From my experience, having built 5 houses, when you're dealing with all these decisions, the "little" things seem to be very important. I remember one house I built, I wanted a certain trim around the front door. Turns out it would have to be custom built which would have been a great deal more cost. I wound up going with a standard traditional (I forget what it's called) finial type thing that was more common than the one I wanted. It seemed to be such a big deal at the time and I was very disappointed. After I moved into the house, I must admit, this big deal trim around the front door was never noticed by me! Seems to me, these are your choices…..order new trim and try to sell what you have at a loss on your own or donate it to Habitat for Humanity and get a write off, or go with what you have and in that case, I would paint it. Sanding it and trying to match what you have is a very big job and there's no assurance that it will please you when it's done. Bottom line, what I'm trying to tell you, once it's done, it won't bother you nearly as much as it's bothering you now.

Thanks, Georgy'sMom...that is sweet reassurance. I am, at heart, a thrifty (read: cheap) person. I will purchase good quality, but I cannot justify re-buying trim for this room. The nearest Habitat for Humanity is more than 150 miles away; I won't be able to take the trim there.

I have a couple pieces laid out on the floor under the window. I think my eyes will become accustomed to the color.

One more question. Should I leave the window wood unstained with just the clear satin top coat? That way the window interior would be a better match to the floor.

Or, should I try to match the stain color of the trim and put it on the window wood also?

I've called the lumber yard salesman twice. It seems he is not able to look up the color of the trim, or offer to get me a can of it from the manufacturer.

My best suggestion for you is to go on Houzz.com. Once you sign up (it's free), search living room window and baseboard trim. There will be pages and pages and pages of painted trim (in white and colors) and natural trim. Whatever keeps catching your fancy is going to be the right choice for you. You can make up your own idea book placing in it the rooms that appeal to you most and go back and check on it. It was a great help to me when I remodeled my bathroom. Wish I had something like that when I built my houses or even when I remodeled my kitchen. It's a great site and the best way to tell what appeals to you most.

I don't have any advice to offer, but just some experience. I had some custom solid wood floor installed (finished in place) - about 600 square feet. I picked red oak, 3.5" planks, fully expecting at least a hint of red. Nope, nary a trace.

I didn't want it stained, so it has 3 coats of polyurethane. It's beautiful, but definitely not red.

And my trim is painted.

It sounds like maybe the floor is "cool" in color & the trim is "warm".

I don't know of a way to make cool & warm harmonious.

It would be like wearing charcoal gray trousers & tan shoes.

If that's indeed the situation, paint the trim.

You love your floor, it's original to the house, & you're the one who's going to live with it, so change some other element.

& it may be that there's just too much wood;
refer to log houses with beaded ceilings, log walls, wood floors, & big wood furniture.

Even trees don't show that much wood;
they clothe themselves in greens & other colors!

I once lived in a house with beautiful honey-oak hardwood floors, & I was so happy when I found a good deal on an antique dark walnut dining room suite.

It was awful!

I finally got a room-sized area rug to cover some of the wood & break up the wood-to-wood contact, but I never was happy with the whole effect.

If that were to happen today, I'd sell the dining room furniture for whatever I could get & put in something "contrasty", maybe a painted table with a glass or tile top & chairs upholstered with a patterned fabric.

caroline did a quick search on raw red oak...and it's far from "red toned"...who knows how they name wood!

Here is a link that might be useful: http://www.thediscountflooringco.com/categories.php?cat=580

I have red oak sanded, not stained just three coats of poly, too and am very happy with it . Windows and all woodwork is painted white. I'm happy with it but what works for me may not be for you. Check out all those pictures on Houzz. It will give you a better idea of what makes you happy.

Red oak turns yellow when exposed to light over time.

White painted trim boards/baseboards are VERY stylish right now. White doors are also very "IN".