[Necro Warning] We used one type of stain in the sunnier (and adj.) rooms and another in those on the darker side of the house. Also, for budgetary reasons, I installed Select Pine trim (which takes stain diff. than the Select Red Oak floors) so we used a diff., lighter stain on the trim (one that wouldn't look like we tried to match the floors) and it's not as bad as I thought it would be. It's actually relaxing to the eye to see a difference. When (if) we replace the pine molding w/ oak in the future we will probably stain them differently than the floors (which will have age-darkened by then).

I went with the hardwood. After visiting a bunch of houses and talking to people, it made the most sense to me. Not only does it flow better, but wood is more comfortable to stand on for any length of time (I have some foot issues and have trouble standing for too long). It's also not as hard to care for as I thought it might be. I just had to change the mindset that tile must go in the kitchen.

I would have a look at refinishing the old oak instead of removing. The oak is probably an orangy colour which is not the real colour of the wood, it is the colour of the "finish". Old-time finishes (and many still used today) turn orange (called "ambering"). If you remove the old finish you will be left with a very light (almost white-blond) oak (assuming this is white oak and not red oak). A clear coat finish (non-yellowing polyurethane) will leave the old oak in the "white-blond" state. This would be as close to a "light wood" floor as you can get without removing and replacing. Because you have a very limited amount of space where these two floors are "visible" at the same time, I would say go for what you want. A Maple wood floor is easy enough to reproduce at a later date. Be aware that maple yellows ALL BY ITSELF!!! That beautiful, pale blond is gone inside of a year...may be less. The end colour for maple = "margarine yellow". Beech or Birch will stay true to colour better than maple. Maple turns very yellow...and it has nothing to do with the finish (an ambering finish can make it worse...).

The dark wood is a stain. If you need to anything with it, you can always strip it and do another stain/colour on them. The stairs belong to the "down stairs" - the public areas. The areas where guests can see them and say "Oh that looks good!". So I would work the stair treads to work VERY well with the floor that is going in the main level. Regardless of what you do upstairs...get the stairs to work with the MAIN FLOOR. They are a show-off piece that is supposed add wow factor to the main living space (and help you get up stairs). Once you have settled on a main flooring option (and whether or not you want to change the treads) you can then go ahead and decide if you REALLY want a floor upstairs that is almost black. Most people find super dark wood much too difficult to live with.