I'm going to be staining my red oak floors tomorrow and I've been staring at the samples the contractor left for several days now. I thought Miniwax Early American was too orange. Special Walnut was the right tone but too dark for my taste. I had the general contractor leave a sample of a 50/50 blend of Early American/Special Walnut yesterday since the flooring subcontractor was not available. The GC left it in a different location and prepped the floor differently than the flooring subcontract did and it seems like that blend is even darker than Special Walnut. It could just be the lighting or the prep.

Has anyone used such a blend before? I've seen several mention of Special Walnut with Dark Walnut or Jacobean, but not with Early American. Does the blend really come out in between the two colors? I have to decide this afternoon and so I won't have time to see another sample.