FINISH AND WHERE TO GET SEALANT ONLINE:

All our furniture ships finely sanded to 220 grit for a smooth to the touch finish.

Our most popular finish is Transparent Premium Sealant:  it leaves your furniture looking natural and helps keep the beautiful wood surface colors from fading for several years.  We use Sikkens brand for finishing because they are the best on the market.  For more information about how to keep your furniture looking great year after year, please go to Care & Finish

The main difference between paint and stain is that paint sits on top of the surface rather than seeping into the surface. Paint also needs to be painted onto surfaces that have been primed first, while stain does not need a primer.

All our stain finish options let the grain of the wood visible, instead of covering it completely.

Unfinished (fine sanding only):   Choose this option if you are applying your own stain or want the surface color to fade to a "weathered look" in a few months. 


We do not recommend you leave your furniture unfinished outdoors for any extended period regardless of wood quality.  Outdoor weather changes constantly and it is best to at least seal the wood to protect it from consistently absorbing and losing moisture.

Transparent Premium Sealant - Recommended for Outdoors: Visit our Wood Grade page to see pictures of each wood grade finished with our recommended and most popular option. 

We also offer the Transparent Premium Sealant with the following stains:  There is an additional fee for choosing a stain as it doubles the amount of sealant coats we apply. 

Transparent
Cherry Stain
Coffee Stain
Black  Stain
White Stain

The photo below shows samples of all our 6 wood grades with Cherry Stain Premium Sealant.

cherry-stain-all-wood-grades.jpg
Old-Growth Redwood
Mature Redwood
California Redwood
Mosaic Redwood
Douglas-fir
Mosaic Douglas

The photo below shows samples of all our 6 wood grades with Coffee-Stain Premium Sealant.

coffee-stain-all-wood-grades.jpg
Old-Growth Redwood
Mature Redwood
California Redwood
Mosaic Redwood
Douglas-fir
Mosaic Douglas

Here is how the Coffee Stain looks like on Redwood:
Here is how the Cherry Stain looks like on Redwood:

Here is how the Black Premium Stain looks like on Redwood:
Here is how the White Stain looks like on Douglas-Fir:

Tiger Stripe Effect:  Douglas-Fir when stained dark creates a "tiger stripe" effect as shown in this photo.  It is beautiful and most customers love it.  If you are looking for a dark consistent stain and do not want to see a “tiger stripe effect,” please go with any of the Redwood grades for a more consistent stain finish.


PRIMERS:   We recommend sealing or staining your furniture, and we do not recommend painting it. Painting outdoor wood actually lowers its longevity. Eventually the paint seal breaks and the wood gets overly moist from rain. It stays moist because of the paint and multiplies microbial action. Outdoor wood is best sealed and not painted when considering longevity as the most important factor.

Off-White Oil-Based Primer:  Choose this option if you are going to paint alight color. We apply two coats of primer so that it is ready for one final coat of paint.

Gray Oil-Based Primer:  Choose this option if you are painting a darker color.  We apply two coats of primer so that it is ready for the final coat of paint.

We don't apply finish paint because we honestly are not great painters. If painting, we recommend our extensive 2-coat primer work option. The 2-coat primer will saturate all surfaces so that the final paint goes on with just one coat to save you time and money. If you are painting a light color, choose the off-white primer option. If you are going with a darker final color, choose the gray primer. We recommend you hire a local paint contractor to apply the final coat of your preference after your order is assembled. During the design phase of your order, you can let your assigned designer know the paint you are planning to use and can select the appropriate primer for us to apply.