What color stain for new entry door
#1
02-18-07, 08:00 PM
What color stain for new entry door
We are going to buy a Therma Tru Classic Craft Rustic collection door this week and we can not decide what color stain is the best. Our interior trim is all painted white and this includes the doors. We have select red oak floors that are natural (no stain). The entry door will open to the hardwood floors and a few feet to the side of the entry door is a white closet door. Wife likes the look of a darker stain but I think we should go light so we do not contrast too much from the white trim and the natural floors. BTW, the trim around the entry door will be white unless you think we should stain this as well. The walls are a peach color. Thanks
#2
02-19-07, 05:36 AM
I'd go with a stain color that either matches or compliments the floor color. The door being stained [among painted trim] will bring attention to it so as long as the stain color looks good with the rest of the decor it wouldn't matter if it's darker than the hard wood floor.
#3
02-19-07, 11:27 AM
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i would probably go darker than the floor for the door stain. i'd want a contrast. but that's assuming your stained wood furniture in the house is all darker stained than the floor. think of your front door as another piece of furniture in the house. for that matter, think about what, if any, stained furniture pieces might be in or near the entry, like a grandfather clock or coat rack or bench or little table, etc. you'll want it to all go together nicely.
i think having painted trim around the door would be okay. are there sidelights? or is it just a door?
also, are there stairs off the entry? if so, are they stained or painted or a combo?
what about kitchen cabinets? stained? if so, maybe you could repeat that stain color on the front door for some continuity?
i think having painted trim around the door would be okay. are there sidelights? or is it just a door?
also, are there stairs off the entry? if so, are they stained or painted or a combo?
what about kitchen cabinets? stained? if so, maybe you could repeat that stain color on the front door for some continuity?
#4
02-19-07, 04:39 PM
Originally Posted by Annette
i would probably go darker than the floor for the door stain. i'd want a contrast. but that's assuming your stained wood furniture in the house is all darker stained than the floor. think of your front door as another piece of furniture in the house. for that matter, think about what, if any, stained furniture pieces might be in or near the entry, like a grandfather clock or coat rack or bench or little table, etc. you'll want it to all go together nicely.
As for furniture we have lighter furniture than natural. More of a cottage look and feel. Our house is a contemporary ranch with sloped ceilings throughout to about 18 feet. We do not have a formal dining or living room. We have one big room that houses the kitchen and great room and we added an addition with another great room. The house was built in 1976 and bothe my wife and I did not care to have a formal dining room or living room since we knew these rarely get used. Instead we opted to have a much bigger kitchen/great room.
i think having painted trim around the door would be okay. are there sidelights? or is it just a door? No sidelights but directly next to the door is a window that is 2 1/2 feet wide by 6 feet tall. Has a white honeycomb blind in it.
also, are there stairs off the entry? if so, are they stained or painted or a combo? Open stairway going directly to the lower level. The handrails only are the old pickle finish the house had on the floors until we refinised them natural last year. We kept the rails in pickle. Hard to even tell they are not natural though.
what about kitchen cabinets? stained? if so, maybe you could repeat that stain color on the front door for some continuity?
As for furniture we have lighter furniture than natural. More of a cottage look and feel. Our house is a contemporary ranch with sloped ceilings throughout to about 18 feet. We do not have a formal dining or living room. We have one big room that houses the kitchen and great room and we added an addition with another great room. The house was built in 1976 and bothe my wife and I did not care to have a formal dining room or living room since we knew these rarely get used. Instead we opted to have a much bigger kitchen/great room.
i think having painted trim around the door would be okay. are there sidelights? or is it just a door? No sidelights but directly next to the door is a window that is 2 1/2 feet wide by 6 feet tall. Has a white honeycomb blind in it.
also, are there stairs off the entry? if so, are they stained or painted or a combo? Open stairway going directly to the lower level. The handrails only are the old pickle finish the house had on the floors until we refinised them natural last year. We kept the rails in pickle. Hard to even tell they are not natural though.
what about kitchen cabinets? stained? if so, maybe you could repeat that stain color on the front door for some continuity?
#5
02-20-07, 07:26 AM
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sounds like maybe honey oak is the way to go. for the inside surface, anyway......
but does the door have to be stained? or can it be painted? it needs to go with the EXTERIOR of the house, too. actually, that's probably more important than it looking good from the inside!
so now.........what color/material is the exterior of your home?? brick/siding/color/trim/shutters/porch flooring material/etc....??
but does the door have to be stained? or can it be painted? it needs to go with the EXTERIOR of the house, too. actually, that's probably more important than it looking good from the inside!
so now.........what color/material is the exterior of your home?? brick/siding/color/trim/shutters/porch flooring material/etc....??
#6
02-20-07, 10:16 AM
Originally Posted by Annette
sounds like maybe honey oak is the way to go. for the inside surface, anyway......
but does the door have to be stained? or can it be painted? it needs to go with the EXTERIOR of the house, too. actually, that's probably more important than it looking good from the inside!
so now.........what color/material is the exterior of your home?? brick/siding/color/trim/shutters/porch flooring material/etc....??
but does the door have to be stained? or can it be painted? it needs to go with the EXTERIOR of the house, too. actually, that's probably more important than it looking good from the inside!
so now.........what color/material is the exterior of your home?? brick/siding/color/trim/shutters/porch flooring material/etc....??
#7
02-20-07, 10:33 AM
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it's a tough call without seeing it. i think definitely the stain needs to be darker than your wood flooring inside. so pick a color similar to the honey oak, and then tweak as/if needed to get to a tone that works with the stone outside.
you've ruled out paint, and to stain it really light would just looked washed out & blah from the inside. it should stand out from the flooring.
hope that helps. it's the best i can do from way over here!
the thing with stained front doors, though, is that usually, front porches & stoops are in shadow, and you want to brighten them up & you want your door to show, so lighter & brighter is usually better than darker, and stained doors usually appear on the darker side.
i think you have enough info to make an educated decision though.
you've ruled out paint, and to stain it really light would just looked washed out & blah from the inside. it should stand out from the flooring.
hope that helps. it's the best i can do from way over here!
the thing with stained front doors, though, is that usually, front porches & stoops are in shadow, and you want to brighten them up & you want your door to show, so lighter & brighter is usually better than darker, and stained doors usually appear on the darker side.
i think you have enough info to make an educated decision though.
#8
03-25-07, 03:55 PM
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If your buying a Therma-Tru fiberglass door, purchase a prefinished one. We've had problems with the stain staying on the door and of course, it was the painters problem, not the door finish. So we are not getting any help from Therma-Tru
#9
03-28-07, 11:52 AM
I bought a classic craft rustoc collection door through Therma Tru. We got the prestained door....its a beautifull door, but we expected the stain to be much darker. We have dark wood trim ...and I figured the walnut stained door to be much darker then it was. The doors are impressive though. You will want to pain that white around the door depending on your trim color. My house is a red stain....and the white looks awful.
We are trying to figure out if we want to have it restained or if repurchsaing the door in a darker stain is the way to go.
What color did you go with. I would gladly send pictures of ours ...if you want and idea of how it looks. Email me at XXXXXXX@xxxxx.xxx
We are trying to figure out if we want to have it restained or if repurchsaing the door in a darker stain is the way to go.
What color did you go with. I would gladly send pictures of ours ...if you want and idea of how it looks. Email me at XXXXXXX@xxxxx.xxx
Last edited by DIYaddict; 03-28-07 at 11:59 AM. Reason: Email address removed for your protection and so your email will not be filled w/spam
#10
03-29-07, 03:24 PM
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If interior doors are painted white, then I'd paint the interior side of the door white. You will have to study the stain colors to select one that enhances your exterior color scheme. All exterior trim should be the same color for the sake of continuity. You may find helpful info at www.minwax.com A visit to your local paint store will allow you to see the many different tones of stain. They should be able to provide you with a color guide.
#11
04-01-07, 05:10 PM
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I like the Minwax bamboo mahogany gloss (#480) its a polyshades stain with the color and clear in one. it is definitly a dark stain but in the light it catches some brilliant reds. so it is a Bright/Dark stain. this should go nicely with white trim as the typical red front door thing was a desirable design. this is a simply muted down take off the same concept. Take care to learn the proper application as it is not rub-on like normal stain. and you cant slap it on like paint as you can make dark spots. test some on scrap wood before commiting
#12
04-01-07, 09:41 PM
You probably don't want to hear it, but I would also advise painting the door to match the others in your home. I went through this same dilemma not long ago - only the door I installed was a craftsman style natural cedar. After it was up I kept it unfinished for days partly to get a feel for what it would look like stained, but mostly because I couldn't bring myself to paint it. There it sat with the white trim around it, the white closet door next to it and the white window on the other side. (The floor is dark cherry). It just looked too out of place so we broke out the paint - it was definitely the way to go. I guess if you go the way others are suggesting and order it prefinished, you could put it up and see how it looks. You can always paint it later.
