Pros Share 12 Wood Finish Secrets
Discover the wood-and-finish pairings professionals used to achieve beautiful looks for floors, cabinets and more
Becky Harris
June 17, 2022
Houzz Contributor. Hi there! I live in a 1940s cottage in Atlanta that I'll describe as "collected."
I got into design via Landscape Architecture, which I studied at the University of Virginia.
Houzz Contributor. Hi there! I live in a 1940s cottage in Atlanta that I'll describe... More
Finding the right wood species and predicting the effect a particular finish will have on it can be tricky. We’ve tapped design pros to find out exactly how they got the look on these wood floors, kitchen cabinets, bathroom vanities and other built-ins. Here are a dozen beautiful examples of finished wood looks you can achieve in your own projects.
Sustainable and Healthy
The architects and interior designers at ZeroEnergy Design prioritize sustainability and health in all their projects. This includes avoiding volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which have a negative impact on indoor air quality. “We have two go-to finishes for wood floors, both in a matte finish, which we prefer: Bona and Rubio Monocoat,” architect Stephanie Horowitz says.
In this row house in Boston’s historic South End, the original floors were too far gone to save. Horowitz replaced them with 5-inch-wide planks of quartersawn white oak from Vermont Plank Flooring. Then she had them finished on site with Bona Traffic Naturale, a water-based, low-VOC finish. “This finish is great for durability because it’s commercial-grade,” Horowitz says.
Wood: Quartersawn white oak
Finish: Bona Traffic Naturale
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The architects and interior designers at ZeroEnergy Design prioritize sustainability and health in all their projects. This includes avoiding volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which have a negative impact on indoor air quality. “We have two go-to finishes for wood floors, both in a matte finish, which we prefer: Bona and Rubio Monocoat,” architect Stephanie Horowitz says.
In this row house in Boston’s historic South End, the original floors were too far gone to save. Horowitz replaced them with 5-inch-wide planks of quartersawn white oak from Vermont Plank Flooring. Then she had them finished on site with Bona Traffic Naturale, a water-based, low-VOC finish. “This finish is great for durability because it’s commercial-grade,” Horowitz says.
Wood: Quartersawn white oak
Finish: Bona Traffic Naturale
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For this coastal home in Massachusetts, Horowitz recommended rift-sawn white oak flooring finished in Rubio Monocoat’s Oil Plus 2C in Cotton White. This product is VOC-free and is Living Building Challenge Red List-free. Being Red List-free means a product contains none of the worst-in-class materials.
“This finish has a fast application process and can be spot-refinished,” the architect says. “Typically if you damage a floor, the finisher has to refinish the whole room or area to make it look right. With the Rubio, you can refinish a small area and easily feather it out.”
Wood: Rift-sawn white oak
Finish: Rubio Monocoat Oil Plus 2C Cotton White
“This finish has a fast application process and can be spot-refinished,” the architect says. “Typically if you damage a floor, the finisher has to refinish the whole room or area to make it look right. With the Rubio, you can refinish a small area and easily feather it out.”
Wood: Rift-sawn white oak
Finish: Rubio Monocoat Oil Plus 2C Cotton White
Aged-Wood Look
For this elegant vanity, Richard Ryder, owner of design-build firm Clearcut Construction, chose a white oak. Then he applied a product called Rusted Aging Wash by WeatherWash. It’s a water-based, VOC-free stain that’s not pigmented; instead, it ages the wood, deepening its natural colors to warm brown-gray tones. “I use this one a lot because I can’t seem to find others that work as well in the same tone,” Ryder says.
Wood: White oak
Finish: WeatherWash Rusted Aging Wash
For this elegant vanity, Richard Ryder, owner of design-build firm Clearcut Construction, chose a white oak. Then he applied a product called Rusted Aging Wash by WeatherWash. It’s a water-based, VOC-free stain that’s not pigmented; instead, it ages the wood, deepening its natural colors to warm brown-gray tones. “I use this one a lot because I can’t seem to find others that work as well in the same tone,” Ryder says.
Wood: White oak
Finish: WeatherWash Rusted Aging Wash
Knotty Wood Elegance
Interior designer Sandy Kritzinger of Collaborative Interior Design used a mix of woods on this screened-in porch. Located on North Carolina’s Lake Norman, the porch has a polished rustic look.
The ceiling is pine tongue-and-groove paneling. The designer elevated the look of the knotty wood with Minwax’s Dark Walnut stain. The dark color makes the ceiling appear higher and gives the wood a more elegant look.
Wood: Pine
Finish: Minwax Dark Walnut
Interior designer Sandy Kritzinger of Collaborative Interior Design used a mix of woods on this screened-in porch. Located on North Carolina’s Lake Norman, the porch has a polished rustic look.
The ceiling is pine tongue-and-groove paneling. The designer elevated the look of the knotty wood with Minwax’s Dark Walnut stain. The dark color makes the ceiling appear higher and gives the wood a more elegant look.
Wood: Pine
Finish: Minwax Dark Walnut
Scandinavian Inspiration
“Lately we are doing a lot more light, natural floors,” says interior designer Kirsten Kaplan of Haus Interior Design. “I have lots of clients who are moving toward Scandi design for its fusion of simple design and rich texture. And lighter floors keep the palette bathed in light.”
“Lately we are doing a lot more light, natural floors,” says interior designer Kirsten Kaplan of Haus Interior Design. “I have lots of clients who are moving toward Scandi design for its fusion of simple design and rich texture. And lighter floors keep the palette bathed in light.”
In this home, seen here and in the previous photo, she used matte sealer without a stain on the red oak floors. Her flooring expert recommended Loba sealer for the matte finish.
Wood: Red oak
Finish: Loba 2K Invisible Protect A.T.
Wood: Red oak
Finish: Loba 2K Invisible Protect A.T.
Natural Beauty
When it comes to cabinetry, many cabinet companies can help make sifting through the options easier with their proprietary wood finishes. And you can check out a large variety of species and finishes in their showrooms, which will give you a good idea of what the products will look like in your home.
When completing an extensive remodel of their home, these homeowners chose maple cabinets from Showplace Cabinetry with the company’s Cashew finish. This warm brown, semitranslucent stain is considered a character stain, meaning it enriches the natural character of the wood. These cabinets have a matte top coat. “The Cashew finish is formulated to enhance the character of the wood, allowing its natural beauty to shine,” says Justin Ehrman of Showplace Cabinetry Design Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
When it comes to cabinetry, many cabinet companies can help make sifting through the options easier with their proprietary wood finishes. And you can check out a large variety of species and finishes in their showrooms, which will give you a good idea of what the products will look like in your home.
When completing an extensive remodel of their home, these homeowners chose maple cabinets from Showplace Cabinetry with the company’s Cashew finish. This warm brown, semitranslucent stain is considered a character stain, meaning it enriches the natural character of the wood. These cabinets have a matte top coat. “The Cashew finish is formulated to enhance the character of the wood, allowing its natural beauty to shine,” says Justin Ehrman of Showplace Cabinetry Design Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
The homeowners opted to use maple cabinetry with the Cashew finish throughout the house, including the kitchen, family room built-ins and bathrooms. The cabinetry adds the warmth of a polished rustic element to the contemporary style of the home. And the repetition of the finish creates a pleasingly cohesive look throughout the house.
Wood: Maple
Finish: Showplace Cabinetry Design Cashew
Wood: Maple
Finish: Showplace Cabinetry Design Cashew
Silky Smooth
Designer Lisa Price of Jackson Design Build wanted to show off the natural beauty of this vertically oriented quartersawn oak. So she chose Milesi’s Natural Effects clear matte finish. This waterborne coating maintains a natural look with a soft, tactile, protective finish. “This is a fabulous finish — it feels almost silky,” the designer says.
Wood: Quartersawn oak
Finish: Milesi Natural Effects clear matte
Designer Lisa Price of Jackson Design Build wanted to show off the natural beauty of this vertically oriented quartersawn oak. So she chose Milesi’s Natural Effects clear matte finish. This waterborne coating maintains a natural look with a soft, tactile, protective finish. “This is a fabulous finish — it feels almost silky,” the designer says.
Wood: Quartersawn oak
Finish: Milesi Natural Effects clear matte
Coastal Silvered Gray
Designer Virginia DesRoches of Ironwood Studio says one of her current favorite combinations for floors is white oak planks finished with DuraSeal’s Silvered Gray stain. “We love the 5-inch-wide white oak floors with Silvered Gray stain and matte polyurethane,” she says. The silvery stain gives the wood a cooler tone, recalling the look of driftwood. The finish contributes to the coastal casual style of this Rhode Island home.
Wood: White oak
Finish: DuraSeal Silvered Gray
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Designer Virginia DesRoches of Ironwood Studio says one of her current favorite combinations for floors is white oak planks finished with DuraSeal’s Silvered Gray stain. “We love the 5-inch-wide white oak floors with Silvered Gray stain and matte polyurethane,” she says. The silvery stain gives the wood a cooler tone, recalling the look of driftwood. The finish contributes to the coastal casual style of this Rhode Island home.
Wood: White oak
Finish: DuraSeal Silvered Gray
Find out about the Houzz Pro 3D Floor Planner tool
Weathered Look
With the design trend of using natural materials and bringing the outdoors in still going strong, homeowners appreciate wood that looks as though it’s been weathered by the sun, rain, wind and snow. The type of weathered wood finishing seen here adds character but has a more refined look than typical reclaimed wood.
Certified kitchen and bath designer Tracey Stephens agrees that clients are looking for a weathered look. “A cabinet stain we’re loving right now is from Showplace Cabinetry and it’s called Montana. We’ve used it recently on maple and on hickory,” she says. On this project, she chose the Montana finish for maple cabinetry.
Wood: Maple
Finish: Showplace Cabinetry Design Montana
With the design trend of using natural materials and bringing the outdoors in still going strong, homeowners appreciate wood that looks as though it’s been weathered by the sun, rain, wind and snow. The type of weathered wood finishing seen here adds character but has a more refined look than typical reclaimed wood.
Certified kitchen and bath designer Tracey Stephens agrees that clients are looking for a weathered look. “A cabinet stain we’re loving right now is from Showplace Cabinetry and it’s called Montana. We’ve used it recently on maple and on hickory,” she says. On this project, she chose the Montana finish for maple cabinetry.
Wood: Maple
Finish: Showplace Cabinetry Design Montana
Soft Visual Anchor
“I love using wood stains in kitchens as this helps add visual softness to a space,” says interior designer Stephanie Frees of Plain & Posh. “I like to find areas that I want to be focal points or visual anchors and then build around those when I design a space. Sometimes it’s as simple as a couple of wood shelves to break up an all-white area.”
Frees chose maple cabinets from Dura Supreme Cabinetry in its Cashew finish for the kitchen island base and the wine cabinet. Using the same finish in both rooms tied them together. “I find that adding wood elements to kitchens helps add a feeling of furniture, and also softens a space,” Frees says. “In this case, the wine cabinet was the main focal point. The wood stain added the depth of color and softness with the grain pattern that I was looking for to truly anchor the two rooms.”
The perimeter cabinets are in Dura Supreme Cabinetry’s Linen White painted finish.
Wood: Maple
Finish: Dura Supreme Cabinetry Cashew
“I love using wood stains in kitchens as this helps add visual softness to a space,” says interior designer Stephanie Frees of Plain & Posh. “I like to find areas that I want to be focal points or visual anchors and then build around those when I design a space. Sometimes it’s as simple as a couple of wood shelves to break up an all-white area.”
Frees chose maple cabinets from Dura Supreme Cabinetry in its Cashew finish for the kitchen island base and the wine cabinet. Using the same finish in both rooms tied them together. “I find that adding wood elements to kitchens helps add a feeling of furniture, and also softens a space,” Frees says. “In this case, the wine cabinet was the main focal point. The wood stain added the depth of color and softness with the grain pattern that I was looking for to truly anchor the two rooms.”
The perimeter cabinets are in Dura Supreme Cabinetry’s Linen White painted finish.
Wood: Maple
Finish: Dura Supreme Cabinetry Cashew
Antique Appearance
Wood finishes can make one species look more like another. This is something you may want to do to create a cohesive feel in your house, such as matching new built-ins to existing cabinetry or a favorite antique. For example, interior designer Meka Jones of Copper Sky Design + Remodel wanted to match some kitchen accent wood to her clients’ beloved hickory china cabinet in an adjacent room.
She used Minwax’s Wood Shed 445 on the red oak library ladder, some open shelving and the French door. “This stain helped these woods resemble the hickory antique,” she says.
Wood finishes can make one species look more like another. This is something you may want to do to create a cohesive feel in your house, such as matching new built-ins to existing cabinetry or a favorite antique. For example, interior designer Meka Jones of Copper Sky Design + Remodel wanted to match some kitchen accent wood to her clients’ beloved hickory china cabinet in an adjacent room.
She used Minwax’s Wood Shed 445 on the red oak library ladder, some open shelving and the French door. “This stain helped these woods resemble the hickory antique,” she says.
Here’s a closer look at the finish on the red oak.
Wood: Red oak
Finish: Minwax Wood Shed 445
Wood: Red oak
Finish: Minwax Wood Shed 445
In this kitchen, designer Laura Tays of Tays & Co Design Studios used Rubio Monocoat’s Antique Beige to finish the white oak hardwood floors.
Wood: White oak
Finish: Rubio Monocoat Antique Beige
Your turn: Do you have a current favorite combination of wood species and a finish you’d care to share? Please post a photo in the Comments and let us know how you got the look.
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Wood: White oak
Finish: Rubio Monocoat Antique Beige
Your turn: Do you have a current favorite combination of wood species and a finish you’d care to share? Please post a photo in the Comments and let us know how you got the look.
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I would love input on Pecan wood. After Katrina, we had to replace our then 80 year old heart pine floors which were beyond salvaging. We went w Pecan as a harder wood. I THOUGHT I was getting -well Pecan color--but due to high demand and supply shortage (sound familiar?) we wound up w various shades. My husband LOVES the "gym floor yellow color" but after 17 years I'm ready for a change. I'd love a mid-tone brown--not dark--medium. The floors need to be be scrimed, screed? They are in excellent shape, just the polyurthrened is scruffy and dirty.
I loved the idea from Copper Sky Design + Remodel to use wood stain to coordinate wood tones throughout a room. I have used Minwax Polyshades to to do this with some of my furniture refinishing. I have found it can take a few coats to even out or deepen the shade to match another piece of furniture. A few coats of Pecan made a curbside dresser find coordinate with my son's mission oak desk. He continues to tie the pieces together with matching clothes and clutter :-)
Thank you everyone for adding useful information to this article via the Comments. These comments are very valuable for the Houzz Community, please keep them coming! Perhaps a related article on how to pick your stain and more about the process would be of use — we always love to hear everyone's thoughts on what kind of topics would be helpful to you in future Houzz articles.