Interior Wood Finishes ... Help!

10 years ago

We're building a home and all the interior decorating is driving me nuts! We've ordered Schuler cabinets in a cherry pecan color. We are thinking of going with a natural (light) maple laminate flooring. Our window trim & columns will be white. Our stairwell will have a handrail and we'll have balusters and rail on our 2nd floor landing.

So ... do I go with white or natural maple baulters/handrails? Do I do white balusters with a natural maple (matching the floors) rail on top? Stairs are carpeted along with the 2nd floor. Oh - and our walls will be a tan color. Thanks!

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Comments (4)

Kathy Harrington
10 years ago
Our house is similar in color to your new one. We have white balusters and stained rail on top and newels at the head of the stairs. Ours stairs are carpeted too, but if I had a choice, I would make the treads stained hardwood as well, with painted risers.

The paint on the balusters match the trim paint in the rest of the house and the stain on the newels and handrail match the hardwood floor stain in the rest of the house. It looks pretty good. Good luck with all the decisions, it's enough to make you go batty;)
GreenDesigns
10 years ago
Hire a designer to help you with the hundreds of decisions that you face. There's more than you think that has to be decided on, and it has to all work together if the home is to look cohesive.
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virgilcarter
10 years ago
What GreenDesigns said. It takes years of education and experience to create a harmonious blending of so many disparate elements in a house interior (or exterior).

It is so variable and interrelated that no one here on a web site can solve it for you. All that they can do is to share what they have done and found appealing. These shared results may or may not be consistent with your own situation and preferences.

Good luck on your project.
nepool
10 years ago
I think I'm going to have the same problem because I don't want really dark floors (I'm practical- don't want to see all those scratches) but will have stained kitchen cabinets and some stained doors, with a mix of white windows and trim, and some white trim and moldings in other spots. I have to be careful in order to make this all work, but I don't want an entirely white trimmed house like you see in so many pictures on houzz. It looks great when new, but can't imagine all those white kitchens + white windows/trim + white doors/trim, and all white molding will hold up well over time.

Here's a staircase I found on houzz with light floors, light treads, painted white risers, and banister that is darker (I'm assuming it ties into cabinetry or furniture in the home). I think it looks great.

[Traditional Staircase[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-staircase-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_745~s_2107)