Working with wood

I truly enjoy working with wood. I'm not any good at it, but I still enjoy it. Especially staining.

A few years ago, I converted a spare bedroom into my home office. With help from my dad, I replaced the wallpaper with a knotty pine tongue and groove planking. Besides a major error that I seem to be the only one to notice (or at least everyone is kind enough not to point it out) the project turned out pretty nice.

As I type this, I'm in the middle of remodeling my living room. This is was of those projects that got away from me. The original plan was to replace the carpet with ceramic tile and install a wood stove. Now I'm redoing the whole room. Floor, paint, refinishing the window, and replacing the trim.

I didn't like the original trim. I was a dark, solid stain. I'm sure plenty of people like that style, and there really isn't anything wrong with it. I'm just not a fan. There is no doubt many people who would cringe at my tastes.

I actually like pine the best. To me, it looks great plus it's a lot easier to work with than say oak or maple. As you can see from the above picture of the new living room trim drying, I like to use a very light stain. Simpler is better in many cases. I find a light stain, that just brings out the grain, highlights the natural beauty of the wood instead of just coloring it. 

I'm sure if I ever sell this place, the first thing the new owners will do is repaint the trim a solid color.