My new house looks like a dark cave! How many Coats of stain?
 

I bought my house in January and it really does look like a cave from the street. I have been doing most of the renovations myself and am going to tackle restaining it with the help of my brother. I have access to solid Cabot, BM and SW and firstly was wondering if one is better than the other. I think I would like to lighten the house up but have no idea how to go about that with this dark stain. It also has a large section of stone in the front and I am trying to compliment that. Does anyone know how many coats of stain this would take and would lighter look nice? I also saw a moss green with light tan trim recently on a house that I loved. Here is a link to a picture of the "woman cave"!

<a href="http://s187.photobucket.com/albums/x...ouseFront2.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x...ouseFront2.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

IMO, Your at the end of the stain rainbow as for a color choice with a stain. Solid bodied dark stain is a done deal. You might want to look at a latex now for your next repaint.

I think the house looks nice they way it is. But I agree not much you can do now except paint

Ayah that's dark
So dark, I can't tell if it's a really dark semi-transparent or a really dark solid stain
Any/either way, if you want to re-coat it, a solid stain usually the best option (depending*)

I can't tell how many coats of solid stain it'll take to lighten it from here, but my first choice would be Sikkens Solid ("Rubold") Siding Stain
Next up, in order of preference for this particular project:
Cabot's ProVT
BM's solid siding stain
SW's solid siding stain

*Depending on your color desires (ie: if you want it much lighter), and your willingness and available time to do extra coats, and your maint. req./expectations, and/or actual condition of the substrate (eg:what we are painting)...a "paint" may be needed/suggested
In that case I'd suggest BM's Aura Exterior (Flat or Low Luster)
The flatter paint will "disappear" many defects in most cases

If I am understanding your situation correctly, I'd think BM's Aura Exterior paint (flat or low luster) would be perfect for your project (lighter color over dark solid/semi stain on claps, less coats than any solid stain known, long lasting, etc...)

There are other considerations (some I've mentioned) but to be more specific, I'd need more specifics

But off-hand I'd say that BM's Aura would be an excellent choice for this project