DONE! I am happy to be done with this, seriously. I hope you never have to do this. One great find and perfect timing -- bunch of wooden clothes line pins. We just installed simple clothes line to save on dryer use of electricity. There were things in every cabinet - trash, some individual packets of various food and flavorings, individual size bottle of tonic water, - the water color was yellow so I decided not to taste it; mold mold mold, spiderwebs inside and out, under and over, scary! But among that trash there were couple great finds -- old fashion popcorn maker (the one you put on stove and it has lid that flips up on both sides) and hand-crank masher. The guy who is re-doing the house says that it takes him longer to work on this house b.c of all the dirt that is attached to the walls and ceiling. Everything has to be cleaned or gutted. I also got the old pane windows from this house -- you cant tell which side was facing inside and which was outside -- they are equally dirty. I ended up using various products. I never ended up using the steamer as suggested above. At first I would scrape (gently) the large amounts of that gunk off the plywood surfaces. Then spray everything with grease remover (Krud Kutter or Lysol 4-in-1) and wipe with blue towel what dirt would come off. The tough spots would then get attacked (gently) with a blue spounge (they are not as abbrasive as green) soaked in luke-warm water with all-purpose Green Works soap. Then dry it all out, quick spray of Murphy Oil soap, and wipe, and small rub with Lemon Oil product. I had to wash all hardware - first spray with degreaser then in soapy warm water. I think I used one bottle of Krud Kutter, one Lyson, one of Green Works soap concentrate bottle, one of Murpy Oil, about 3-4 spounges and countless number of blue towels on this entire project. Did I mention lots of sweating and sneezing? The wood under all the dirt was actually pretty good so I am glad I dont have to do refinishing - that would be too much to ask of me. The hardest parts were the details on the doors - I had to go over them over and over. The hardest cabinet ended up being the last one -- lazy susan. People - clean your lazy susan cabinets regularly - so that the next person after you won't get cuts on their fingers - trying to get under the buttom tray to clean 20 yrs worth of grease.... Yes, I could have took out the entire l-susan assembly but I was so tired at 10 pm on Sunday that I just wanted to get it done and over with. I wrapped all trash in the plastic sheet that was protecting the basement floor and washed the floor. But when that was over, I took a long deserved shower and felt great accomplishment. And I got the use of the dry line with the pins found in the cabinets - had to wash the pins first before I could use them, LOL

Someone here has pictures of their natural red oak floors and their quartersawn white oak cabinets. It was a beautiful contrast!! Hopefully she will post to this thread because I can't remember who it was. I did the opposite...quartersawn white oak floors and stained red oak cabinets. Quartersawn oak is more expensive, but has a very different appearance and grain. It really doesn't even look like oak, except for the tone and color of the wood.

I have , natural finish, with medium stained birch cabinets. I added the floor to the kitchen to match the rest of the house. My cabinets are the same color as my neighbors natural cherry cabinets, which have darkened over the years. I find the floor changes color through out the day, as the light changes, sometimes it's , sometimes it's . I think whatever cabinets you put in will look fine with the floor. For me, the floor is a non-issue, it's the floor. It's the same floor in the living room and dining room, and I have different woods in each room, and it looks fine. With carpets, it's not something you'll notice. Good luck with your remodel.

mark_rachel, that is what I told my husband! And, Oak & Board, I've been studying this off and on for at least a year. You are one of my favorite commentors. I have learned a lot from you. Both of the samples are solid hardwood not engineered. KD is pleased with the quality of the floor and barely there bevel. Haven't seen a white oak floor yet in Michigan. Well aware of matching existing flooring of which we have none. Need a little more visual interest than the white oak. Considered natural hickory and I think it is too much for me. In my area, everyone is used to red oak. Boring Detroit area suburbs. Not a high end home.