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I apologize in advance that this isn’t an official DIY tutorial with official tutorial photos. Instead, just think of it as one friend talking to another friend letting her know about this awesome house thing that worked for her and wants to share with hopes that it will work for others too! And that awesome house thing is this crazy easy way to update oak trim.
Like most houses built in the 70s, my home has yellow orangey basic trim. And like most people, it’s not a style that’s really wanted, but the thought of changing it with paint seems like an incredibly huge task and at the same time, the thought of replacing it all seems pretty expensive too. And guess what, both of those are true!
I knew I didn’t want to replace the trim. This is not a forever or super long-term home (this is where we’d like to end up) and though the visual impact would be nice, the cost is not worth it for the years we’ll be here.
I also knew I didn’t want to paint all the trim. We painted all the trim in our first home and it’s so.much.work. Plus, you have to really be careful and take your time if you want it to look good. I simply did not want to put in the time and effort needed to paint all the trim. And also, a lot of the windows have been replaced in our current home (before we got here) and most of the window trim is now a vinyl type material in a medium brown. I don’t actually mind that really and I was not about to go paint over new windows to get everything to be your classic white!
So basically, I was just going to live with it. Until I came across Minwax gel stain…
Now gel stain is not a new product to me. I’ve used it before but never considered using it on trim before. I saw online that someone used it to darken a door and then a lightbulb went off in my head. I picked up a can of Minwax gel stain in Aged Oak and thought I would just give it a try…
I’m not an expert and please do your own research before attempting this! I’m just sharing something that worked for me 🙂
A Crazy Easy Way to Update Oak Trim
First, I cleaned the windows really well. I didn’t sand. A light sanding is recommended, but since this was window trim and nothing with high traffic, I didn’t bother. Plus, I was going for a really light look and wasn’t too worried about color evenness. Buttttt proper steps from Minwax say to sand and use a wood conditioner! I’m considering doing this on the rest of the trim around the house. It’s still work, but it’s easier than painting. If I did, then I would for sure want to sand as baseboards and door jams get a lot more of a beating!

Then I wiped on the stain with a rag. That’s it! The photo above is more for show because I definitely did not do it all right in the photo haha. I would recommend wearing gloves. The stain will soak through the fabric and get on your hands. If it gets on your hands the only good way to get it off is to soak your hands in a food oil and then scrub, scrub, scrub with a hard bristle brush. It will come off though! Speaking from experience. 😉
I recommend starting with thin coats and layering. Gel stain is pretty thick and glumpy so you don’t need much to start with and if you try to layer too soon, it will get gunky and not spread as well.
I did two coats but you can definitely do more. I wasn’t looking for anything drastic. Just enough to tone down the orange color and it achieved that perfectly. I’m so pleased! Minwax says to wait 8-10 hours before you do another coat and then another 24 hours before you seal.
At first, it feels a little sticky/tacky to the touch, but as it dries it soaks in more. Now, when I rub my hand up and down it feels smooth, and nothing rubs off! I guess this could be a little bit of a “wait and see” project, but so far it achieved exactly what I wanted and I don’t see why it shouldn’t wear well either, seeing as window trim doesn’t really get any traffic/action! Plus, as I said before, I was just looking to change the color tone slightly and I really can’t believe how easy and inexpensive it was to do that in the end!
Here’s a photo from my living room update last year that “shows off” the orange color in the trim:

This photo was *just* taken to show off my maternity outfit, haha, but you can see the new trim color in the back! By the way, I’m pregnant if you didn’t know! I know it’s hard to tell because I’m so small and all. 😉 Ha! Wishful thinking…

Now side by side:


Much better, right?
Maybe you noticed our new floors! Do you follow me on Instagram and watch my stories? Because we have been knee, no, neck-deep in house projects but I have soo many reveals I can’t wait to share! We’ve been doing flooring upstairs, flooring downstairs, appliances, fixtures, countertops…so much! Come January/ February this place is going to be looking pretty different and I can’t wait to photograph these spaces and share them with you!
Back to the trim. The above photos are edited (though I tried to keep colors to as real life as possible), so below are some unedited cell phone pics to show the difference too. Not the best quality/lighting, but I hope you get the idea.


And now, just some extra shots of the pretty new trim color!



The lighting is a tad different, but here’s one more before & after side by side:


I hope you enjoyed this little home hack! If you like DIY home posts, then check out the ones below:
Update Your Home With These DIY Wooden Baseboard Heater Covers
How I Limewashed my Brick Ranch Exterior (for under $30!)


Perfect way to tone down the orange! Thanks for the tip!
So easy too! Glad you liked this tip.
Thank you so much for this tip. I see your trim on the wall is painted. I want to do this in my new house I think-paint all wall molding but leave the beautiful window moldings and stain away the orange. Has it held up with no issues? Thank you again!
It’s held up just fine! I did this same thing to trim on a half wall and that got a little scratched, but things get set on that constantly. Since the window trim doesn’t get bothered, it still looks the same as the first day I did it.
Do you think this would work on Kitchen Cabinets?
Kitchen cabinets get a lot more wear and tear, so I’m not sure how long that would last. You would most likely want to sand first at the very least.
Great job on the trim! Congrats on your pregnancy! You look amazing!
xoxo
Lovely
http://www.mynameislovely.com
I appreciate that. Thanks!!
Congrats on your pregnancy!
I have a question about this gel stain process. Did you use a sealer afterwards? If so, what product?
Also love your wall color and draperies. Can you share how to duplicate the look?
Thank you.
I did not use a sealer as it’s not an area that gets touched a lot.
The draperies are actually just drop cloths with curtain rings. The wall color is either pure white or simply white by Sherwin Williams- I get those two confused sometimes!
Hi again,
Just curious (I might have mis-read it), did you find that just cleaning and staining 2 coats was enough…or did you also do the sealing step that you mentioned was recommended by the brand? Great news if it ended nicely without a sealing step, after drying!
I didn’t seal because this was just on window trim, but I’d recommend following the instructions the brand provides so I’m not liable. 😉 But just cleaning and staining 2 coats worked for me!
I was just looking into doing this at my home. Wondering, can you share what you used to apply the gel stain? How long did you let us sit before wiping off? Thanks!
Applied it with just a rag! You’ll see in the post that I mentioned I should have worn gloves, however. And I did not wipe it off either. Good luck!
Are your doors painted? Or are they also oak finished doors?
I love the combine with your wall color! Do you know what color your walls are?
Either Simply White or Pure White…can’t remember off the top of my head!
Could you try this same process on oak cabinets and doors? Not wanting all the work to sand first so curious if this is an option?
would you do this method on kitchen cabinets – thanks.
Hmm, I’m not sure how well that would hold up. Especially without sanding.
Looks great! I did paint all of my orange oak white. It took forever—2 coats of primer and 2 coats of paint. However, there were a few things I gel stained also. The stair railings of 2 different flights of stairs and the mantel of my fireplace. I also gel stained 2 different oak vanities to a darker color. I used the General Finishes brand. I also used a polycrylic as a top coat. Our office is still the orange-y oak color with a very orange /red Brazilian cherry floor. We have a lot of built in shelves, not to mention a chair rail, crown moulding, and French doors and it is too much work to paint or stain it all.
Hello – found your article while looking for a way to
manage our 90’s oak trim, but also trying to avoid the work and cost of painting white. Some of my friends that painted white have issues with windows sticking shut. Do you have this issue at all with the stain?
No, I didn’t! I believe it’s because a stain soaks into the wood while paint sits on top, creating a barrier.