Staining Furniture

I've been staining furniture and its been a learning experience. For some reason I've wanted to use gel stains and haven't been successful. So I switched back to regular stain and am getting the deeper richer color and finish.

I'm using Minwax Red Mahogany for the man's study bookcases, a pedestal, and the kitchen island. There's also a night stand that isn't stained enough to share.

Bookcases - Bespaq. They are coming along. I think this is the last coat but I will wait to see how they look when they are dry.

Here's the Kitchen Island. I have had this nice marble top for years and really wanted to use it. I added corbels from Lawbre, and stained it. Its looking really nice, even if it is hard to photograph.  Since adding the corbels and top, this piece is top heavy. I found some weights they use for pine derby cars and those are going to sit in the bottom shelf which will be sealed to hide them. 

 

This is a pedestal table, also Bespaq. It's also hard to photograph...it does look better than the photo.