Help deciding what color to stain maple steps to match vinyl floors

3 years ago

I just installed grey luxury vinyl flooring throughout my house. i also have brand new Maple steps that are going to be installed on the stairs. I feel that the maple alone is a bit outdated and need advice on what color I should stain these steps. above the stairs is a baluster With craftsman newels and iron rods that are going to be installed as well. How do I make this work. Help!

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Comments (12)

kate_port67
Original Author
3 years ago
This is what the baluster is going to look like
btydrvn
3 years ago
Take a sample step and piece of flooring to a paint store and ask for advice on a stain..also consider a runner on the steps to avoid the different materials and color from being too obvious next to the flooring...
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glennsfc: Thank You So Much for answering : ) Since I posted I looked up "stain" on this forum and actually found a couple posts about really bad blotchyness occuring on "maple" in particular! WHO KNEW! I had NO idea! Before you wrote I thought, there goes that idea! You give me a little encouragement though. I'll get a quote from a pro and see how it compares to the Mirage materials. It's the Stairnose that's so expensive! Thought solid maple steps might look cooler though too! You're great! Thanks again!
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The painter says he can get a good even stain on it if he does a pre-stain conditioner. Your painter isn't a wood finisher. If he suggested usng Minwax and promised to get a 'good even stain' because he's using 'conditioner', then I know for sure he isn't a wood refinisher!! Does he even know anything about Maple? I've done all types of wood, stains, aniline dyes, etc. Maple is a very tight grain wood and difficult to get dark. I did one a long time ago in a walnut color, but the results were meh. (this was back in 2012 when I actually used Minwax products! I now know better) Anyway, here is a vintage maple hutch that I sanded down to raw wood, used the conditioner, and stained in a walnut. It was in pretty rough shape when I got it. took that surface all the way done to raw wood. Is this what your vanity wood looks like? I used a Dark Walnut on this coat, and then went over it again w/Jacobean to get this shade. Seal coat, steel wool to fine sand, and a few coats of poly. finished result: You see the blotchy spots? You saw what I started with. a pristine raw wood surface. I used the conditioner and stain correctly. Yet, the coloring is still a bit uneven. If you like this, fine. top coat result in natural light. shelves too. The maple always seems to get a little blotchy w/darker colors. it's just the nature of this species. If you wanted to stain, you should have picked a diff wood. Aniline Dye? it's water base and penetrates deeply into the wood grain. it comes in a powder form you mix w/hot water I had a solid oak french door I wanted black. black stain alone wasn't enough to get it really black so Here's what I started with. The dye 1-2 coats of dye, and it still wasn't black enough. the dye makes a good base for ebony stain You can see the deeper grain here in the oak and how the dye doesn't quite get all of it. Gel stain in Ebony did the trick. Then I sealed it all w/ebony Penofin oil. waterproofs it too. It's as black as can be. did the oak window trim too. see how deep the black looks? Do you think your painter knows about these 3 steps and all the products used? First off, lets see this wood vanity. you've posted one teeny tiny pic of some tile but are wanting advice on things we can't see? get a spare piece of wood like your vanity so you can practice on it. This painter just wasn't going to use the vanity w/o sampling, was he?
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btydrvn
3 years ago
Depending on the maple’s finish ... i would also consider painting the steps as a possible option...
SJ McCarthy
3 years ago
Just so you know, maple is tough to stain. It takes a STRONG understanding of maple and stains to get his done properly.

And maple likes to turn yellow when exposed to light (any light....UV is found in over head lighting and in sunlight). If you stain it (or try to stain it) gray, you will find it turns yellowy inside of 1 year.

My question: why did you choose the maple treads? Why not use the vinyl (glued in place) on the treads and paint the risers?
kate_port67
Original Author
3 years ago
Wow thank you both so much for your insights! I did not know maple Is so hard to stain! Does painting maple still have the same outcome as staining it? I chose maple because my contractor said that would be a more durable choice :/ my vinyl is shaw floorte vinyl and it snaps together. if I chose to do vinyl on the stairs my my guess is I could glue it to the maple stairs? sorry for all of the questions but know that your help is very appreciated! I am new to this! Thank you
btydrvn
3 years ago
Using the vinyl on the stairs leaves the edge to deal with ....not sure how you would handle that?..painting covers ...wears well...and touches up easily if needed...but my concern was that the knots may show if the wood was not completely smooth....it seems to me that carpeting the whole stair area should be considered as well ..a thin pile simulating jute is a good choice...
btydrvn
3 years ago
Nice to walk on and not slippery ...but molds to the steps perfectly ...
PRO
Beth H. :
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
maple is difficult to get to take a dark stain. leaving it natural or something light w/a slight gray stain shouldn't be too hard.

If you get maple treads like this and try mixing a combo of an ashy brown stain and a gray stain, you should get a darker gray color. all depends what you're trying to match

where is the vinyl floor? lets see the color

if you did a white oak, it would be easier to stain and match stain colors
btydrvn
3 years ago
If you paint the steps the risers could be covered with the flooring
kate_port67
Original Author
3 years ago

This is the vinyl. Thank You for your help! I am going to have my contractor return the maple and get white oak! I love the light Grey colors you provided in the pictures above!
kate_port67
Original Author
3 years ago
PRO
Beth H. :
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
good idea kate. plus, the white oak graining will match your flooring a bit better.

have him try Varathane weathered gray (Not Minwax!). It should give you the color you're looking for. (they also have a classic gray. a mixture of these two might give you a diff gray shade)

and make sure you get white oak and not red oak. red oak will have a pink undertone to it (like that picture)

Help deciding what color to stain maple steps to match vinyl floors

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Help deciding what color to stain maple steps to match vinyl floors

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