I was going to poly or do some type of finish coat so he can’t pick any paint off... I can’t bring myself to sand the herringbone. It makes the pattern pop better... don’t you think?

IDK. You may have to at least sand off areas with splinters. Personally, I'd rather be safe than sorry. As far as poly goes, I'm afraid I don't know enough about that to give you a good answer. Hopefully someone else will contribute!

That is really gorgeous, but have you tested it for lead? I would test before bringing it into your home. If positive, I would have it professionally stripped and refinish it. If negative, I would not sand it. You can buy angled dowels designed to fill the pocket holes, and you could stain them to match.

Just had it tested for lead and it tested positive. So I guess the whole thing will be sanded. Don’t worry I have a real respirator and I’ll do it outside.

Sanded and stained. Now I’m not sure if I like the top middle color. Should I have stained it the same as the frame?

Pocket holes didn’t take the stain 🤦‍♀️

Great job! I would leave it. Even the pocket holes are honest.

That's a pretty awesome job you did there Ashli! I really like the way it turned out. I also agree with you - the upper panel is a bit light overall for the rest of the door. Could introduce the same variation in color as in the lower panel. Perhaps you could apply varying stains to each individual board. Or, as you suggested, stain the upper panel to match the frame. Once again - awesome job!

What a great project! Personally, I like the lighter upper panel and the fact that the pocket holes didn’t take the stain. The variation is intriguing and as houssaon said, honest.

Re-sanded the middle 😬 and water based poly to stay true to the stain color.

Wow, looks great! Awesome job, well done!

beautiful!

Nicely done!