Oh dear ! To face designing a whole house to work with orange wood that you don't like is a big no no in my opinion . Bite the Bullet and get a painter in ! Then you can have whatever look you want !! Or have a painting party !!! Either way - this orange wood will annoy you if you keep it !!!

You are more likely to see swirls in the natural colour than if you stain it dark, which in my opinion would be more likely to cover bad sanding up. If you go over the whole floor with a 120 grit paper, it really should be smooth enough for anything. I think also that maybe you're confusing different finishes with showing up imperfections. You mention, stain, varnish and oil, all of which give a different look. I think stain and oil show up imperfections, whereas varnish especially the satin and even better gloss, will lessen imperfections. Stain - just stains, it doesn't seal or finish a floor Oil - can both stain and finish - depending on brand and finish Varnish - can colour and finish. What wear is the floor going to get? How do you intend to clean it? Oil is lovely, but not so 'moppable'. I'd be inclined to suggest a varnish with stain in it personallly.

Great article! Thank you so much for sharing.

Thank you, we're doing our best :)