How to Stain Without Pain: The Breakfast Bar

Hello!

I hope it’s warm wherever you are – the kiddos have a snow day again today, not so much for the snow (we dodged that bullet, thank goodness), but for the bitter cold temperatures.  We’re talking 30-40 below with the wind chill.  Suffice to say, I’m craving a normal schedule and routine!

After staining my front doors, my “Stain Without Pain” projects continue, and today I’m going to share my breakfast bar.  Oh, how I love how easy it is to give woodwork a new look without having to strip the finish, sand and start from scratch!

Let’s start with the before, shall we?

The breakfast bar was more of an orange-y wood look, especially when you see it against the hardwood floors that we added in the great room.  (And yes, I was doing this project in tandem with the fireplace redo, thus the hot mess in the background).

The white trim around the bar where the floors were installed, has always bugged me since I thought it was going to be stained to match the floor, so this project allowed me to remedy that.

Once the stain was the color I wanted it to be (3-4 coats of stain), I added General Finishes High Performance poly top coat, based on the advice of the expert at our local Woodcraft store.  And yes, it’s water based (just like the top coat I used on the front door), but a satin finish vs. a semi-gloss like I used on the doors.  You just have to allow the stain to fully dry before applying it.  A week or so was the guideline the expert gave me.

And finally, finished!  Now I’m eyeing that range hood – I might have to give it a makeover…

Pay no mind to the Frog Tape…

Now the trim blends in with the hardwoods – much better.

And to appreciate the full effect – here is a side by side, before and after.

I have more makeovers in the works – I’m waiting until the kids go back to school (whenever that is) before I stain our stair railing, but it’s on the list!