Finishing is probably my least favorite part of a project and I try to stick with a a one size fits all type solutions, consequently this one has got me stumped. I have a relatively older kitchen cabinets to which I want to make some additions. Trying to add bookshelves at both ends of the island. The wood looks like plain old Red Oak to me, but also mixed in is birch ply which is stained to look like red oak. So I went to HD and got me a can of red oak and tried it on some of the shelves I took off (so the wood is the same). Well its not even close, slightly redder and much darker. The picture below will probably not come out well on a computer screen, but I wanted to ask what is a typical approach one would take if you are trying to match an old finish whose source you do not know.

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When I look at this image online it looks darker than the actual color