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Paint Design Dilemma

Trying to find stains that can work well on fir door and pine windows

4 years ago

Hello wise houzzers

We are almost done with our kitchen reno. One of the design ideas I had was to stain our new windows and the new door going from the kitchen to our screened in porch. All of this in the service of the design and to bring in some earthy rustic tones to the kitchen.

Well, my exterior door is made of fir. The windows are pine. So that means stain will not look the same on these two very different wood species. So, I've been on the hunt for stains that will make the pine and fir look like they are nearly the same (a little off is okay).

What I have found is that I really like how a golden oak stain looks on the fir. It's warm, but not too yellow. It really brings forward the wood grain. When I test golden oak on pine, it's flat and kind of dull. So I guess my questions are -

Does anyone know what kind of stain I should try on the pine that resembles a golden oak finish on fir?

or

Does anyone have advice on other stain colors to try? I do not expect to be able to use the same stain color on the fir as I do the pine. But perhaps there are combos that I haven't discovered yet that can get us closer to having windows and doors that look related? I've been doing a lot of trial and error for two weeks with not a lot of success.

Below are pictures for reference of our design. It's a black and white kitchen concept.

Thank you!

Kitchen Design · More Info

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Comments (3)

PRO
GannonCo
4 years ago
Its so hard to tell without seeing the actual wood as even though you have the species seeing the wood used gives a better idea of what your trying to achieve.

If the Fir has a more amber tone to it try using an amber shellac on the pine first and then stain.

Both of those woods will darken and yellow/amber with age so even a simple oil based clear might give ether work tone your looking for. You can even use the shellac first. General Finishes Enduro has a slight amber look to it to mimic oil clears.

I would use the shellac and then simply clear them with the Enduro.

Honestly it might be cheaper to find a refinish expert in your area who can adjust and tint as needed.
Rebecca Mauri thanked GannonCo
cat_ky
4 years ago
Before you stain pine or fir, use a put on a wood conditioner. It will even out the tones. The stain may even match better on both pine and fir. I love Golden oak, especially on pine.
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PRO
Beth H. :
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago
why don't you just paint the pine windows black? I think it would look great against the white tile and white casing.

Pine tends to stain blotchy, even w/conditioner, and will always give off a yellowish tone. You could try going darker (maybe an espresso tone. that way the two will prob match a bit better). but if you go dark, you may as well paint it black. Plus, it will tie in w/the lower cabs. I think if you did a light stain it would look off.

Here, quick photoshop

do your Fir door in the golden tone, (or go for Special Walnut. it's a rich, warm brown)
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