Would my kitchen be too dark if I gel stained my oak?
I don't post a lot, but I do read these forums a lot and would really love some opinions on if I should gel stain my kitchen or not.
A few years ago I wanted to get new cabinets but my husband didn't want to replace them but we did get a few new items for our kitchen, like a new counter and new appliances. He didn't want to rip out the cabinets because we plan on moving in a few years and he didn't think he would get his money back in the resale. A few doors would need to be replaced if I just stayed with the regular golden oak color. Or I could just restain them all. I have tried staining a few things, and I am able to do it, I just can't do medium tones.
So what do you think? Should I go darker?
Comments (15)
TxMarti
13 years agoRelated Discussions
Gel stained my cabinet door. I liked it, but...
Comments (15)Thanks for all your replies! (If you are interested in how I stained it, you can skip to the ***** marks) I decided to change the cabinets after looking more carefully. The drawers are 10mm particle boards put together by staples. They have central under-mount slide and do not slide smoothly at all. They are not as good as what I had in my rental condo (original cabinets from 85), and inside some drawers the particle boards are peeling. To be green and eco-friendly, I'll paint them white and let the workers install them in the garage, makes a perfect workshop or organizer. The island may need to go, though. My contractor told me if the cabinets are attached to the walls by screws (vs. nails), it will be salvageable, very luckily, they are. :) Thank you for all your advice. ******************************** Okay. So here's how I stained it. Basically I just followed Celticmoon's post and procedures. (Thank you Celticmoon and everyone sharing your experience). They are in the following links: http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/kitchbath/msg011124147771.html http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/kitchbath/msg0609355831889.html http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/kitchbath/msg0619093520899.html What I might did different is that I spent a bit more time sanding the shining coat off, about 2 min per door with fine sand block. Initially I used cheese cloth to put on the gel, then wipe off with old socks. But that created some problem: if your door has a deep, think groove like mine, with cheese cloth there will be too much gel trapped in it, makes it hard to wipe off. And I was wiping too late, and too hard in the first coats, as well. After three coats it still looks nowhere near dark brown. Not mention for the second coat I only waited 20 min after the first one, it was not dry yet. I used a foam brush for the fourth coat and didn't apply to the groove at all (it is dark enough), wiped off immediately before the paint dissolves previous coats. This time it gets pretty dark. Hope these helps!...See MoreGel stain freakout! Lots of pics.
Comments (46)kitchenaddict, Oh no, I am very snooty about minwax. The color was good but its not as good as GF. never_ending, LOL Thanks, your name reminds me of my project...never ending :P pcrossen, OMG I wanted to get some glass cabinet doors! I'll probably wait until the kids go back to school, but I think that is a really good idea. I have thought about that more than a few times and then today I looked at the HGTV green dream home and saw that they had counters same color as mine, dark brown cabinets (less red) and a few frosted doors. It just confirmed to me how good it would look!!...See MoreMy gel stain adventure (bathroom project)
Comments (9)What a difference! Looks fabulous. It's nice to see a different color of gel stain besides dark java. I like the dark java fine, just like to see options. FYI @a2gemini - I have gel stained over laminate side panels successfully. You just need something to act as a barrier/bond coat. I use this stuff called "prime etch" by a company called faux effects. I don't remember the website, but I'm sure you could google it. It's really for professional painters but they'll sell it to anyone. It's clear stuff you paint on, and it sticks to anything and you can top coat it with anything. I've even used it to make paint stick to ceramic tile! (I don't work for them. I just love this stuff. LOL)...See MoreHelp. Just stained my floors dark . Should I paint my walls?
Comments (10)Lighter walls and a darker rug, and overall more color please. Right now there is no focal point in this room, and I hope you'll consider a fantastic painting over the fireplace and ditch all the small stuff on the mantel. With such a very dark floor the light rug just looks wrong. In nature you have the brown earth, then green grass and trees and then the lighter blue of the sky. Try a warm colored rug (like an Oriental, which has many colors), a glass coffee table which will show the rug instead of the weighty, chunky ottoman, off-white walls and drapes that are not much darker than the walls to open up this room. Pillows with colors taken from the rug which will tie the color scheme together, and then art on the walls in rich colors to glow against the light walls....See Moreblfenton
13 years agoboxerpups
13 years agoI like the dark. I do agree with Blfenton that the tone
is red. Which color did you use?I think your space is going to be fine with dark cabs.
You have beautiful white subway tiles that will have an
even bigger focus with darker cabs. In fact I think, you
could go even darker. Don't be afraid. The light coming
in from the large slider and the soft yellow cream color
on the walls all had light to the space.What color gel stain did you use? I am curious as I
am on the fence about changing a bathroom to a dark stain
myself.Thanks,
boxerpupsHere is what I am thinking.... Sorry Had to post a pic.
I am thinking walnut for my old oak cabs.
doraville
13 years agokadydid
13 years agokadydid
13 years agoMy counter is Corian Flint. Its Grey, no green.
I have another bathroom I was going to stain upstairs. Maybe I will do a test on the antique Walnut?? (from GF)bimmer88
9 years agomrshanson1
9 years agoTexas_Gem
9 years ago
Bunny
9 years agoadgjqetuo
9 years agoSorry to bring up an old post - i'm hoping the OP is still around - my wife and I are looking to refinish our cabinets using this gel stain. It appears your cabinets are the exact same color and construction as ours.
Our concern is even though the front fascia and doors appear to be real wood, the sides are laminate paper. Were your cabinets the same way? If so, did you notice a difference in finish color between the laminate and wood? How many coats did you apply?
I took an old bool shelf which is the same color as the sides of our cabinets with laminate paper over particle board and when I went to stain it with General Finishes brown mahogany, it came out way way lighter then your door picture above which I assume is real wood.
With the attached picture, each quarter in the test piece is a different sand paper grit. Top right is 600, Top Left is 400, Bottom left is 320 and bottom right is 150 grit. The more course, the darker it was we found.
I personally like the 400 grit sample, but i'm afraid the doors and fronts won't match once stained.
Hoping you can provide some advice!
This post was edited by adgjqetuo on Mon, Jan 12, 15 at 15:00
Gracie
9 years agoelcapocc
9 years agoI am almost done refinishing my golden, fake wood (laminate? :)) cabinets inside and out. I followed DIYMama's instructions and they came out great!
DIYMamas.blogspot.com
nosoccermom
9 years ago
marcydc