What did he use......Name the product......

You might try wiping the stained surface with a rag dampened with mineral spirits (paint thinner), right away, before the stain has completely dried. That should lighten it, if it is a solvent based stain.

He used Zar stain No. 110 ~ I will try the mineral spirits because for some reason today it's still wet.

Of course Eric's advice is right on the money......

You should be able to lighten/remove enough of the dark stain to match/blend with the birch.....

Super fine steel wool and thinner will also help......(with the grain)

Thank you so much for all of your help. I will go to the store today and buy the Super fine steel wool.. I have the thinner.. thinner alone didn't do much so maybe I do need the wool... thanks again.

I tried all of these suggestions and nothing removed the stain or made it lighter.

I remember watching my grandfather stain wood and he would use a rag. He would work in small areas at a time putting it on and taking it off almost immed.

The guy that did this job used a paint brush he brushed up and down with the grain left it sit and went on to the next area when he was done with the door then he went back to the beginning and began to just quickly wipe it all around. Could it be he put it on too heavy and left it sit too long?

You nailed it---stain can be applied two ways---wiping allows the applier to better control the color.

A lot of sanding will lighten the stain---the problem being in the detailed areas of the trim/door. If the entire surface is not sanded equally, grooves and inside corners will still show the original stain.

UV light will cause many stains to fade----setting the door and trim ina light source containing UV rays---a sun lamp, for instance----will help. No idea how long that will take---or whether the color will be ok.

Best way to get the color you want is to replace the stained items and stain to the right color.

Thanks Mac. I will try to sand it first as a last ditch effort to save the door. However, I think that replacing everything is what I am going to have to do. The trim isn't so bad when it comes to replacing it ~ it's the one part of the French Style sliding door that is going to cost me a lot. However, I would rather have it the right color than to look at this dark wood next to such light cabinets everyday and hate it.

Thanks everyone for all of your help. I really appreciate it.

I stained a chair and it came out way to dark how can i lighten