Not too long after we moved in here, I decided to stain our stair railings from the plain & boring oak that they were to something more rich & exciting. So, I bought some Polyshades by Minwax. Not sure how long this product has been out, but it is pretty neat in that it has stain & poly all in one step. You don’t have to do a lot of prep work to change the color of something & the results are pretty amazing. Thought some of you might like to see this project. It was very easy to do & only took about 2 or 3 days working a couple hours at a time. I didn’t tape off the spindles, but used a small cheap chipbrush that could be thrown away. Did I mention that I’m a lazy painter & hate cleaning brushes? Especially oil based paint brushes. So, you can buy these chipbrushes very inexpensively & throw them away without a lot of waste. I mixed 2 shades together: Bombay Mahogany & Royal Walnut. The Mahogany has a lot of red & I was trying to get more of a deep dark brown. It turned out a little more red than I wanted initially, but I’m still happy with the results. It’s a whole lot better than the boring somewhat blonde oak color we had to begin with. Here’s a pic of the railings before I started. Boring oak. Oak is not my favorite, especially this color. I have some old furniture pieces of oak that are rich & mellow, but the new oak in most houses today leaves a lot to be desired. No offense to any of you who love oak, it’s just not my cup of tea.
You can see how they contrast with the floor. I wanted them to be darker than the hardwoods. This product is a little bit runny, so you do have to watch the drips as you are going along. I did one coat overall & then went back & added more where it was streaky. All in all, it turned out just the way I had planned & I’m very happy I did them. This color above on the railing is very accurate to how they look in person.
They aren’t quite as orangey-red or streaky as this pic shows with the flash, but here’s a closeup. I’d suggest you get small pints of any colors you are looking at & mix them until you get exactly the color you want. It doesn’t take a lot of stain either, so small pints, not quarts will do this job easily. I’m working on a small side table that is not real wood, so I’ll show you that one when it’s finished. I do notice that the Bombay Mahogany really does go on darker & more saturated than some of the other colors, like the Royal Walnut I’m working with now. So, the best advice is to experiment with the colors before you get started. I do think if you wanted a darker brown shade that you could easily mix one of the darker ones in with the Mahogany to get the look you want.
A big THANK YOU to Angela at Cottage Magpie and Des at Peeking Thru the Sunflowers, for giving me the “You Make My Day” award. I’m so appreciate of all the awards I get, even if I don’t always pass them on. Thank you for the honor!
Donna says
What a project Rhoda, the railing looks great!
Thanks for tagging me ~ I’ll have to think about this for a bit!
Have a good day!
Hugs,
Donna
Sunny Kristi says
What a great idea. We have the same oak, but maybe a bit deeper stain. Our stair case only has rails at the bottom, but still a nice place to try this. I like the contrast of the stain on the rails and the floor. We have wood floor at the bottom of the stairs in the foyer and plan to extend the hardwood on either side to the parlor and dining rooms. I can’t wait! P.S. I printed out the photo of your living room from your post about the chair. It is hanging on my “Inspiration Board!”
Sher's Creative Expressions says
Love how your project turned out. Anxious to see the table project now.
Thanks for the tag. I’ll get to it within the next few days. I don’t have an exciting life, so I’ll need to think a bit 🙂
Blessings,
Sher
Jen says
Your stair case looks great. I did this project back in the summer to a cabinet and it turned out great.
I enjoyed reading your 4 things about you. I enjoy getting to know blog friends. Italy…I bet that was beautiful. How lucky.
Deb says
This was a fun tag to read!
Thank you Rhonda for your kind Birthday Wishes!
Sandy says
Hi Rhoda, great tips on the stains (we may attempt to put hard wood floors in our kitchen remodel) – and also fun to read all about YOU!
Sandy
Rhondi says
Hi Rhoda. That wasn’t so bad was it? Thanks for playing along! The darker stain looks much nicer. Rhondi
the feathered nest says
The railing looks sooo much better! I really like the darker stain. I never thought about mixing the stains – what a great tip!
Thank you for the tag – it looks painless 🙂
xo,
Manuela
P.S. It’s SNOWING!!
Kari (GrannySkywalker) says
I’m a huge fan of the darker wood. Light and medium tones just don’t do it for me. My kitchen cabinets are a medium tone and I’d love to do them darker, but the side panels are a problem…I think they’re veneered wood or something instead of real wood (does that make sense?). And I’d need my husband to go out of town long enough for me to do the cabinets and prepare him for the change before his return. lol (The man’s deathly afraid of doing anything to wood – he seems to think it’s “sacred” or something!).
Mom on the Run says
I have drab dull built in bookcases in my den and I’ve been toying with changing the stain color. This looks a lot easier than the alternative of sanding, etc. I, too, am an extremely lazy painter. I spent 5 hours putzing around under the chair rail in my living and dining rooms since today was drapery installation day and I was on a deadline. Up waaay too late and not having fun!
Sue says
Rhoda,
I’m dealing with a health situation with my son but to take my mind off it I’m flying around blog land and came upon your tip for darkening stair railings and am very excited to hear about the product you used. I have the same feeling you do about new oak and my stair rail is that color. Thanks for sharing the tip.
Sue
justabeachkat says
The railing looks much better now. I love the rich darker color. Good job!
It was fun reading your list too.
Hugs!
Kat
Shirlee says
Nice job, they really look good with the darker stain especially against the white spindles. I’ve never used this product but it’s nice to “hear” feedback from someone that’s actually used it.
I read your blog regularly but I think I’ve only left a comment once. Regarding your last couple of posts, I can totally relate to your lighting situation as I’ve been slowly changing out the ones we “inherited” when we bought our house. Most are just bare bulbs! Always classy LOL
And because of your post re: your new slow cooker, I bought one today. I hate cooking and after reading about yours a light went off and I thought that’s just what I need. So a big “thank you”!
:o)
Nan says
You did a great job on your railings. I have oak trim throughout my house and it’s not my favorite either. It would be a major undertaking to redo all of the doors, cabinets and trim moldings. I guess I will have to live with it for now.
Hugs,
Nan
Anonymous says
Rhoda,
Nice job….I agree the darker stain is much richer.
You are one handy gal.
All the Best,
Kathy 🙂
Francie says
Rhoda, you are Martha Stewart but (I think) a lot sweeter! Where do you find time for all this?
Blessings,
Francie
P.S. – We went to St. Maarten for our honeymoon. Isn’t it beautiful?
Esther Sunday says
I love it! It looks great, very rich looking in color! Better than the plain old oak – my hubbers won’t budge from the stuff! Love, Esther
Elaine L. says
Did you have to sand the railing before you applied the stain?
I’d like to try doing some oak kitchen cabinets.
~elaine~
[email protected]
Classic Charm says
Rhoda,
Thanks for sharing this project, it’s one I’ve contemplated doing for a while now, but I chicken out every time. Your railings turned out very nice! I really enjoyed reading more about you too.
Rose
Penny @ Lavender Hill Studio says
Great railings! Love the color they are now.
It was fun geting to know a little more about you!
Penny