Love oak but hate the price? I tested a combo of wood stains for a formula that fakes the look of oak, then used it to elevate my pine staircase
I finally found the almost-perfect recipe...
Home decorator and content creator Leah Hodson is one of Ideal Home's new Open House contributors, sharing her thoughts on overhauling a home with clever DIY and decorating tricks. See the rest of her articles here.
Have you ever viewed a house, loved it, but realised there is that one detail that really gives you the ick? Despite this, you love everything else about the house so much that you overlook that one detail and put an offer in on the house… and now that little detail niggles at you daily!? For me, that has been our orange stained oak stair bannister!
For the last two years I’ve been wanting to change it, but the thought of having to strip the stain off has quite literally put me off the project. Everything changed when we had the loft converted and installed the stairs to the loft – suddenly, the race is on to make the stairs look uniform!
My existing stair bannister is oak and the new stair bannister is pine. We’re at the stage of the renovation when the budget is drying up so we just couldn’t justify the premium for oak wood. So, I set off looking for ways to create fake oak using stain on pine wood.
After trialing out different wood stain combinations on multiple wood offcuts, I finally found the almost-perfect formula...
Firstly, I stained the pine with a White Pine Stain by Manns from Wood Finishes Direct. This helps to suppress the orange tones that pine develops over time from the natural oxidation and exposure to UV light.
Softwoods, like pine, are famous for being difficult to stain because of their uneven density and porous grain. Using white wood dye creates an even base layer to build upon.
Next I stained it Manns ‘Antique Pine’, this creates depth to the colour and gives definition to the grain.
This shade of stain is a medium brown with a slightly red tinge which I love when layered over the white stain. I have greige panelling in the hallway, so this adds warmth, whilst still being pared back thanks to the white stain.
Lastly, add a layer of ‘C600’, also by Manns. This adds a grey tone to the wood, creating another layer of depth. This combination of white stain, Antique Pine and C600 works together to create a close replica of oak, all while elevating the modest pine wood.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to mimic the medullary rays which are characteristic of oak wood (think tiger stripes across the wood grain), however I’m reminded that I’m only faking oak wood and not creating it!
Something that is as important (arguably more important than wood stain) is the finishing product that is used to seal and protect the wood. This layer can also impact the colour of the wood, even after you are happy with the wood colour!
As it's a high traffic area, I needed a hard wearing varnish, so I’m using Manns Extra Tough Floor Varnish in Matt. I tried both beeswax and the varnish, and the varnish shows off the wood grain nicely compared to beeswax which smudges the grain.
In my experience, the best way to apply wood stain is with a simple cloth rather than a brush. It works the stain deep into the grooves and grain, giving a more even, natural looking finish without streaks.
If you’re tempted to try it yourself, always test samples first – colours can look very different on screen compared to how they appear in real life, especially once applied to wood. When testing out a sample, don’t forget to finish it off with the top coat to make sure you really like the finished product and how the stains look when it's all sealed in.
This stair restoration project will be slow and arduous for me – a process that also includes stripping the stain off the existing oak bannister. A task I do not relish, however I must get back to sanding!
