Staining Floors and Banister

I just got a new banister installed. We did not get white balisters so they need to be stained as well.

The banister is right next to our front door which is a dark wood color with a slight red tint. It is also next to our kitchen which is a pretty dark cherry (Autumn Blush by Kraftmaid)

Was thinking of staining the floors a little lighter than the banister to have a contrast. I know that is usually done when the balisters are white. I dont want it to look like too much of the same wood color everywhere as it is in an open floor plan (high ranch).

Any thoughts would be appreciated! Stain banister the same as floor or darker to match the front door and kitchen.

Was thinking English American for floor and English Chestnut for banister!

Thanks!

Message edited 1/14/2010 10:18:47 AM.

Re: Staining Floors and Banister

Is it all the same wood? Different woods will stain different colors.

We used the same stain for our floor, modlings, and banister. Our banister is just a little bit of a darker cherry......

Matching exactly isn't always necessary.

Re: Staining Floors and Banister

our floors and banister are the same color, but we have darker kitchen cabinets and it looks great together. Take a look at my pics.

Re: Staining Floors and Banister

Thanks! It is 2 different types of oak. I hate making decisions that you will be stuck with for years!!!! I am leaning towards the darker shade for the banister.

I cant find the pics of you banister! LOL which album?

Re: Staining Floors and Banister

The floors and the banister are the same oak in our house. Do you have small leftover pieces that you can stain to see how each of the woods will turn out?

House - AFTER ablum.






The floor is lighter. These aren't the greatest pics. The cabinets are a warmer color then the floor.

Here this is when the floors were first done. House (before/during) album.

Message edited 1/14/2010 11:33:28 AM.

Re: Staining Floors and Banister

Thanks!

Re: Staining Floors and Banister

My stairs and banister are the same color as my wood floors. We actually were able to buy the exact stain so it is a perfect match. My cabinets in my kitchen are a different, but compliment the cabinets. Photos in my house album.

Re: Staining Floors and Banister

We actually just did this, and we used the same stain, but we do have white balisters, but since the door and kitchen are different you may want to keep it the same so theres not too many different wood shades.

If you are going with the minwax we used special walnut and we have gotten so many compliments on it, just a suggestion. Our floor guy did say the chestnut was most popular though, but I didn't want the reddish tint, but the special walnut came out beautiful IMO
Heres a pic please excuse the mess we are under construction lol

Image Attachment(s):

Message edited 1/14/2010 6:32:11 PM.

Re: Staining Floors and Banister

Thanks! Those pics look very similar to what I picked today.
Was that English Chestnut in the pics?

W I was surprised that they guys actually stained today, I didnt realize that they did it on the first day of the job.

I used Early American on the floor and English Chestnut on the the banister. The colors are very similar and the banister is only a little darker than the floor.

No poly yet and I only went up there for 1 minute after they left b/c I dont want to walk on the floor yet!

It came out nice but is hard to tell without the poly and I heard that may impact the color too!!

Re: Staining Floors and Banister

It's actually special walnut, the english chestnut is very close