How do I describe this stain?

16 years ago

We are in the final throes of choosing cabinets. We've narrowed down the style and the wood (steamed beech) but our cabinet maker is having trouble with the stain. I have shown him our old cabinets, that we'd like to match and he said that's the color you get when you use natural maple and let it age 10 years. Okay, but I don't want to wait 10 years for that color. So what do you call this color? I've been describing it as 'honey' or 'butternut,' or 'gold' but when he brought samples to choose from, none were right. They were darker, with more brown. Like cherry. I brought up these photos on my computer, but he said that colors rendered on a computer aren't accurate so he can't really tell what it is. Here are examples...

First, our original cabinetry that I'd like to match as closely as possible. It just occurred to me that I should have given him one of our old cabinet doors to take back to his shop. DOH!

Our dream kitchen of CVG fir that we aren't getting because EVERYONE says we'll regret it:

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The description on this one is "Maple w/mandarin finish." Our cabinet guy said that doesn't mean anything because everyone has different names for stains. *sigh*

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Comments (6)

steff_1
16 years ago
Since mandarin is a type of orange, I would start by calling it orange in color.

Stop by a good paint store and look at the stain charts exterior, interior and so on. See if you can find something you like. It sounds like you have a good cabinet maker who understands finishes. You may have to get a custom mix.

You will not get the exact patina of the former cabinets, but you can get close.
joannaca
Original Author
16 years ago
Well, I talked to him and he doesn't need the old cabinet. He says he's very familiar with that color because he's taken out so many old cabinets that look like that, and he's working up another sample for me. Are we making a mistake because this color is associated with old and dated cabinets?
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steff_1
16 years ago
From the photo you showed it looks like there is a lot of wood in your home and your kitchen is very much open to the family room.

Unless you plan to refinish all that wood, you need to make the two work together. Some of the currently popular finishes will eventually be "outdated" so don't go by that. The finish you are looking for is more of a classic, especially in your style home. It would be a mistake to ignore the strong lines and finishes that are existing and go in a totally different direction.
rnest44
16 years ago
IMHO, you are not making a mistake. You have a beautiful open space that you would like to renew and build in better function but still keep the feel of the original. I am doing a similar thing but expanding my kitchen to fill the original space plus an addition which was already existing before we purchased the home. I think we make different choices for this type of project vs. a new build or even an addition. I know I would not choose some of the materials I am using if I had a different space. I love my home's setting and location but not so much it's style. I renovate honoring that style, yet move away from it w/o competing with it.
BTW, if my monitor reads true, that's not a dated color. It's perhaps a less common choice at the moment.
bmorepanic
16 years ago
Sherwin Williams will custom match a stain color.

I can see why you like CVG fir.
palimpsest
16 years ago
I have a set of 1965 Mahogany open tread spiral stairs what were stained dark walnut or Jacobean when new, and when I sanded them, they were an oxidized dark orangish color naturally, I wanted the surrounding maple millwork to match, and they custom matched it with something that is between Minwax Colonial Maple and Gunstock. It may vary for you but it seems to be very close to the color you are looking for.