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Flooring Design Dilemma

Looking for a stain to apply to pine stairs to better match red oak

10 months ago

last modified: 10 months ago

We bought a house that has beautiful but outdated orange/reddish stained red oak floors downstairs and on the front stairs. Pulled the carpet upstairs and from the back stairs. Those stairs are pine and new oak treads puts us over budget We sampled many stains and found the darker stains mask the variation between the oak and pine. But we otherwise hated all of those stains and decided we preferred the look of the freshly sanded unfinished look of the new red oak floors. So now we’re just going to seal and apply at top coat. Which creates a problem for those pine stairs! They have already been sanded and one coat of Bona Natrualseal applied. The flooring crew is coming back today to apply the first coat of Loba 2K Supra througout upstairs. I’m going to have them hold off on those back stairs hoping I can still avoid adding treads especially since I will have to still pay them for the (wasted) work the’ve already done. Any suggestions? I’m not trying to perfectly match. Just need to washout most of the yellow

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Comments (13)

arcy_gw
10 months ago
Have you considered painting the stairs?
LaDavia Just
Original Author
10 months ago
Yes. But wish I had decided that before the sanding and seal. Maybe I should just cut my losses and do so. Still hoping there’s another option.
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PRO
Kristin Petro Interiors, Inc.
10 months ago
Add back in a carpet. Something with a pattern so it looks similar to a runner.
LaDavia Just
Original Author
10 months ago
This is really nice! Thanks for sharing. How should I navigate the oak landing? What’s not shown is another set of steps off to the right. I would love to keep the landing bare especially since there’s hardwood everywhere else.
PRO
Patricia Colwell Consulting
10 months ago
A nice runner will bridge the issue.
PRO
BeverlyFLADeziner
10 months ago
Pine is not a good wood for stair treads unless you plan to paint them and cover with a runner. Pine doesn't take stain well and will NEVER play nice with the red oak.
LaDavia Just
Original Author
10 months ago
Thank you Beverly! The reality check I needed!
PRO
G & S Floor Service
10 months ago
Pecan if, they still make it.
Susie .
10 months ago
Agree that a runner is your best bet. I think you can leave the oak landing as-is and treat is as a floor versus a stair.
PRO
Beth H. :
10 months ago
last modified: 10 months ago
you only have 5 treads? just bite the bullet and get 5 red oak treads and ditch the pine! in no world will pine ever match the oak. leave the risers, paint those. get some oak treads. shouldn't cost that much. maybe 25-40 bucks per tread?

Otherwise, paint the treads and add a nice jute or sisal runner.
LaDavia Just
Original Author
10 months ago
Love this runner! There are actually a total of 14 stairs counting those beyond the landing out of view. The quote was $1,900 for tread/ risers and labor. Which was steep to steep for me! But that quote may have included these 4 at the top of the front staircase. These were previously covered in carpet in a runner like fashion. The exposed tread is oak but underneath the carpet pine creating a combination look for each tread. So for these I will be biting the bullet and replacing with oak to matching remaining stairs. For the full set of pine we’re discussing now I’m going to go with everyone’s advice. Paint then a runner. Thank you!
HU-720856932
6 months ago
Hi LaDavia! Would love to see a picture of your end product. We are ina similar conundrum and trying to figure if we should get the pine floors finished. Also, did you leave the read oak floors without stain? Do you like them? I am tending toward that with a water based finish. Would love to see pictures if you have any to share.

Thank you!!
HU-720856932
6 months ago
Hi LaDavia! Would love to see the end result and what you went with. We have a similar issue and want to keep the rad oak floors unstained but I worry the contrast could be stark with the pine stairs. Not opposed to adding a runner, but then wondering if we should even get the stairs refinished or should we simply just paint them over. Would love to see your pictures.

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