I used an oil stain (3 or 4 coats actually...a bit crazy). Followed by many coats of polyurethane. Poly can yellow over time but is probably one of the most durable finishes. In my case, having my stain a little more yellow wouldn't hurt, and I can always redo it in 5-10 years when that happens if I hate it! Polyacrylic will not yellow, but I had reasons for not using that. I have 3 kids between 2-7, so I was most concerned about the water that spills an doesn't get cleaned up until the next day. You can lacquer over stain. As you add coats to the lacquer, you can add more color(say one particular boards grain is driving you nuts or you want to distress). My father did lacquer in their very high end basement redo, and it doesn't have the fake look that you get particularly with cheap furniture. I would assume you may like more of a satin finish, but maybe worth experimenting with. I used some gel stain on the chairs in my picture because the oil stain wasn't achieving a good color match. Gel stains kind of sit on top of the wood. I didn't like them, but others do. You can also buy pigments (think hobby lobby $10 tubes in the painting area). There are specific colors that stainers will use. For wood, I'm not going to suggest a type of wood as I don't know how much grain you like. It may be worth checking out a quality lumberyard rather than your big box guys though...higher price point but higher qualities of wood. Ana-white.com has one or two trestle table designs/plans. Potterybarn has several also.

Squirrel, How much MM of actual hardwood wear level was on top of the 3/8th engineered wood since that matters more? I would prefer a 1/2" engineered wood with at least 2 MM on top. So far 5.5 hours later, the Park Avenue Laminate is holding up very well and did not swell with just a very small amount of water absorbing on one spot but most of it stayed dry with the water on top of the same and on top of the laminate in a puddle. The Anderson Engineered Wood was able to click together very tight so it holding up well despite more of it getting through the seam and into the plywood. The Mannington's Engineered wood has more that soaked to the bottom of the wood due to the planks not clicking that great together being from two of their lines. If more water was poured on this, I can see a problem. I think I will let the water stay there overnight and see what happens. I am also going to pour another 1/4 cup of water in the seam of each of the flooring samples to see what happens tomorrow morning. Stay tuned to the results.... :) Squirrel and Anne, that is a good point about the sound it makes. I can always add wood floors in my Master Bedroom if I choose laminate for my office. My one concern is the value of my property if I put in Laminate versus Engineered Hardwood Floors. If I knew I would be here a very long time, I would not worry at all and get what is best for my office and then I can get something different for the rest of my home one day when I am ready to put hardwood down in those rooms. If I get what I love for the office and I love it enough, I can put it through the rest of my home. I have no idea how long I will live here and if I meet Mr. Wonderful and get married one day, I have no idea if he will move in with me since my home is very nice or I would move to his home or we will sell both of our homes and buy one together. But so far, that Mr. Wonderful ends up being short-term dating and I am still single and kind of gave up on dating for awhile a few very nice men being interested in me and emailing me and calling. But if I sell my place I know hardwood floors will sell better but if I choose a species I love that is photosenstive to the sun, maybe that will not be a good selling point that under all my file cabinets and office furniture is a different color wood. I also really like Semi-gloss on floors and the Bruce Park Avenue has a high gloss that is pretty but I wish it was less gloss. But it looks real and I like the Makore look that seems peaceful and looks nice in my home office not clashing with anything. If I was not afraid of making my office too dark (not much natural light after the front of the office that has the windows since there is a half a wall high that has the other part of the office behind it with no windows at all that gets hardly any light), I really adore the Santos Mahagony's grain and variation of rich deep colors. I am waiting for more samples to arrive. If I knew I would live here many more years and I had the finances and time and if I was able to (may not due to moisture since my town house was built on the preserved wet lands in my area), I would put a subfloor down in all rooms in my home and put down solid wood flooring in red oak quartersawn cut with many coats of protection on top.

yes, HVAC guys..the engineer himself was good in planning it. The guys who ran it..I couldn't be on the site that day..I come-and they made two vents on that ledge that we kinda have to have since it's load bearing..which was the plan, but if they put it lower-no one would see them vents. They drilled right in the middle.. I saw red. So I know my house like no one else. I know all the mistakes made, either by others or by me. I hate cheap vents..I know closets are very basic..I know windows we installed(we installed just some) are mostly crap, and actually plan on changing two of them. I know curtain rods should be a tad higher..and they're not my dream rods too, to say the least. I know the light fixture in the guest room is too small(amazing color though. thus its weirdness is forgiven). I'm not even starting on the fireplace... Would I redo it if I had money and energy? You bet. Or I'd get it right in the first place, most likely. Do I still love the house? Yes, I do. I like it quite a lot too, So I can critique my own place very easily And if I designed for somebody who pays me-yeah..I'd try to get it right in the first place. One can feel irritated and very fortunate at the same time..:) One can critique without actually jumping on everything. You think I wouldn't faint, out of happiness, if my first place-the one that we could buy since we won the lottery ran by the state, subsidized apartments -had any kitchen actually, lol? it had a sink base cabinet with the sink in it. That's all. Yet I couldn't stop touching the (very non-straight ) walls because it was ours. With its almost total absence of the kitchen. It had space to put/ install the rest... But design is a very subjective thing. It has a bit of art in it. Or a lot. Will always be interpreted, critiqued, admired, you name it. You create something-it will get out of your hands and will have a life of its own. It stops to be completely and utterly yours the moment you create it. That's a sorrow, and a joy, and they always come together.

Wood is wood and it is not uncommon for wood furniture to have veneers which use exotic woods for design purposes. If you are using the table every day - especially with children - I would recommend having the table finished with what is called a bar top finish. It is extremely durable and more impervious to water issues than standard finishes. However, it is not a license to abuse the table as you should still use trivets for hot stuff and use placemats, coasters or other items to protect against moisture. Without knowing more I would suspect that a hand crafted solid wood table made by Amish crafts people is better than Ashley although I know nothing specifically about that brand. I am finishing a remodel and had my dining table custom made by a local wood worker to my specifications and design and I am thrilled with the results. It wasn't cheap but was far less expensive than a comparable quality and design would have cost if I could have even found one I like in the stores.