Historic Stains & Finishes
We love the natural beauty of a freshly sawn wide plank board, and find nothing more offensive than a stain unbecoming to a particular piece of wood, or one that obscures the subtle details and delicate grain patterns of the wood under layers of paint. Our mission is to match each piece of wood with the proper stain for the particular species, while taking into account your specific design scheme. And for those who want a one-of-a kind finish, we can create almost any color you dream up. Maybe you want to match wall paneling or an reclaimed chest, or create a wild ultra-contemporary color scheme. Just send us a sample of what you have in mind.
We also offer two different topcoats: Clear, and for those who want a more aged look, Amber. Like our stains, they are made to penetrate deep into the wood fibers, resulting in an amazingly hard and scratch-resistant finish.
Historic Stains
Whitewashed Fence
Our White Wash Fence stain is well loved and well traveled from a formal Chicago high-rise; a waterfront a beach house in Middleton, RI; the busy Park Hyatt Hotel in DC, or the upscale J Crew Shopping Boutique in New York City. If you want the white-wash look but you do not want the floor to look "painted" this is a great choice, our specially formulated stains have fine pigments that allow the color to transform the wood without covering up the grain and character. Walnut is a great pallet for this stain, when clients want a more subtle cocoa tone, not than the rich chocolate brown that it is known for.
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Concord Honey
Concord Honey is most often used on our traditional Eastern White Pine and Long Leaf Heart Pine floors, especially for Restoration style projects when the natural color of the wood isn't quite dark enough. The stain add just the the right aged look, without being too . It is also popular on our Brushed Hickory floors, and on Brown Maple if you want to recreate a "Pine" feel but achieve a harder floor.
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Gingerbread
Gingerbread is a beautiful stain for those clients that want a warm feel to their Pine or Hardwood floor, but without creating a very dark look. It is especially nice because the color still allows the natural variation and character of the wood to come through. We often recommend this stain for White Oak and Hickory when clients want to to recreate the vintage look of Reclaimed Oak or Chestnut.
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Bradford Umber
Bradford Umber is one of our oldest and most loved stains. Desired for its rich hues, and warmth it has been used to add a vintage feel to a Long Leaf Heart Pine floor, or to create a more formal look in a Wide plank hardwood.
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Copper Mine
Coppermine is inspired by the rich "pumpkin pine" patina that many people associate with vintage White Pine and Heart Pine floor boards. This color is hard to replicate by most stains available today because they lack the rich pigments that you need and the colors just sit on top of the boards. But Carlisle's stains are specially formulated with finer pigments that soak into the wood, so we can recreate centuries old colors. For this reason it is quite popular on Eastern White Pine and Long Leaf Heart Pine but this color goes well with our hardwood floors as well.
Tobacco Leaf
Tobacco Leaf is a popular stain on Pines and Hardwoods like, especially if you want a rich, warm tone. Inspired by historical staining methods using tobacco soaked in turpentine, this floor will lend a rich look to any floor.
Sturbridge Brown
Sturbridge Brown is a fantastic stain when a darker look is desired, but without the red tones that can appear in some of our other stains. It has been featured in a very formal penthouse on White Oak and our most popular "Eastern White Pine" Rocking Chair photo - nearly 25 years old now.
Oatmeal Stout
Oatmeal Stout is one of our newest stain, but is sure to be around for a while! It offers clients a very rich chocolate brown hue - in fact its often used on White Oak and Hickory when clients are looking for an alternative to Walnut. Whether you want an old, worn look from an Irish Pub, or an upscale, contemporary floor, this is a great choice!
Vermont Coffee Bean
As this name implies, this stain will give the floor a rich, roasted color - just like your morning brew. It is an excellent choice on Pine and Hardwood floors alike for a rustic or formal look.
Antique Farmhouse
Antique Farmhouse is an excellent choice for clients who love the inviting reddish-brown tones of Tobacco Leaf but want something a bit darker - appealing on both Pine or Hardwood floors.
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Blacksmith
Blacksmith, as the name implies will give your floor a smokey look, creating the darkest tones possible for a floor. Clients have used it to recreate time-worn Pine floors in New England Brewery's, and the most upscale Long Island Mansions.
Custom Finishes
When we say we can create any look, we mean it! Although we offer a wide variety of colors and finishes we work with clients on occassion who need something tailored to their specific design needs and we are here to help. Our Wide Plank Specialists and our Sample Shop Team have an extensive knowledge of finishes available today outside the Carlisle Collection. If you are trying to achieve a specific look and colors from our standard collection just won't work, then talk with your Wide Plank Specialist about your design needs and we will save you time and help you find and specific the right finish. Call us at 800-595-9663 or contact us for a Personal Design Consultation
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Carlisle Amber
Our Amber Finishes are specifically designed to replicate the hand-rubbed oils and waxes that were used on the first floors in America. But since these finishes are not quite as durable, nor very easy to maintain, we created our finishes so that they are more scuff resistant, easy to clean and touch up over the years. Carlisle Amber Finishes come in a variety of sheens, the most popular is Satin, but you can choose Matte for slightly less sheen, or Extra Matte for the lowest sheen possible.
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Prefinished
Prefinished flooring has been out there for a long time, but we waited until we could be sure of getting it right by maintaining the widths, lengths, variation, character and grain lines of our wood floors. Unlike mass-produced prefinished flooring, Carlisle’s prefinishing process is run in small batches of customer-selected woods and finishes, which results in a superior Pre-Finished floors. The slow, careful nature of our process puts our prefinished planks in a class all their own and most of our clients prefer this to a site finish, as the floors is easier to install, and it speeds up the installation when no finishing is required on site. All our Pine and Hardwood Floors can be pre-finished with the colors you see here, or we can create a custom color if needed. We can even customize the sheen level. And our Prefinished floors are just as easy to touch up as a site finished floor.
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Carlisle Clear
Our Clear finishes are a great choice for clients who want to maintain lighter look, the natural color of the wood, or those going for a White Wash feel, as Oil based finishes will yellow the wood. These finishes are clearer, and more flexible than most water base polyurethanes that create build up and give the floor a plastic feel. Our Clear finishes will be just as durable as our Amber finishes, and just as easy to touch up. Carlisle Clear Finishes come in a variety of sheens, the most popular is Satin, but you can choose Matte for slightly less sheen, or Extra Matte for the lowest sheen possible.
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