We are currently renovating our kitchen. We took down two walls so the kitchen is now open to two rooms, and because of this we have headers and returns on both. Our kitchen is a modern rustic farmhouse look, with white shaker cabinets mixed with open wood shelves. Our contractor suggested rough sawn pine to cover the headers and returns, and looking at some pictures we do love the rustic look. We purchased a piece from a local lumber yard to test stain it but have zero clue how to proceed. How do we sand it? Is there a special stain we have to use? We'd like to stain it a very light brown or a color similar to white oak.

I have two little boys, 5 and 3, and i'm concerned about splinters on the return. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.