Our guy applied large swatches (about 1 by 2 feet) of different combinations of stain to the actual floors after sanding so we could see the options in the actual space. Then he just sanded them off prior to applying the finish we chose.

Keep in mind that you can mix stain colors and ratios to get the nuances you want. We ended up with a combination of two colors plus a "neutral" stain in a 1:1:2 ratio, I think. We wanted to emphasize the grain and the neutral did this since the stain is absorbed disproportionately by the open grain areas.

I had looked at lots of photos online and had an idea of the look I wanted. I showed this to the flooring contractor and he brought several stains. After he applied the first one I'd comment and he'd make adjustments before the next swatch. He wrote the combinations on the floor in pencil next to each swatch so I could think about what we liked and didn't like. I think we had six or eight swatches.

Long-distance, you'd want some good photos taken in daylight and artificial light. You'd also want some time to think about it!

Red oak is dead easy to stain. The hard part is if you want a super special custom color. If you do, you've got to be there in person to view samples. If you're OK with one of the readily sourceable plain stains, then a good professional can handle things without worry.

Thanks lazydaisynot and hollysprings

I was doing a bunch of research tonight and got interested in hard wax oil finishes like Rubio Monocoat. Sounds really interesting for our project.

Not sure about how well this stuff really works. Sounds too good to be true but I really like the fumed effect

Here is a link that might be useful: Rubio

"Been reading about staining red oak flooring here and it sounds like a challenge"

Nope... it is very very easy!

We chose to keep ours natural, so no stain.
But, the only tough thing when staining oak is picking your color.