We recently had the plank style porcelain tiles installed that look like wood. We are having white cabinets (BM White Dove)and Kashmir White granite (lots of gray, cream, blue tones and the tones of our floor.)

The plank tiles come in gray (light and dark) as well as browns and the sandy/beige driftwood color we picked, which is shown below. It gives a rather casual look, which works for us near the beach. Everyone thinks it is wood, even when they walk on it, but it is easy care, won't scratch, etc. It is a rectified tile, which means very small grout lines, which is one reason it has the look of a wood floor.

You may not have considered tile (I wouldn't have even thought of it if we weren't in FL where tile is all the rage!?), but since it is a relatively new product, you might want to ask about it. Good luck!

Snowyct, I have white cabs, gray counters and an unstained red oak floor. My cabs are White Cloud which is only a hair creamier than Simply White, my second choice. I don't think there's much difference between them. My counters are dark gray quartz and read almost black.

I've had my red oak floors for nearly 5 years. They are quite gold/red--Fire down below!! I really appreciate having them to balance out all the white/gray neutrality. I have three cats and they tear around, turning on a dime, dropping fur everywhere. The floors really don't show anything.

While I love the look of darker floors, red oak brings a lot of warmth into my kitchen, which gets a lot of natural light.

Sarapamela - your tile is gorgeous! I actually have never heard of rectified tile and I'll definitely check it out.

Linelle - I really like the red oak floors in the rest of our house, but wasn't sure how the color would look with the cooler tones we picked for the kitchen. So glad to hear that your floor is easy maintenance, even in a busy kitchen with pets flying around, and that you like red oak with the color scheme.

Thanks so much for taking the time to help me out.

We've struggled with the same question. I spent a lot of time searching HOUZZ. Pictures like this helped me confirm that the poly'd red oak floors would be fine.

[modern kitchen design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/modern-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2105) by dc metro general contractor NVS Remodeling & Design

Two more.... (I have white perimeter cabs and am considering a grey island, hence the darker islands).

[traditional kitchen design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2107)

[modern kitchen design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/modern-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2105) by dc metro general contractor NVS Remodeling & Design

Wow!
I'm surprised how beautiful those lighter, redish floors look! In my head, like the OP I think, they would be nothing I'd consider.

Just shows to go 'ya that IRL things can be very, very different.

Can't wait to see what you choose!

It's funny, but in the pix posted by oldbat, the floors look a little jarring to my eye (in the 2nd and 3rd photos more). The tops of those kitchens are done all soft and the floors change that vibe. If those kitchens had some darker materials used above the floor such as the bs, counters or hardware, it may not be such a disconnect to me. The first one by oldbat is a little better in that regard even though it appears to be the same kitchen as in the third photo. Maybe the lighting and angle of the shot are the difference.

If you did not do wood, would you consider cork instead? You could go with a different color than the wood floors and yet still have a softer, warmer feel like the wood would have given you. I have a floor currently with black and 2 grays in it and it needs replacing for structural reasons. I am looking into trying cork in a similar scheme. I think it is often better to not match at all than to try to almost match. It will be adjacent to some wood floors in our house and I like that it will contrast instead of trying to get it to blend. I am waiting on some samples to see if I can get a nice gray with the blacker cork as well.
Most cork I have seen IRL skews a little to the brown side and I am hoping to minimize any brown tones in our kitchen.
Our current floor looks great with the white cabs and light white/gray counters. It grounds the room from being too white and yet is not adding in a bright color. If I can't find a nice gray, I may just use the blackish color by itself, even though we love having a pattern in the floor now. Using the more neutral gray/black tones on the floor leaves us free to use whatever color paint/accessories we want over the years since the appliances are white, stainless and black. The kitchen is bright and airy since the dark colors are down low and everything at eye level is softer.

Personally, I would look to match the floors to the rest of the house if you would like wood. I think unstained red oak would be lovely with white cabinets and gray counters.

Great points everyone -- thanks so much! I think I'm going to truck myself on down to a flooring place though, because I'm still pretty confused.

Oldbat -- I really appreciate those pics. I did a search on Houzz, but came up dry. The first picture you posted looks great and I breathed a sigh of relief. But I'm with Dianalo on the next two pictures (Diana, you captured my reaction precisely, although I was having trouble putting my finger on why they bothered me.) You're right -- the floor looks pretty jarring and seems to take over the whole room. Although it's a gorgeous kitchen, it's not quite the "feel" I'm going for.

I really want to keep the look in the kitchen light and bright, but peaceful, serene and calm, with the floor being just a neutral and subtle part of the background. I guess that's why the dark flooring always seems to look so good with the white/gray color scheme -- the contrast sets off the cabinets and counters, but still remains in the background. It looks like if the red oak gets too bright, it disrupts that feeling.

Pricklypearcactus, I agree with you though -- I'd love to keep the red oak throughout the house so that it "flows" and doesn't feel broken up.

I know zippo about flooring, but does anyone know if red oak can be sort of "toned down"? With a wash of some kind or other, before the poly gets put on? Or would unstained white oak be lighter and more "neutral" in feel? I'll look into cork too -- I've never seen any in real life. I'm thinking that maybe going lighter than red oak might work. Although I'm tempted to start thinking about dark stains again, I know it won't look right with the rest of the house and I'll be sorry when the animals get crazy and that first nice big scratch happens.

I have quarter sawn oak with a walnut border with my white cabinets and soapstone. (My island is painted a blue/green.) There is no stain on my oak - just poly.

Baligirl's kitchen has red oak too, or that's what it looks like to me anyway. I've linked it below so you can see it in a kitchen done in warm tones (still with white cabinets though).

I have red oak (came with the house) and I love it. Where I live it is very practical, as it matches the red clay soil the dogs bring in. :)

Here is a link that might be useful: Traditional with copper pots, marble

My kitchen has the original maple floors (so more yellow than red), cream cabinets and Revere Pewter on the walls. In a perfect world, I would have preferred to rip it out and put in dark hardwood, but with that beast you see in the picture, there's no way :)

I have red oak (unstained, oil polyurethane only) everywhere in my house except the bedrooms and bathrooms. My kitchen flows into my dining and living rooms. So the red oak belongs in my kitchen and makes it not take itself too seriously.

Ditto to linelle. I have red oak, unstained, poly'd only with white cabs & Bianco Antico granite (a grayish, taupe, brown granite). The first time I saw the floors with the cabinets, I thought the floors stole the show. While some might find it jarring, I love them. Plus, the entire house is red oak with poly with the exception of a couple bathrooms, so the decision was basically made for me. I am the type of person that likes consistency and flow. Yes, I think dark would look better, but at the end of the day, having all my floors the same was most important.

I think that staying with the flooring that you have throughout the rest of your house will provide a grounding continuity in the kitchen. There's a lot of value - especially when you want your cabinets and countertops to be the stars of the show - in allowing the floor to fade into obscurity. Keeping it the SAME as the other floors will do that more than any particular shade or color.

I did Marmoleum. I had different oaks at different doors and there wasn't a good way to make 'em meet.

It depends on your openings I think, and how open the kitchen is. Certainly can't go wrong with oak, though.

Sorry to go off topic for just a second. Bobby99..what is your counter top please?
Deborah

Thanks so much for your help, everyone. I'm inching closer, I think.

kpaquette -- your floors are beautiful (love that border)! If I go the red oak route, I really hope I can manage to get those warm gold/brown tones in the floor.

Bobby99 -- That certainly is the beauty of unstained wood floors! Your golden floors look great with the black countertop, and I'd never be able to tell you have such a lovely and large companion romping on them!

Northcarolina - I know what you mean about that red soil. I've got relatives in NC and when I come home from a visit, I've got to wipe the red clay off my sneakers -- it is a gorgeous soil though and would blend perfectly with the red oak - a maintenance dream!

linelle, dseng, flori and i_love_my_dog -- that's what I'm struggling with the most. I'm afraid if I do anything other than red oak it will disrupt the flow and make the house seem choppy. Although the kitchen is not really "open", it has three interior doors (all leading from red oak) and you can see into the kitchen from the (red oak) front entryway.

I love the red oak in all the pictures you've so graciously posted, but most of the kitchens (with the exception of oldbat's first pic) look pretty traditional; and I think our renovated kitchen will end up more transitional and I'm not sure it will look as good.

I went to a nearby Lumber Liquidators yesterday (hmmm -- I only saw the bad reviews of LL after I returned). I loved the LL "Golden Teak", but after reading some negative reviews of LL, am pretty reluctant to take a chance on that. The teak has some variation though and blends with and picks up some of the red oak color, but is more of a medium brown with some red and gold tones. It really seemed like a nice compromise between the red oak and dark stained floors that would blend nicely. Didn't like unstained white oak at all (too greenish) with the gray counter.

I'm tempted to try to stain oak the color of the Golden Teak. The LL guy did tell me that if I'm toying with staining an oak floor, I should go with white oak because it absorbs the stain more evenly. Can red oak be stained to pick up brown/gold tones? I'm not sure that will gain me much though, because once you stain oak, isn't it likely to show dirt and scratches much like the darker stained floor which I love but am trying to avoid because of the maintenance?

We have Super WHite granite and white cabinets. Our floor is black and white tile and we LOVE it all together! The rest of the floors in the house are red oak and it all works really well together.

I personally love the unstained floors in kpaquettes's kitchen. I think it gives it just the right amount of warmth without giving you that jarring feeling from looking at the cool cabs/counters to the warm floor, IMHO.

Just my two cents, but if you decide not to continue the red oak from the rest of the house, I think cork or tile would be nice to truly set the kitchen as a room apart.