Whether we start with raw wood, a stained surface, or painted pieces, I am amazed at how wood surfaces can be glazed, finished and altered to reveal stunning outcomes and transformations!!

In this home designed by Eleanor Cummings and featured in Segreto: Secrets to Finishing Beautiful Interiors, the sheetrock surfaces were plastered, but the beams here are reclaimed and stunning!

Many people like that aged, reclaimed look but either can’t find beams they are in love with or need to be more cost effective in their construction or remodeling process. For this home, new rough cedar beams were installed, and we were hired to impart an aged look using finishes.

You can see the back beam has the first step done, which was to kill the red undertones so we can achieve a grayish look. And the front one is almost complete…. We even added distressing marks in the beams!!

This home had beams stained by someone else that were so dark they almost looked painted! We’ve been working to lighten them up and incorporate more of the wood grain. The wonderful thing about this process is that it wasn’t necessary to strip the beams first, which would have been not only costly but very smelly!!

After painting the beams white in this newly renovated master bedroom, the designer and homeowner felt that a stained effect would better suit the decor slated for the room. Because they were constructed with paint-grade wood and primed and painted white, actual stained beams would have been an expensive option. Instead, we were brought in to transform them with a special paint finish!

Applying a series of glazes over the white base achieved the stained feel the homeowner desired at a reasonable cost.

What a change!!!

Since sturdy reclaimed doors in the correct size to fit the space couldn’t be found, new doors were built, and we were planning a reclaimed finish. The doors were specified to be in raw wood, but the painters inadvertently primed them white!! It was a happy mistake as we changed our finish to an old painted look that’s beautiful in the room!

Now that certainly looks old!!!

In this new construction, the dining room doors were a red mahogany! For a grayed, distressed look, we masked the red undertones and turned them into the desired focal element in the room.

It was time for an update in this previously orange-toned study! We applied a series of glazes to the paneling, transforming it from the 1980s to 2016!! I always recommend trying to work with your existing surfaces first before you decide to opt for more expensive options like stripping the wood or replacing it!

We tested this finish on site to see if we could save this fireplace mantel and make it work with the room’s new decor. After seeing the sample, designer Julie Dodson said yes to the new finish!!

The same applies to furniture pieces! Any time you have a piece with the right shape and size but the wrong color, consider transforming the look with stains!! I did this with some of my grandmother’s pieces and loved the results! You can read about that experience over here. Or browse through our gallery of furniture finishes here.

Hope you all have a wonderful week and a very happy Mother’s Day this Sunday! If you missed my mom’s day gift guide last week, be sure to check that out here – there’s still time for last-minute shopping! Till next week!!