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Home decoration

What to do with orange oak?

7 replies

Toomuchstuffwillkillme · 12/01/2025 21:13

We have a bedroom we're about to redecorate where all the furniture - chests of drawers, bedside cabinets, headboard, wardrobe etc. is oak. It's nice quality and quite expensive oak and I don't dislike it, but it's definitely fairly orange.
I'm far from fashionable (ha!) but get the impression that oak (especially oak that's gone a bit orange-r with age!) is not currently trendy. So I'd love to know what we could do with the walls / flooring to make it look a bit more up to date?
We like warmish colours, def not fans of greige everything, and I'd like to keep the oak - any suggestions very welcome. Maybe even with pictures? Thanks!

OP posts:
rosegoldwatcher · 12/01/2025 22:29

Have you thought of doing something to our oak furniture to diminish the orange?
Sand the varnish off and give them a coat or two of Osmo 3040. There is a very small amount of white pigment in it that lightens the wood ever so slightly.

Toomuchstuffwillkillme · 12/01/2025 22:46

If it was just one or two pieces (or something easier to sand like a tabletop) that might be a good option but it would take me forever to sand & refinish everything, it's like 6 separate bits of furniture 😕

OP posts:
Suffernsocotash · 12/01/2025 23:05

There’s an acid that you can bleach wood with, assuming it isn’t varnished at present. I can’t remember the name of it but it comes as a powder that you mix with water. Maybe oxalic acid? That might take the orange down a bit.
And you can buy stains with a bit of blue in them which neutralises the orange

Toomuchstuffwillkillme · 13/01/2025 14:02

Hmm I should probably have rephrased the question "if your furniture was a similar colour to this pic and you weren't going to change it, what paint/flooring/curtain colours do you think would look best with it?"

What to do with orange oak?
OP posts:
JoyousPinkPeer · 13/01/2025 14:05

Put 'stag furniture' on eBay and see what people have done to give new life to.old furniture, it is truly amazing.

marmaladeandpeanutbutter · 13/01/2025 22:01

I can say avoid Green, because it's the opposite colour to the orange and will bring out the orange tone even more. Not so helpful, I know.

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