Sometimes...:  a good day is a four crayon day...

If you are up to four crayons today, then don't worry too much
about staying inside the lines. It's enough that you are able to use 4 crayons.

Worry about staying inside the lines another day.

The photo makes it look cramped, but there was ample room in this shop to stain and urethane this cabinetry.

This tall corner cabinet is near completion. The bottom half has had 2 coats of stain -- the top, only one. 

You can improve the final appearance of new woodwork by using a 2-coat staining method. 

Two coats of a thinned stain will yield more depth and richness in the wood, whereas a single heavy coat tends to obscure the grain. 

Do a practice run on a hidden surface (backs, sides).

See that new-wood endpiece? This will be hidden against a corner wall, so it need not be done.  Don't waste time (money) by staining what won't ever be seen.  (there are a few minor exceptions).

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As a finisher you may be limited in what can be done to balance out wood tones.  Good cabinet construction  means using a solid wood facing to hang the door onto.  This means two distinct wood grains -- veneer, and quarter-sawn. 

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A hardwood nailer makes up the face of this veneered plywood. It provides a solid and suitable support for the piano-hinged door.

It`s all birch but the milling is different, and so the graining is different as well, and as such, they will absorb stain differently. 

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