HouseNJ

My and my sis. We are different. Very much indeed. But we're close. We have different "favorite things"... When it comes to wood treatment mine are Danish oil or paint, hers - wood stains and polyurethane. The results are similar, but the process is very different.

We used Danish oil for the first time when we made the bar. The wood was "thirsty". While googling our options we found Danish oil, we liked the idea and decided to give it a go. It's perfect [even for very lazy people]. This is a one step process. The oil is easy to apply (old terry cloth is all you need); quick to dry and does not smell bad; leaves a nice finish. The treated wood has a feel of a bar table that's been used for many many years, while being polished by elbow grease. It also brings up the color of the wood. The Danish oil comes in different tints allowing you to stain the wood at the same time. The thing to remember though is that you might need to reapply the oil once or twice a year for a few years depending on the quality of the wood and the usage that this piece gets. 

Wood stains are easy to apply too (with the brush); water based stains emit no bad fumes and dry quickly. It's possible to mix your own using Potassium Permanganate. But if you need to match a piece you already have, or plan on staining a whole dining set - you'll be better off buying a ready-to-use stains. They come in a wide array of tints. Note that the stain leaves a rough finish and if you want a smooth or glossy finish, you'll need to sand the surface lightly and use polyurethane [toddler bed, chair, frames are from IKEA, bought unfinished, treated with wood stain and a coat of polyurethane]