Does Natural need maintenance?

Like all real timber outdoors, it benefits from occasional re-staining. Because it's a clear finish, refreshing it is simple — a clean re-coat, no stripping required — and many owners re-coat a little more regularly to keep that fresh, golden look.

What colors pair well with Natural?

For a two-tone look, Natural works both ways — a light golden ceiling under darker beams like Rich Cordoba or Black Ebony, or golden framing with an Alpine White ceiling.

Can I order a Natural sample?

Yes — samples are available on request, so you can see Natural in your own light and setting before you decide.

Natural Premium Stain Color

Natural Finish — Effortless Harmony

With its soft golden hue, Natural stain enhances timber’s beauty while blending seamlessly with stone, greenery, and surrounding architecture. It’s a finish that brings everything together.

Meet Natural

The color

Meet Natural

Natural is our clear finish — the one that adds no color at all. Instead of staining the timber a new tone, it enriches the wood’s own texture and grain, letting each species’ natural color show through — the light gold of Douglas Fir, the warm tones of Cedar or Coast Redwood — with every knot and character mark on display. It’s the most transparent finish in the lineup: the real wood, simply shown at its best. It’s a Sherwin-Williams water-based stain, applied in two shop coats and backrolled so it works into the rough-sawn timber to help seal against the elements. On a pergola, pavilion, or gazebo, Natural reads warm, light, and true to the timber itself.

Close-up of Natural timber stain showing soft yellow-tan wood grain

What it brings

Nothing but the wood, grounded in timber

On a pergola or pavilion, Natural keeps a structure light, bright, and unmistakably wood. With no added color to compete, the timber’s own grain, knots, and hand-cut joinery become the whole show — the craftsmanship speaks for itself. It’s the most flexible finish, too: because it’s simply the wood’s own tone, it sits comfortably with any home, any palette, any setting. Natural warms the timber and lets its character carry the space, for a look that feels authentic, timeless, and completely at ease.

Settings & style

Where Natural feels at home

Because Natural is simply the wood’s own color, it’s at home almost anywhere — and especially where the timber itself is meant to shine.

Natural clear-finish Douglas Fir timber pavilion with light golden wood and a stone chimney in a landscaped community setting — A Natural-finish timber pavilion with stone — the wood’s own golden tone, out in the open.

Timber-frame & craftsmanship

When you want the woodwork to be the feature, Natural puts the grain and joinery front and center.

Parks, cabins & lodges

Warm golden wood is right at home in rustic, park, and lodge-style settings.

Any home, any palette

With no set color to clash, it’s the most flexible finish — it complements everything.

Wooded & green settings

Among trees and greenery, the warm wood glows and feels rooted in place.

Two-tone timber finish

Pair it with another stain

Natural is a warm, flexible partner for two-tone work — light enough to brighten a ceiling under darker beams, or to frame a whitewashed one. Here are combinations that work.

Timber gazebo roof with a light Natural wood ceiling and darker Rich Cordoba beams and braces — A Natural wood ceiling beneath Rich Cordoba beams — a warm two-tone gazebo roof.

Natural timber gazebo with light golden posts and beams and an Alpine White ceiling — Natural framing with an Alpine White ceiling — light, soft, and bright.

Natural + Rich Cordoba

Warm & rich

A light golden ceiling under deep espresso beams — a warm, classic two-tone.

Natural + Alpine White

Soft & bright

Golden timber with a whitewashed ceiling — light, airy, and fresh.

Natural + Black Ebony

Crisp & dramatic

A light golden ceiling under near-black beams — high-contrast and modern.

Natural FAQ

The details

Natural, answered

What color is Natural?

Natural is our clear finish — it adds no color at all. Instead of a new tone, it lets the wood’s own light, golden color show through, keeping every bit of grain, knot, and character on display.

Is Natural a solid or a transparent stain?

It’s the one truly clear, transparent finish in the lineup — it adds no color, so the wood’s own tone shows through. (Every other color lays down real, rich color; Natural is the exception.)

What wood species can I get Natural on?

Because Natural shows the wood’s own color, the species sets the tone — Douglas Fir reads light and golden, while Cedar and Coast Redwood bring their own warm character. All three are available.

What structures can I get in Natural?

Any of our timber structures — pergolas, pavilions, gazebos, cabanas, and more — can be finished in Natural.

What stain does Western Timber Frame use for Natural?

A Sherwin-Williams water-based stain, applied in two shop coats and backrolled so it works deeper into the rough-sawn surface than spraying alone. It enriches the wood’s natural texture and grain, and because it’s water-based, it’s low-odor and low-VOC.

Will Natural grey or fade over time?

Any real timber left in the sun weathers and silvers over time, and because Natural adds no pigment, it shows that weathering a little sooner than a colored stain. A periodic re-coat brings the warm, golden tone right back — or you can let it patina to a soft silver

––– Ready to begin?

Tell us about your project

Send us your project and we’ll help you choose the right color and put together a quote for your structure. Prefer to see a shade in your own light first? Samples are available on request.

Request a Quote

Order Samples

Keep exploring