we are finally getting around to starting the patio on our new construction home ... hubbie is going to build a cedar pergola and some cedar patio furniture to fit our large family... can anyone that has recently built with cedar share the stain manufacturer and color that you used. I love wood grain so any stain that is lighter in color and shows the natural beauty of the wood is the look I am going for. I am really bad at picking out stains so if you can share it would be so appreciated.

What wood are you choosing? Stain is radically different from wood to wood and what works on maple won't be anywhere near the same on cherry. What you really need to do is to have your flooring professional prepare several samples for you on your particular floor in your home with your lighting. All of that will impact the color that you end up with. That service should have been included as part of his proposal to you.

Thanks Renee. It might not show up well in the photos, but the stonework around the porch has a lot of grey in it. And the door is a gray-toned blue. We also have a lot of rocks in the landscaping. So I guess I was wondering if I should play off those. I don't mind the brown, but just wondered if breaking it up would be better. I also questioned if a dark brown porch would be "too much" with the roof and the mulch.

I don't know how you can put shades on triangle-shaped windows. The previous owners of our house had a film applied to the south-facing windows that are high up. Thank goodness because as you can see, all that light changes the color of your floor. No point in refinishing the floor if it's just going to get bleached again. There are numerous brands and dozens of colors of stains available. If you're using a contractor they should be able to provide samples of the stains they use. Every contractor has a preferred product. If you're DIY, just like paint, you need to test stains on a sample piece of wood that is the same species as your floor. Hate to tell you, but almost anything is going to be out of fashion in ten years and no one has a crystal ball to tell us what is going to be "in" in ten years. The only thing I can tell you (because I am old enough to have seen several iterations of what is in and out go by over the decades) is that fashions in floor colors cycle back and forth between dark and light. They change to stimulate sales from people chasing the trends. So suit yourself and chose something that will work with your furniture, and also the wall color since you've done that already. The only thing I will say is definitely do not go gray. That is definitely out and may not come back for decades. Personally I like to go middle of the road brown and skip all the flip flopping between light and dark.