When it comes to creating a kitchen cabinetry look that is all your own, few materials can compete with wood. This is one material that will never go out of style. Wood offers a rich, classic appeal through a variety of beautiful species. It’s easy to create the look and feel you desire with wood.
Whether your look is modern or antique, minimalist or ornate, the wood species and finish you choose will have a huge impact on how your cabinets ultimately look in your kitchen. When choosing a type of wood for your cabinet, consider the depth of color you desire.
Best Woods and colors
Light-hued woods include maple, oak, pine, birch, ash, beech, elm, nd chestnut. Alder imparts a pale pinkish-brown to almost white tone. Cherry is a popular cabinet choice for its medium darkness. Hickory ranges in color from white to a ruddy brown. For darker, richer effects, consider mahogany (a rich reddish color), walnut (dark brown to purplish black), or ebony (very dark). Butternut, rosewood, and teak also provide a warm, rich color.
Next, consider the stain – or finish – you will use on the cabinets. Remember, it’s easy to darken light woods with stain. But it’s difficult to lighten a dark wood, so if your look of choice is lighter cabinets, it’s best to start with a very light wood and add color to darken it. Clear finishes are also available and allow the wood’s natural tones to shine through.
Staining Tips:
If you want the wood’s grain to be seen, look for a transparent or semitransparent stain.
To hide the grain, look for an opaque stain.
Try not to rely too heavily on the name of the stain because different woods absorb stains differently.
You can hide low-quality wood with a coat of pigment-type stain (semiopaque).
In general, stains do not protect the wood, but protective stains are available.
Additional Considerations:
Kitchens tend to be affected by humidity and temperature, and your cabinets need to adjust to such changes in temperature. Solid wood often expands and contracts when exposed to such humidity, leading to warping. It may be a good idea to consider using hardwood veneer and laminate alternatives.
Hardwood veneer is a thin piece of solid wood that is typically applied to plywood or particleboard with glue to give it strength. It costs less than solid wood, is uniform in finish, nd its grain is very consistent. Using wood veneer in cabinet doors provides consistency by minimizing shrinking and expansion, ultimately eliminating cracking and splitting. Also, a stain can be added to blend dothe ors towithhe rest of the cabinet structure.
