Advice on wood doors
July 19, 2011 4:35 PM Subscribe
Do doors and jambs need to match the trim?
Clueless new homeowners here. My husband and I will be replacing several ugly cheap early 90's interior doors, including bifold closet doors. We are also in the middle of replacing the baseboard trim with wide stain grade natural oak (hate golden oak!) and we will also replace the door trim. We really want to invest in solid wood doors but don't necessarily like the look of oak for them, we like the doors with a smoother grain. Would it be weird to do a maple door like this with oak trim? I've heard people say "Do what you like, it is your house", but I really need to know if mixing woods would be weird. Oh and we recently had oak floors installed if that is an important detail.
Clueless new homeowners here. My husband and I will be replacing several ugly cheap early 90's interior doors, including bifold closet doors. We are also in the middle of replacing the baseboard trim with wide stain grade natural oak (hate golden oak!) and we will also replace the door trim. We really want to invest in solid wood doors but don't necessarily like the look of oak for them, we like the doors with a smoother grain. Would it be weird to do a maple door like this with oak trim? I've heard people say "Do what you like, it is your house", but I really need to know if mixing woods would be weird. Oh and we recently had oak floors installed if that is an important detail.
As long as the colour of the wood is harmonious--not necessarily matchy-matchy, mind you--it's totally fine. Too much of one wood can be really overwhelming.
Hey, if it doesn't work, you can always paint, right?
posted by Sys Rq at 4:57 PM on July 19, 2011
Hey, if it doesn't work, you can always paint, right?
posted by Sys Rq at 4:57 PM on July 19, 2011
I'm an interior designer and if you were my client, I would tell you that all your trim, baseboards, and doors need to be the same color/stain, but not necessarily the same wood grain. Alternatively, you can paint your baseboard to match your walls, and match the doors and door frames. You need to harmonize with your floors too.
What's going on with your window frames? Any trim or sills to take into consideration?
posted by Specklet at 5:14 PM on July 19, 2011 [1 favorite]
What's going on with your window frames? Any trim or sills to take into consideration?
posted by Specklet at 5:14 PM on July 19, 2011 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Specklet, the window trim is the same early 90s junk and will be replaced eventually. We were definitely going to use the same "natural" stain that we have used on the trim and that was used on the floors when they were installed. We should probably do a test on some maple to see how it turns out...
posted by TrickyLib at 5:20 PM on July 19, 2011
posted by TrickyLib at 5:20 PM on July 19, 2011
I don't think it will look right.
posted by davey_darling at 5:52 PM on July 19, 2011
posted by davey_darling at 5:52 PM on July 19, 2011
Yeah, I say see how it looks on the maple. If it matches the color of the oak, go for it. If not, see if you can find a stain that does. Good luck!
posted by Specklet at 6:23 PM on July 19, 2011
posted by Specklet at 6:23 PM on July 19, 2011
Best answer: They don't have to match, but getting oak and maple to coexist may be a little tricky. As long as the trim and jamb match, the door can either be complementary or contrasting.
Also, staining maple can be tricky; it tends to get blotchy if you're not careful. Read up first, and maybe get some maple boards to test on first.
Good luck.
posted by Benny Andajetz at 7:20 PM on July 19, 2011
Also, staining maple can be tricky; it tends to get blotchy if you're not careful. Read up first, and maybe get some maple boards to test on first.
Good luck.
posted by Benny Andajetz at 7:20 PM on July 19, 2011
re: Staining maple, use a wood preconditioner first to avoid some of the blotchiness.
posted by davey_darling at 11:16 AM on July 20, 2011
posted by davey_darling at 11:16 AM on July 20, 2011
Response by poster: Thanks Benny. This will be such an investment that I wouldn't want to screw it up completely if the stain doesn't come out right. I didn't realize maple was one of the woods that tended to get splotchy. One door might take the stain well, while another might not and we don't want to take that chance. Oak it is...
posted by TrickyLib at 4:36 PM on July 20, 2011
posted by TrickyLib at 4:36 PM on July 20, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by wandering_not_lost at 4:40 PM on July 19, 2011