Oak takes a stain very well and we can stain from a light color all the way up to dark colors, as you can see us using in the photo below…
Stains should dry at least 24 hrs, consistent with dark colored stains (and/or to the manufacturer's specifications. Be careful with the wood species. Gray stained floors tend to turn out best on white oak flooring. Red oak has underlying red tones, and often a darker gray is needed to achieve the desired look.
Notice how green is opposite of red on the color wheel. This means that adding some green to a stain will help neutralize or hide the red in red oak. Plus anytime you mix a primary color with its opposite on the color wheel, you get brown. And that's what we're trying to achieve.
Oak. Always a popular hardwood, oak has a strong grain pattern and large, open pores that absorb stain readily. It does not tend to turn blotchy, but like all woods it will stain more evenly after an application of a pre-stain wood conditioner.
White oak flooring is slightly harder than red oak. The Janka hardness scale lists white oak at 1360 and red oak at 1290. While it may seem like an easy decision in choosing the harder density of white oak, the difference is slight, so red oak may still be a better option for you if the visual is more appealing.
Red oak is the industry standard, and because red oak trees grow more rapidly and are more common across the USA, red oak flooring tends to be cheaper and more readily available than white oak flooring.
- BEST WATER-BASED STAIN: SamaN Wood Stain.
- BEST OIL-BASED STAIN: Watco Danish Oil Wood Finish.
- BEST VARNISH STAIN: Minwax Polyshades Stain & Polyurethane.
- BEST GEL STAIN: Minwax Gel Stain.
- BEST EXTERIOR STAIN: Ready Seal Wood Stain and Sealer.
Find the Right Stain and Sealer to Refinish Red OakUse painters tape to create squares on your floor in several areas of your home. Have your contractor apply the stains so you can see what you like best.
Danish oil: Smooth and easyThat penetration gives a depth to the wood's grain that's hard to achieve with a film finish. This "bleedback" occurs particularly in open-grained woods, such as red oak. Danish oil goes on easily. Flood the surface with finish, let it soak in thoroughly, and then wipe off the excess.
The key is to apply a thin base coat to partially seal the wood before wood staining. Sanding sealers, dewaxed shellac and wipe-on finishes will all do the trick.
So, if the finished product is too red, try adding a brown. Just be sure to add color gradually. Remember, you can never make a piece of wood lighter! It's streaky: You got your color right—that's great!
Dark stained hardwood flooring is by far the best selection when it comes to overall popularity and resale value. Some of the best darks stains for wood are espresso, dark walnut, and antique brown.
Red Oak. The sapwood is white to light brown, and the heartwood is pink to reddish brown. The wood usually has straight grain. It is hard and durable, and it takes a wide range of colored stains quite easily.
White or grey cabinets are a good way to balance the red tones in Red Oak hardwood.
- If you want to temper the red tones… try off-white or light grey colors.
- If you want to turn up the heat to bring out the wood's warm hues… try red or navy colors.
- If you want to lighten up darker tones…
Common Ground. Whether dark-stained or light and unstained, red-oak flooring provides opportunities to include antique-black furniture, which features an undertone in the same hue family. Reddish oak is complemented by greens, blues, blue-grays and green-grays.
While dark hardwood flooring has a special beauty of all of its own and it has been fashionable for a while now, it's likely to fade out in favourability. Trend is going towards lighter woods such as natural oak.
Here are some great go-to colors to consider when painting cabinets white.
- Super White – Benjamin Moore:
- Marscapone – Benjamin Moore:
- Acadia White – Benjamin Moore:
- Mountain Peak White – Benjamin Moore:
- Galveston Gray – Benjamin Moore.
- Island – Kendall Charcoal – Benjamin Moore:
- Before:
- After:
Rich, Deep ColorsDark, charcoal gray and deep, gun-metal gray with dark blue or green undertones make oak furniture and cabinets look updated, rich and sophisticated. For high contrast with the golden yellow tones of oak furniture, use a deep shade of the complementary opposite, such as eggplant or aubergine.
Do you have Brazilian Cherry hardwood floor? Brazilian Cherry floors were extremely popular 8 to 10 years, but now these floors have become a bit dated as red floors are out of style, and often don't match the rest of your hardwood flooring.
Grey works well with most kinds of oak, but in our opinion, it is particularly lovely with lighter, blonder, oak furniture. This fresh colour will instantly modernise any room! Light blue, dark blue, turquoise – we adore all of them!
When working with a pale oak, however, go for darker greens or lighter shades with gray undertones instead of pale greens or yellow-greens. For example, an olive tone provides a subtle complement to the wood's color, while a rich emerald green creates a bold, rich contrast. Not all earth tones are subdued.
If you want to avoid the yellow, use a water borne polyurethane (e.g. Bona Traffic HD). They are much lighter and more clear. Oil based polyurethanes will give you a yellowish coat, so your floors will have a yellow tint. They will continue to get darker and more yellow over time.
The main reason for this is that red oak has red undertones in the wood, so when you add whitewash, your get a bit of a pink look (which is very unappealing for most). So, if you want a whitewashed look (or even a light to mid gray), you'll want to take an extra step and bleach the floors first, to camouflage the pink.
Minwax Early AmericanFrom the results on the pieces of wood, Early American is a muted brown stain that can show a gray undertone.
Usually just called “red oak,” this domestic hardwood tends to be warm and on the lighter side. Like its name, it often has pink or red undertones. As it ages, it darkens to golden brown or even amber in color.
White oak tends to be more dense, while red oak is a bit lighter and has a more porous and open grain.
- Look at the endgrain. A quick and fairly reliable way to tell the two oaks apart is simply by looking at the endgrain.
- Look at the rays.
- Use sodium nitrite.
- Look at the leaves.
- Vacuum the red oak flooring to remove dust and dirt, paying special attention to the corners of the room.
- Shake the unopened can of stain for several minutes to thoroughly mix it.
- Dip a clean, dry cloth or sponge in a small amount of stain, and gently rub it on the red oak flooring to apply the stain.
