How to Stain Cabinets With Coffee Grinds

Remove your cabinet doors from their frames and pull cabinet drawers completely out. Move the doors and drawers to a flat surface. This will make it easier to stain the doors, since the liquid stain won't drip when the cabinets are laid flat. Remove hinges, handles and knobs.

Place coffee grounds in a French press or large glass jar. A French press will make it easier to brew and strain the grounds. Add more coffee for a darker stain. A gallon of stain will cover approximately 100 square feet of cabinet area.

Pour hot water over the coffee grounds and let them sit for a few hours or overnight.

Strain the coffee to eliminate solid grounds. Add more water for a lighter stain.

Brush paint stripper over the surfaces you want to stain to remove old varnish or paint. Rub the stripper into the wood with grade 00 (hard wood) or grade 000 (soft wood) steel wool. While the stripper is still wet, wipe it off with a rag to remove paint and finish. Repeat if necessary.

Remove old stain by wiping the wood with a rag soaked in denatured alcohol or bleach.

Clean all wood surfaces with a rag soaked in denatured alcohol. Allow them to dry completely before staining.

Cover the floors and countertops with newspaper to avoid staining these surfaces. Saturate a lint-free nylon rag with a generous amount of the coffee stain. Drag it evenly along the wood grain of your doors and drawers. Wipe the stained wood with a clean rag to remove excess stain before it dries. Allow the wood to dry completely before repeating the process on the other side of the cabinet doors.

Stain the cabinet frames and shelves using the same method. Allow the stain to dry completely before sealing it.

Brush a generous coat of sealer over your stained wood with a paintbrush. Brush quickly along the grain, as the sealer dries quickly.

Reattach your cabinet doors and replace the drawers once all surfaces are completely dry.