Choosing the wood species with the finished product in mind
Red oak doors stained to complement hickory flooring.
Unfinished maple doors at left and unfinished cherry cabinet example at right.
When you’re building a new house or completing a major remodel, how do you select a wood species, material type, design style and finish type for your new doors and trim? When someone comes to us to discuss the finishes on their new doors, often they are unsure of what they want. They’ve already made 1,000 decisions by this point and are experiencing information overload when presented with even more options and choices to make. In general, you can either choose to paint or stain your new doors and trim. When staining, here are the two most common scenarios that we see:
Desire for doors and trim to match flooring or cabinets, but the flooring or cabinets are made from a wood species that is not readily available for interior doors.
Here are a few industry hacks when it gets too pricey or difficult to match a wood species.
Hickory Floors or Cabinets - Consider Red or White Oak depending on the stain color. The woodgrain will look similar and the material is more readily available.
Cherry Cabinets - Consider Maple or Alder (not Knotty Alder though!!). Maple and Alder will both resemble the look of cherry and can both be stained to match almost any stain color typically found on cherry wood.
Desire to minimize the appearance of grain on the material - Consider maple, poplar, or pine, although be careful of pine if knots will be a problem.
Customers may not know that you can’t actually stain all wood species all/any colors. For the most part, woods can be stained a dark color without worry, but when you want a stain color lighter than the natural color of the wood itself, things get tricky.
Here are most common tricky scenarios and how to avoid them
Selecting Red oak or White Oak? A light oak or hickory colored vinyl floor can result in a red or white oak door selection, but sometimes the floor doesn't have any red in the color. If red oak is chosen in that scenario, it often proves too difficult to match the light color because the natural red in the wood is present and can be dominant in light stain colors. For a better color match, these are the times that white oak should be used.
Know that Knotty Alder has a natural red-orange color when finished. Many people love the Knotty Alder look from photos or someone else's house because of the rustic and natural look, but they want a light tan color and "no reddish" color. The problem is the same as the red oak: though Alder can be kept a light tan color, most of the Alder that we see in this area has a varying amount of natural red-orange color that cannot be hidden well with light colored stains. If you're in this scenario, consider using knotty pine. Knotty pine still gives the rustic look while offering a clearer, whiter natural color for staining a light color.
Need some help? Check out our photo gallery for inspiration and examples of painted and stained doors and trim in multiple colors, sheens, and wood species. Ready to take the next step? Call or email us to make your next project a reality.