We’re adding some period features in our 1959 home…starting with a wood paneled wall. Any DIY-ers with wood finishing skills that can advise on how to even out the color tone between the three panels? Are we talking bleach on the three darker panels or would added an extra layer on the lighter panels help match? These are white oak veneer ply.
Our facebook group had lots of ideas to help.
Below are a few comments on this topic that were shared in our exclusive Facebook Group dedicated to midcentury modern home owners. If you own a midcentury house and are not already a member, join us now!
- “Find a stain or even a danish oil with some color to it.Otherwise I’d leave it. That’s what wood does – it’s not plastic!”
- “Overtime, all the panels will darken due to exposure to sunlight, do not do any treatments to the one panel or it will not age gracefully with the other panels. I think the natural variation if wood is beautiful. Natural materials add character.”
- “Beautiful!! My mind goes to Japanese maple. Can stay small if you prune strategically.“
- “I wouldn’t try and match. Won’t ever be any better than what you have, I’d just seal or whatever your’e doing and move on. Time will do the work for you.”
- “Are you planning on putting a finish coat on them? If so a slight stain on the lighter ones prior to a clear coat is the best way to go. It’s always easier to darken wood then to lighten it. You don’t have much control with a wood bleach.”
- “They are gorgeous! I’d personally embrace.I design a lot of wood kitchens and have to warn clients ahead of time that the stain we use will take the wood slightly different from piece to piece, so they aren’t freaked out. My own kitchen was stained “Taj Teak” and there’s a lot of natural variation in it – I love it.”
- “I actually like it too, I think it looks natural and not mismatched. I don’t have experience with this but I’d be nervous that they wouldn’t age the same if some were treated differently than others.”
- “The only way to have the veneer match is to have originally bought sequenced sheets. I would not attempt to try and stain/tone the lighter panels unless you have a lot of experience. Even then, as the panels age the colors would again not match. It would be better to wait a few years until the color has aged then add a little color to the lighter panels. Personally, I would leave it as is and enjoy the natural variation.”
- “We did our cabinetry and paneling in white oak ply. We used Rubio monocoat. So easy and non toxic. You need only one coat and no topcoat. We used pure, but you can mix in color pigment to match the panels.”
- “Looks fantastic as is. It’s just different from what you originally pictured in your mind. I’m an architect so I had that happen often, eventually you learn to embrace things like this and reframe them with the understanding that’s how they were meant to be.”
There’s lots more ideas in our facebook group. If you own a midcentury home you can read more tips about this topic here.
