If you’re staring at your outdated dresser, kitchen table, or bathroom vanity and wondering whether to refinish or replace it, you’re not alone. A lot of homeowners in Omaha go through the same thought process. Maybe the color doesn’t fit your style anymore, or the wood grain is too orange. Or maybe you're unsure whether paint, stain, or something else entirely is the right choice. It’s hard to know what will look good, what will hold up, and what options even exist.
At Brush & Roll Painting, we’ve been helping Omaha homeowners refinish and update their furniture since 1996. Whether it’s cabinets, dressers, hutches, or wood furniture you love but want to refresh, we’ve seen just about every surface and every kind of finish. We know which products last, which techniques work best, and what to expect with each type of finish.
In this guide, we’ll walk you through four common types of furniture finishes—staining, toning, painting, and glazing—so you can understand what they are, how they look, how durable they are, and what might work best for your home. We’ll also explain why the product you use matters, especially when it comes to something you touch and use every day. By the end, you’ll feel confident knowing which type of finish to ask for or look into further.
1. Staining Furniture: Bringing Out the Natural Wood Grain
What Is Staining for Furniture?
Staining is the process of applying a transparent or semi-transparent color to wood that allows the natural grain to show through. It doesn’t sit on top like paint does, but instead soaks into the surface.
When to Choose a Stain for Furniture
Staining is a great option if your furniture is made of real wood and you want to highlight its natural beauty. Maybe you have an oak table with good bones but a worn finish, or a maple dresser that’s a little too light for your current style.
What Stain Furniture Looks Like
Think of stains as tinting the wood rather than covering it. You’ll still see all the wood details, knots, grain lines, texture, just with a deeper or more modern color.
2. Toning Furniture
What Is Toning?
Toning is similar to staining but adds more depth of color. It’s typically a darker finish and can be applied over an existing stain or even lightly over raw wood.
When to Choose Toner for Furniture
Toning is perfect when you want to warm up or darken the current stain without hiding the wood grain. It can be used to give wood a richer, more high-end feel. This is often used on furniture that looks too “yellow” or “orange,” like golden oak. A toner can tone that down (pun intended) without fully painting over it.
What Toned Furniture Looks Like
Toning results in a more shaded, layered appearance than a plain stain. It’s often used to help match new pieces to existing finishes or add a touch of age or elegance to newer furniture.
3. Painting Furniture
What Is It?
Painting furniture involves covering the surface in a solid, opaque color. Unlike staining or toning, paint hides the wood grain entirely and creates a clean, uniform surface.
When to Choose a Solid Color
Paint is a good choice when:
- You want a big color change (golden oak to white or navy)
- The wood isn’t attractive enough to highlight
- The furniture has veneer or MDF instead of solid wood
- You want a modern, smooth look without wood showing through
What Paint on Furniture Looks Like
Painted furniture can be matte, satin, or glossy, depending on the finish. White and neutral colors are common in kitchens and bathrooms, while bold colors like deep blue or dark green are becoming popular in offices and living rooms.
Durability and Maintenance of Paint on Furniture
Furniture paint needs to be tough, especially on cabinets or pieces that get a lot of use. At Brush & Roll Painting, we don’t use basic latex or chalk paint. We spray on a 2K polyurethane system like Milesi, which is hard, smooth, and resists wear far better than traditional paints.
If you're using everyday latex or oil-based paints, you’ll likely see scuffing, peeling, or chipping over time. This is where the quality of the product makes a huge difference.
4. Glazing Wood Furniture
What Is a Glaze?
Glazing is a tinted stain applied over painted furniture to add visual depth or highlight details. It can be wiped across the entire surface or applied only into corners, ridges, and trim work.
When to Choose a Glaze for Furniture
Glazing is often used to give furniture a more custom or aged look. If your cabinets or dresser have detailed trim, bevels, or panels, a glaze can help highlight those shapes. You can also use a glaze to soften the starkness of solid-colored paint or to blend colors for a more natural feel.
What Glazed Furniture Looks Like
Glaze can make painted furniture look more dimensional. For example, a white cabinet with gray glaze in the grooves has a more detailed, hand-finished appearance than just plain white paint. It can look rustic, elegant, or antique depending on the color of the glaze and how it's applied.
What Is the Best Product for Refinishing Furniture?
Furniture is not just about how it looks; it also has to survive daily life. Cabinets get touched with greasy hands. Tables get wiped down again and again. Dressers get banged with laundry baskets. If you use low-end products or skip proper prep, the finish won’t last.
At Brush & Roll Painting, we use Milesi 2K poly, an Italian-made, two-part polyurethane system. It’s the same level of quality used in high-end cabinetry and furniture manufacturing. It cures to a hard, durable surface that resists chips, water, and cleaning products. This is what makes the difference between a finish that lasts 2 years and one that holds up for 10 or more.
Many DIY projects or even professional painters use regular paint or single-component poly, which doesn't perform the same. That’s why we always recommend asking about the products being used before you hire someone for furniture refinishing.
How to Choose the Right Finish for Your Furniture
There’s no one-size-fits-all answer, but here are a few guiding questions to help narrow down what might be best for your piece:
- Do you love the wood grain? If yes, consider staining or toning.
- Want to change the color completely? Go with paint.
- Looking for something with personality or depth? Try doing a paint adding a glaze.
If you’re not sure, take pictures of the piece and what you’d like it to look like, and talk through it with a professional painter or color consultant. There may even be ways to combine finishes. For example, painting a dresser but staining the top for a two-tone look.
Furniture Painting in Omaha, NE
Choosing the right furniture finish might have felt confusing at first, but now you have a clearer understanding of the four main options: stain, toner, paint, and glaze. Each offers its own style and function, and when paired with high-end materials and expert prep, they can completely transform a piece you already own.
At Brush & Roll Painting, we’ve been helping Omaha homeowners choose the right finish for their furniture since 1996. Whether you're updating your kitchen cabinets, repurposing an heirloom table, or modernizing a dated vanity, we're here to guide you, no sales pressure, just honest answers.
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And if you’re still trying to decide on a color or finish, download our free paint color and design guide. It’s packed with helpful tips on choosing colors that work with your style, space, and existing finishes.
