When it comes to staining doors for the interior or exterior, including for the garage, choosing a color of stain that you like is important. Many people choose to leave the wood in the natural color, which is why they choose a particular wood in the first place, but it is still important to finish the wood with a stain to protect and seal the wood, retaining its natural beauty for years to come.
However, you don’t have to stay with the natural color of alder, mahogany, cedar or oak, which are the most popular woods for doors. They are durable, strong and resist warping, and are hard enough to stand up to continual for years and years and still look amazing.
Alder and Knotty Alder Stain Colors
Alder is a light colored wood that is slightly tan to golden when stained natural. From this base you can choose a stain that is deep red to deep brown and will match many other woods or popular stains. On the red end of the stain spectrum you will find maple, red oak, cherry and red mahogany. For the more brownish to natural wood colors you will find several types of walnut, antique cherry, chestnut and golden oak stains.
Mahogany Stains
As with all stains the mahogany wood stains will allow the grain of the wood to show through, which can be very rich with both Brazilian and African mahoganies. These are both naturally darker woods than alder or knotty alder and are much duskier looking and earthy than the same stains used on alder.
These stains co oridnate well with wrought iron and dark colors of hardware. They compliment a brick or stone home and also a home with natural or darker colored wood siding. The Brazilian Mahogany creates a beautiful rustic looking door.
The African mahogany stain tends to be a brighter and lighter color overall with a more uniform and softer looking grain than the Brazilian mahogany. They tend to have a reddish hue and are ideal for both indoor and outdoor doorways and look terrific with any door style.
Cedar
Cedar wood, which is often used for garage doors because of its durability and resistance to insects and moisture damage, can be stained from red to brown to tan with ease. This is a great wood as it has a minimal to noticeable grain that works well with any décor and style of door.
Remember that in addition to the color stain that you choose, the type of glass and hardware that you select will definitely add to the decorative look of any door of your home.
View our selection of doors and stains to get an idea of the many choices available for stained doors. To see our samples visit us at website. You can also follow us on Twitter.
