Stains, and Grabbing Some Color

I'm happy to report that the woodwork in the library is now nearly complete! Although... even while I was typing that last sentence, I got that sinking feeling that reminded me I still haven't started on the baseboards. (Sigh.) Fortunately, I don't think that will be too bad, since I'm just buying and staining them, and not having to also strip and sand off the paint - like I've previously blogged about with the doors and window frame.

And speaking of those soul-draining tasks, check out these before and afters so far!

Before

After

Before

After

I still have to put a clear coat of polyurethane on them, and I may do a little touch up to the frame around the closet door, which doesn't quite match - and just reinforces my view that it may be a different type of wood. (Confession: Even after getting a custom stain from Sherwin-Williams, I still found that Minwax's Red Oak best matched our existing woodwork throughout the rest of the house.)

And speaking of colors, I'd like to recommend a highly rated Android app called Color Grab, which lets you grab RGB and HSV color data with your phone camera. (I believe iOS users have something similar called Color Capture). I'm hoping to use it when I start painting this room, which might actually be next week. Of course, that assumes I can still move after this week's holiday feast.

Happy Thanksgiving!