain pattern is more pronounced and I don't think you'll be able to eradicate the subtle pinkness of it, but if you stain it = gorgeous!! Truthfully, I like the RS red better than the RS white once stained, it has a warmth that the white oak just doesn't have.

For reference, DH made me this side table in RS white oak. The sample piece laying on top is RS red oak that I stained to the same sanding and finishing schedule as the white oak table. The difference in color is subtle, but the red oak has that something-something that has a more pleasing depth and warmth to it:

The door won't be finished and hung for at least another month, but I can make a post on it once it's done.

I had every intention of doing the door in RS white oak when I stumbled upon a stash of the red oak at the lumber supplier. IT WAS HALF THE PRICE OF WHITE OAK!! (and I did mention I like the stained result better, right?)

ETA: That orange blob at the top of the table is not a poor stain job -- it's a reflection of something that's sitting on that far corner of the table out of the camera field :0)

ETA #2: I found this pic of a RS red oak cabinet stained in a darker stain on Reddit. GORGEOUS!

Link: Wall cab w inset doors & matched panels in red oak : r/woodworking

Stained Alder. Ours is knotty and don’t know the stain.

Maybe some full context here?

What is the flooring here in kitchen and throughout? What is the cream of cabinetry, what are counter tops etc?

Even will go so far as to ask what is the layout in the kitchen?

Have you considered a painted island in a contrasting color? Even a warm green?

As to budget and resources, it is something that should be amortized over the cost of the total build, and how long you shall inhabit the build. It can be very worth doing what you want.....versus a settle when you look at the DELTA in cost, between the dream and the "settle" spread over whatever number of years.

If the bases for the island are 6k in whatever wood and stain, and 9k in something you truly love? 3k over ten years is 300.00 a year to have the love object: )

I'd not hate green...

which does love a wood floor: )

Most importantly? Stay in ONE thread about the house you are building.

"We are building, our flooring will be LVP, likely Coretec Cairo Oak (a medium (not too light or too dark) colored floor. I’m concerned about matching red oak stairs to this flooring. I’m open to going darker on the stairs, but don’t want them to pull red.............."

Or this?

"We are planning to do 4 rake beams and 1 ridge beam in our 18’ tall great room. The rake beams would go across the 18’6” width (traveling from the kitchen to the fireplace), the ridge beam is already in place as you can see (it will be wrapped) and it is 20’4” long.

We were told our ridge beam would be about 10” wide x 12” deep......

Asking Houzz......and making multiple threads?

It's this:

If you had an interior designer for your project? she'd be advising the whole and continuity of the entire build. Layout, surfaces, beams , floors, wood, stone and more. Continuity in all finishes etc. and the flavor of all you want within. all the rooms! You are asking a COMMUNITY of infinite numbers...making some advice irrelevant to your build, and the rest even if wonderful, hard for you to follow and harder yet for a community of who knows how many!!?

Excellent advice and put so much nicer than I did. The statement about a designer is bang on. Homes are always best desined as a whole.

Ours is alder, I checked and our stain said "Oak with brown/black glaze"

^ agree for sure - if you’re going with LVP flooring make sure the wood island jibes with it (lvp and real wood next to each other can look off) - FWIW i am risk adverse so I’d paint the island - love the green that Jan shows