Bathroom Stain Take 2

Since my previous post, I stained the bathroom cabinet the color I tested. The test spot look good, but when I did the whole cabinet, it looked...well, not good.

It looked...western?

It's hard to describe, but it definitely wasn't the color we were aiming for. So today we went back to the hardware store to shop for better colors, and a different application.

If you have no experience with staining wood let me explain: traditionally, a wood stain requires you to "paint" it on with a brush or rag; wait 5-10 mins; then wipe off excess stain and let dry. Once dry, you can apply another coat of stain by repeating the first step or you can move on to the second which is apply a coat of polyurethane to seal the wood with a subtle sheen.

Probably not a difficult process if you have unfinished wood...but I did not. Now in any case of pre-stained wood, you will have to sand off the first stain so the new stain will "take"; but with this step, the whole "paint on, wipe off" part came out blotchy, sticky, and uneven. The stain color appeared more green and weathered than the test sample appeared and the whole project looked especially unattractive. 

I redid the whole process of sanding today and reapplied my new stain color. This stain was different in the fact that it already has polyurethane in the mix. So, no timing, no wiping...no blotchy, uneven mess.

Stain color take 2 is a success, and will proceed with the other cabinets over the next several days!

After I finish staining the cabinets, I will then replace the mirror and light fixture, paint, and then re-tile the floor. The tile we will most likely go with is:::

We like it, and I think it will look sharp, classy, and modern. It will also look great with the new darker wood.

That's how our "free time" is spent over here this weekend (and weekends to follow)!

M.LEWIS