Douglas Fir & ???

[Edward Weber]

I'm building an outdoor project from DF and was wondering what, if any other species would compliment it as an accent (secondary species).
Any suggestions are appreciated
Thanks in advance

[Maurice Mcmurry]

I will borrow a suggestion from the outdoor bench thread and recommend Redwood.

[Edward Weber]

Thanks Maurice, I do have tons of redwood, I could give it a try.

[Mel Fulks]

[QUOTE=Edward Weber;3279672]I'm building an outdoor project from DF and was wondering what, if any other species would compliment it as an accent

I’m skeptical about anything but paint for outdoors as the competing two will keep shade- shifting , and your friends will find one ugly .
But on their next visit the other one will be ugly.

[Edward Weber]

They both darken in the sunlight, I'll have to put a couple test pieces out in the sun when the finish I ordered arrives. I may just need to make many accent samples.
Thanks

[Tom Bender]

Some woods do darken in sunlight,,,for a while, but after some time almost all go grey. Clear finish can delay it but requires regular repair; scraping, sanding, reapplication. Some finishes last pretty well with regular reapplication. You'll want your tests to last as long as you want your project to look good. Better to benefit from others' successes. Unfortunately I have none to offer.

[Edward Weber]

I'm not asking about what finish to use or maintenance, I'm pretty well versed in what works where I live. Lots of baking sun, some rain in winter an occasion freeze, no snow.

I'm planing on using Outdoor Defense Oil
https://www.realmilkpaint.com/shop/o...tdoor-defense/
I use their Half & Half and like it, so I thought I'd give this a try for outdoor things.

I use redwood a lot and treat it with TWP, https://www.twpstain.com/twp-1500-series
IME, it lasts a long time.
IMG_5161.jpg

Now I'm making an outdoor table and I'm using Douglass fir as a contrast, I don't want every wooden item in my yard to be redwood. I'm just asking about some type of contrasting species that others may have used.

[Scott Winners]

Judging by the date stamps I have been stewing on this for about a week. Almost all my outdoor wooden furniture up here is DF. And I leave them out in the snow and cold all winter.

The two things I do for adequate longevity are plane the surfaces left bare with a hand plane, and coat the parts in ground contact (bottoms of feet) with latex house paint.

One idea might be to carry the latex house paint up the legs a little ways before applying your clear-ish finish. A bunch of acanthus leaves painted on would probably be over the top, but maybe some kind of vine with a few small leaves painted on, covering maybe 10% or so of each visible face of each leg? +/- some small blossoms painted on for a small splash of color? I like your raised garden beds rather muchly, I suspect painted on flower blossoms does not fit your aesthetic either.

I have not though of a contrasting wood to suggest, but I sure do like latex house paint on DF in ground contact.

Good luck.

[Edward Weber]

Thanks for youe suggestions but I don't typically paint anything wooden that I build.
I've started some testing on the above linked, Outdoor Defense Oil. So far it looks very good.