Here's a pic of the dining room Here's the dining room side of the stringer, stained honey maple to match the baseboard and shoe (the cove base on the underside of the treads is not finished, was thinking making that dark to make it contrast, easier to see for older folks) And here's a really bad pic of the bottom riser that I finished, the shoe mould came out really light even with 2 coats of gel stain so I just poly'd this riser, no stain. Maybe that was a mistake. But all the other risers, and the foyer side of the stringer, haven't been touched yet. I got my rail brackets today and I love them! http://store.horseshoe-hardware.com/19530.html Thanks for the nice words about my "money pit". We built on 97 acres that's been in my family for 95+ years (my great-uncle says his father and grandfather bought it March 1913, but didn't move til end of April when he was 2 weeks old, so he wasn't born here but close). My uncle bought the neighbors' house 30 years ago, then his uncle sold him about 17-18 acres, my other uncle bought land across the street, my cousin now owns the 1743 farmhouse, barn and 5 acres. I ended up with the back acreage no one else wanted, no frontage, 96 acres in 1 town, 1 acre in another with a rightofway for driveway. So we're building hopefully to stay in the family, wanted it modern and comfortable but definitely "farm". We have so many (falling-down) stone walls in the woods, I figured I'd fill under the porch with rubble from ledge busted up where we built. Eventually we'll clear more and try to restore some of the stone walls that are close to the backyard. DH built some stone retaining walls and a staircase near the back slider, might have to move the top 2 steps since they're too close to the house but I'll post pics of those some time.

metromom the difference was the product I used. The gel stain I had been using looked OK until direct sunlight or bright light hit it and then every brush mark showed - horrible! The finish chips very easily. The gel stain is somewhat opaque so the grain of the wood tends to disappear too! Polyshades is not at all like a gel stain. It is a stain/poly product and is more transparent than gel stain. I was concerned that it wouldn't provide enough of a color change but it did! The stool in the photo has had only one coat, no rubbing off. The instructions say to apply only a very thin coat and repeat if necessary. I think this is essential for a good result, especially on vertical surfaces, as Polyshades is quite thin and runs easily. If you trust that the color WILL change and make sure you apply a very thin coat only at a time I think it is pretty easy to have great results.

Hi what color should I stain this basement staircase handrail? I have “golden oak” through the rest of my home but she’s nice this is a basement, I wanted to go slightly darker in stain. Advice on a min wax stain? Stairs will be grey carpet and newel post painted white.

I like Mohawk SmartStrand broadloom. A loop and cut pile gives interest without too much pattern if you want a neutral look. Here is a nice one with lots of color options. Don’t be afraid of going light in tone for nice contrast with wood. Not sure what colors are going into your adjoining rooms. Be good if you know wall colors at least.