Need Advice on Cabinets

[Gordon Rowe]

I'm building a first cabinet project ..a small wet bar set off in an alcove in my basement living room. So far, I've constructed two upper corner cabinets and the lower carcass and installed the counter top and plumbing. This is done in 3/4 birch ply with stick on edge banding.

So far, it's gone well but I'm having trouble deciding on the doors and finish. At my level of skill, the doors need to be simple construction..I'm leaning to Shaker style. I tried a piece of Bibinga ply veneer finished with water based clear Varathane as a potential panel and it blends very well in the area. But what wood blends well with Bibinga? I tried a piece of cherry and it doesn't look right...to my eye, anyway. I was thinking of using popular and painting it to blend?

Kinda stuck and sure could use some advice on this!

[John Thompson]

A lot of the local cabinet shop guys used to use poplar in my area as face boards with birch cabinets but.. those guys knew how to stain to get a match as poplar and birch don't take stain the same. As you mentioned.. you could paint it and take out that factor.

But.. I would post this in either General WW or the finish section so hopefully some cabinet shop guys see it. I personally don't use ply so have no real secret formula's but... those guys use it every day and this would probably be a simple question to them.

Good luck...

Sarge..