Yes, you can achieve trunk development quite readily in a tub specimen. One to three inches per year in good growing conditions, after an initial establishing season or two - ie, semi-bright, sheltered, cool and damp conditions. So much so, in fact, that you'll wish you'd chosen a bigger planting vessel in the first place. Even the largest size of trash can - bottom drilled for drainage - will be outgrown in less than ten years and the organic matter in the compost chewed to virtually dust. And stability is severely compromised in small pots - wind will blow them over, or the trunk will grow with a leaning angle and over-balance it that way. An unstable angled trunk is guaranteed when growing under an opaque porch roof, as the light is not coming down vertically. All tree ferns 'reach' for the light unless it diffuses naturally from directly overhead. My advice would be to go with a big, heavy tub right now, filled with enriched, moisture-retentive compost. And plan for very regular watering, maybe supplemented with an auto system - you'll need a daily soaking during your fierce summers. But nothing during frosty periods. And with so much watering needed, the compost is leached quite quickly and will need regular topping up and enriching. Spent compost loses moisture too quickly for such damp loving ferns, so re-mulching is important. You'll find that fronds arrive in two seasonal flushes - the bulk in spring, followed by a late summer secondary burst that might not quite have time to fully harden off before the cold weather arrives. But that's okay. Within a season or two your 'baby' will have fronds so long that the fern's 'wingspan' may be problematically wide for your porch setting. Jammed up against a wall, these two-metre long fronds will not look their best or give you a 360 degree symetrically formed canopy - so think longer term about where the tree fern is going to live. You'll be fine for this season, and maybe next - but eventually this tree fern is going to need more headroom and an enormous lateral spread. To summarise: more growth is best accelerated by masses of watering together with regular topping up of the compost. If you really HAVE to get busy with the fertiliser, just go with a VERY overdiluted soak with the Miracle-gro - make it extremely weak and disregard the instructions. Weak, weak, weak. Steve - Brighton, Sussex Coast, UK

While there are water based products that can be thinned with water, I've always preferred oil based paint/primer for whitewashing/pickling, thinned with turpentine or mineral spirits. The ratio really depends on the look you want, and especially the hardness/porosity of the wood. Typically, I brush or wipe on with a rag, and then wipe back off with a rag to the desired amount of pigment left on the wood and in crevices and details. With wood as hard and dense as Maple, you'll need to experiment how long to leave it on for the results you want. You can always go back and add more over it until you're pleased. Personally, I would choose a wood other than Maple with a more open grain, and or softer if specifically wanting to whitewash, but that does not mean it can't be done! White Oak is beautiful whitewashed/pickled, Red oak is nice too, but has a tendency to go pink, so adding some blue or gray in the thinned mix can help mitigate the effect. Laquer is typically sprayed on, as it dries in minutes, and can be re-coated several times in one process. There are also brushing laquers that have a slower dry time, I've used Deft brand and it works well. Most top coats are available in a matte finish, satin is just a notch above matte on the gloss scale, and is a bit more wipeable for a kitchen. Pine in the kitchen... (also on the T&G sloped ceiling that you can't see) Pine paneling in the family room... Pine wall unit and ceiling in my home office. I wanted the ceiling to contrast the cabinet and crown a bit, so used very little pigment, and wiped off quickly...

Probably the EASIEST way to get this look is to work with FACTORY FINISHED hardwood that comes out of the box looking like this. This is a high-end look that is very popular right now. Which means "supply and demand" is part of the price-equation. Personally I would look to European Oak and let it FADE to the "silver" colour you like. European Oak will naturally silver as it ages...especially when it is finished with water born polyurethane. The European Oak starts out a light colour with pale yellow tones with some brown in it (more like beige) and as it is exposed to UV rays, it turns silver (like the planks you are looking at). Again, European Oak is an expensive import that is HIGHLY sought after (because it silvers rather than yellows). No matter how you shake this tree, it is going to come out as "expensive". I suggest a budget of $15/sf just to start the conversation. Or a stunning, high-end laminate in this visual ($5/sf) will give you the same look. This last bit is merely a suggestion.

Katie B. Found it. The first time there is grease on that brass the finish will change. I would not install that as a long term solution. https://www.chemetal.com/brass/ https://www.quickshipmetals.com/custom-service-gallery.html