OK...So What Wood For Kitchen Cabinets?

[Bill Space]

As a follow up to Julie's thread "Why is oak "dated"?

i am renovating a small house (1,200 sq ft) that I purchased next door, for the four acres rather than the house. But I am thinking to either rent it or sell it with a half acre or so of property.

I like natural wood wood rather than stained wood. Just me...

So I have three woods available to make the kitchen cabinets from: red oak, cherry or ash.

After reading Julie's thread I am thinking that natural ash may be the way to go, but I do not really know.

what do you guys think?

i have the materials on hand so material cost is not really a concern.

Appreciate any and all advise!

Bill

[Peter Aeschliman]

I would like to cast a resounding vote for unstained cherry with black hardware in a shaker style (frame and panel with flat panels).

Like this I just found from a google image search.

http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h255/peteraeschliman/S-Kitchen-Shaker-Cherry.jpg (http://s66.photobucket.com/user/peteraeschliman/media/S-Kitchen-Shaker-Cherry.jpg.html)

I'm just not a huge fan of Ash and Oak. I prefer figure over grain, myself.

Just my $.02 though!

[Mike Cutler]

Bill

We're redoing our kitchen in cherry. Floors are bubinga, center island/trestle is padauk. Cabinets will be Qsawn cherry rails and stiles with curly panels, with a natural finish. No indiscriminate face sawn wood. Cabinet interiors are maple. Overall theme is Greene and Greene based, with some nouveau lines.

[J.R. Rutter]

I personally like cherry and black as well.

I have done a couple of lobs lately with QS frames with flatsawn panels that turned out nice. Of course, I have also done a few large jobs that ended up being cherry with a black stain that completely kills the magic grain warmth. No accounting for taste...

[Matt Day]

Out of those three, I'd pick cherry. But maple would be my first choice for more mass appeal.

[Keith Hankins]

It's total choice and what you like. I had a house with pecan, and it was great. I prefer Cherry, but then I work mostly with cherry.

[Ole Anderson]

Of the three, I would opt for the Cherry. I used Hickory on my recent kitchen remod just to be different.

[Cary Falk]

I would guess that the same people that are put off by oak will be put off by ash. I would pick cherry out of the three you listed.

[Dave Zellers]

I think you have your answer. Most everyone picked cherry so it's pretty obvious that ash is the way to go. No one will confuse it with oak and most will say 'wow, what wood is this?'

Plus the light color will work well in a small house. Extremely stable and cheap.

[jonathan eagle]

303504303503

Here's my cherry kitchen, with bubinga panels.
Jonathan

[Lee Schierer]

If you are going to live in the house, then go with any finish that you like. If you are going to remodel the kitchen to please someone else, go with what they like. If you are trying to appeal to unknown people go with vanilla. All the remodeling shows lean toward white cabinets. I've even seen them install marble counter tops, which are notoriously hard to keep stain free.

[Jared Sankovich]

Cherry all the way. Most buyers wouldn't even realize ash isn't oak.

However white painted poplar may have more appeal.

[Justin Ludwig]

Any of those 3 woods would make a beautiful set of cabinets. The "dated" oak that has been beat to death in Julie's thread isn't just about the Oak itself. Those old cabinets are bereft of style and design and accessories that fill kitchens today. I guarantee I could make a set of appealing cabinets out of Red Oak with Golden Oak or Fruitwood stains. Shy away from tombstone or cathedral upper doors coupled with 1/2" overlay. Unless I'm building on a very short budget, I won't design cabinets in 1/2" overlay. It's lazy, boring, and overused IMO. Try staggering the heights and depths of your uppers and possible some of the base cabinets. Integrate rollouts in all of your base cabinets and built a cookie sheet (cutting board, etc) rollout with dividers near the stove. Spice rollouts are popular and very handy (also near the stove or cooktop). Rev-a-shelf sells them for $250, order one or build your own. They're not hard to build. Trash can rollouts are very convenient. Put them next to the sink. I try to design kitchens with a workflow. Trash, sink, dishwasher or dishwasher, sink, trash (when space permits). It's a scrape the plate, rinse, dishwash. People love it.

Under upper lighting. Toe kick lighting. Toe kick valances. Tile accents. I can go on and on.

[Mike Cutler]

Toe kick lighting?? I like that. What a great idea!

I think I may incorporate that idea.
Thank you Justin.

[Bill Space]

Thanks for the input guys! Greatly appreciated!

For some reason it surprised me that the majority of opinions seem to favor cherry. Being woodworkers, perhaps that is not unexpected. I wonder what the response would be if the same question were asked to a group with different interests (non woodworkers)?

If I can maintain my curiosity I may make three small sample pieces and solicit opinions from friends and family who are not woodworkers, just to see what they prefer.

As mentioned in previous posts, cabinet design will be as important as wood choice. And whatever wood I decide to use will be more critical if I decide to sell the house rather than rent it. (I am thinking that renting is what I may do...)

Thanks again for for your Replies!

Bill

[Yonak Hawkins]

Toe kick lighting?? I like that. What a great idea!

I think I may incorporate that idea.
Thank you Justin.

It would look great, but it will show off dirt and dust on the floor if you don't keep it very clean.

I like cherry but I also like ash. Ash would make for a bright kitchen.

[Mel Fulks]

Somebody mentioned white painted cabinets are back in .I think Andy Rooney would say "Dijah ever notice....white cabinets are followed by stained cabinets? Why not green cabinets ...or yellow cabinets? Then you could just paint 'em..."

[Justin Ludwig]

Toe kick lighting?? I like that. What a great idea!

I think I may incorporate that idea.
Thank you Justin.

It's truly for novelty as far as I can tell. It also works great as a night light. Considerations - bottom rail width needs to hide the lighting strip. That depends on hardware chosen, whether or not you scribe the deck/bottom or flush it with the rail. 3/4" is all you need for most light rails.

[Rich Engelhardt]

I love cherry - that's what we have in our kitchen.

The dark color makes our small kitchen look 100 times smaller.

Let the size and style of the kitchen dictate the finish & style of the cabinetry.

Since younz is up Pittsburgh, younz might want go up 2001 Park Manor Boulevard, & see what they have.

[Peter Quinn]

Any of those 3 woods would make a beautiful set of cabinets. The "dated" oak that has been beat to death in Julie's thread isn't just about the Oak itself. Those old cabinets are bereft of style and design and accessories that fill kitchens today. I guarantee I could make a set of appealing cabinets out of Red Oak with Golden Oak or Fruitwood stains. Shy away from tombstone or cathedral upper doors coupled with 1/2" overlay. Unless I'm building on a very short budget, I won't design cabinets in 1/2" overlay. It's lazy, boring, and overused IMO. Try staggering the heights and depths of your uppers and possible some of the base cabinets. Integrate rollouts in all of your base cabinets and built a cookie sheet (cutting board, etc) rollout with dividers near the stove. Spice rollouts are popular and very handy (also near the stove or cooktop). Rev-a-shelf sells them for $250, order one or build your own. They're not hard to build. Trash can rollouts are very convenient. Put them next to the sink. I try to design kitchens with a workflow. Trash, sink, dishwasher or dishwasher, sink, trash (when space permits). It's a scrape the plate, rinse, dishwash. People love it.

Under upper lighting. Toe kick lighting. Toe kick valances. Tile accents. I can go on and on.

Very well stated. More than half the problem with red oak is that it's been used for so many nasty designs, or lack their of really. The other half the problem is I hate the color. Ash i find beautiful, but be cautious doing that one dead clear. Over time it tends towards green and yellow tones that can play badly against an amber clear finish. The wood oxidizes, the finish yellows...may become dated. I love cherry but not for every space. If the space isn't bright enough too much cherry can suck the life out of it rather than bring life to it. So take care to balance the natural color with windows, breaks of light colored wall space, pot lights, counters, what ever is necessary. If you build a man cave kitchen it might turn off the 55% of the population that makes most rental decisions. If you want to catch the widest swath and put distance between remodels I'm thinking painted soft maple or natural clear maple. Compared to the potential rent premium for a desirable space the cost of hardwood on a small kitchen is minimal, so to me what's on hand is only marginally relevant.

[rudy de haas]

Bill:

All other things being equal I'd pick cherry - but that's assuming it's American black or red cherry cut to show figure rather than grain. In reality, however, all things are not equal and beautiful cherry cabinetry in a home with mostly gyrock walls and MDF moldings would be wildly out of place and thus discordant - natural white ash would work much better in that environment. Bottom line? you have to pick both style and materials that are in character for the home, either as it is or as you plan on remaking it.

And, yes, toe kick lighting can be fun - I've also become much enamoured of led strip lighting. Again, however, it has to be consistent with the rest of the house (or, at least., the main floor) A translucent quartz countertop with embedded LED lighting will show as ridiculous in a kichen with traditional shaker style cabinets done in red oak with black handles.. (yech!)

[Gordon Eyre]

Alder is great to work with and is quite popular right now for cabinets.

[Daniel O'Neill]

It would look great, but it will show off dirt and dust on the floor if you don't keep it very clean.



I put toe Kick lights in our bathroom and they don't seem to show dirt too bad. The Kitchen might be a little different due to crumbs and such that naturally fall while cooking. I attached the GFI socket to a motion sensor switch so that the lights turn on when someone enters the bathroom. The Socket powers a clearance LED rope light that runs up and down the sides and under the toe kick. I could have gone a little cheaper because the line was already GFI from the previous outlet in the series but I figured a double protection for anyone in the bathroom. I highly recommend the toe kick lights with the motion sensor it really give a cool feel to the room. I have an electrician friend who did it in the bathrooms and kitchen of his house and it looks great.

[Julie Moriarty]

Cast another vote for cherry, especially if you're going natural.

[Peter Aeschliman]

Toe kick lighting?? I like that. What a great idea!

I think I may incorporate that idea.
Thank you Justin.

Me too! That's awesome.

[Justin Ludwig]

Around here, Alder is the new black. Select Alder (FAS) is about $2.50-$2.65 a bdft for contractors and cabinet guys. Knotty Alder is $1.50-1.75 a bd ft.

I've made 8 set of cabinets in Knotty Alder in the past year and half and 3 sets in Select Alder. Some call it the poor man's cherry. It's soft and easy to work, smells great, and stains easily.

[Larry Edgerton]

Ash will be like chestnut soon, just a thought......

[jonathan eagle]

Is it easy to say use this wood or that wood. The best thing is to look at actual examples. There is also the style of the cabinets. This is as important as the wood species.
Try to look at examples of wood and styles! Can't say that enough.

[Kent A Bathurst]

Late to the game.........

Rebuilt a kitchen. Cherry. Black granite. SOunds familiar, no?

THe one thing that was a real knockout, though - all the upper cabintes had true divided lite inset doors. Filled with stained glass. Looked great. Can't take crewdit for that design detail - that was my wife's call. Stained glass matched the stained glass in the A&C ceiling lite fixture.

Two cabinets held cookbooks - so those had clear antique repro glass.

Wish I had kept photos - been gone from there for 12 years.

[Mark Woodmark]

Why not go with what everybody else is doing and paint them white. You could use cheap wood (MDF and particle board) like the cabinet shops use and save the good stuff for something you wont tear out in seven years when it is out of style

[Mark Woodmark]

Wow, I mean Wow


Bill

We're redoing our kitchen in cherry. Floors are bubinga, center island/trestle is padauk. Cabinets will be Qsawn cherry rails and stiles with curly panels, with a natural finish. No indiscriminate face sawn wood. Cabinet interiors are maple. Overall theme is Greene and Greene based, with some nouveau lines.

[Mike Schuch]

From those three woods - CHERRY!

New Cherry cabinets look pretty nice. Aged Cherry cabinets with an oiled finish look terrific!

I went with Maple in my kitchen and have no regret's!

[Art Mann]

Cherry will turn a much darker reddish brown after a few years. I think it just gets more beautiful as time goes by. You just need to be aware that the color will change fairly dramatically unless you mask its ultimate beauty with stain to start with.

[Sean Tracey]

Toe kick lights work great when you have auto toe kick sweep and vacs. The sweep and vacs should be set to cycle when you turn the toe kick lights off. Probably worth it to spring for the mop option which comes on after the vacuum cycle. Wax and polish is probably pretensious.

[Chris Hachet]

Another vote for Cherry here.

[BOB OLINGER]

Ok, this thread got me thinking. We're in the midst of a kitchen addition; cabinets are very soon. We've been planning on oak. We have oak doors & trim, oak floors, oak plantation shutters in adjoining rooms; have beams of cedar stained moderately dark reddish brown. If we go cherry, is there any concern of conflicting woods given a prevalence of existing oak?

[Mark Blatter]

Personally, I say go with ash. It is different from oak, though not strikingly different, but still different and will hold up better than cherry. I love cherry particularly stained cherry, but you are looking to rent the place out. Cherry will take more of a beating, and it will show more too. Ash will hold up like iron and few dents or dings will even show up. You can go with darker counters and handles yet the kitchen will appear larger. In a 1200 sq ft house the kitchen is likely pretty small.

[Stan Calow]

what is the floor made of, and its color? That would help me decide. If floors are oak, for example, the cabinets have to either match or completely contrast. Tile floors, complimentary colors for the cabinets.

[mreza Salav]

I am doing ours with Walnut. The next contender was Cherry. Ash looks a lot like Oak and for the same reason the "dated" look....

[Leo Graywacz]

Alder is great to work with and is quite popular right now for cabinets.

That wasn't on the list so.....

If you want Oak, do quarter sawn white oak :rolleyes:

Otherwise I'd pick the cherry myself. But of course that's without seeing what the surroundings look like which might influence my choice, but I doubt it.http://img.contractortalk.com/smilies/whistling2.gif

[Lee Reep]

Bill,

Check out houzz.com

You can do searches that will help you see a variety of kitchens with different cabinets, in different finishes.

[Bill Space]

Hi All,

Thinking about it, as Mark Blatter pointed out above, this place will probably end up being a rental. So ash may make the most sense, especially since I have a lot of it, and it came from trees on the property(not that a renter would care).

I think I will save the cherry for our house, which needs a kitchen cabinet replacement soon(actually about ten years ago...or 20?). Although I do have enough cherry to do both kitchens and more.

Very interesting to to hear that when design is not part of the equation cherry seems to be the winner by far.

Thanks for for the continuing input!

Bill

[Bill Space]

Bill,

Check out houzz.com

You can do searches that will help you see a variety of kitchens with different cabinets, in different finishes.

Wow! There certainly is a lot of "food for thought" at the houzz site. Was surprised that my user name was already taken!

Bill

[Bill Space]

That wasn't on the list so.....

If you want Oak, do quarter sawn white oak :rolleyes:

Otherwise I'd pick the cherry myself. But of course that's without seeing what the surroundings look like which might influence my choice, but I doubt it.http://img.contractortalk.com/smilies/whistling2.gif

Ha, ha... White oak was not on the list either! ��

i wish i had had a stash of white oak! I think I may have one short log around. Hope I do...

Bill

[Daniel Moore]

Agree with some of those just above. Why use cherry if you are going to sell or rent. Go cheap but with a nice look.

[Alan Bienlein]

I was originally going to do mine in cherry but changed my mind when a better deal came up for some Pecan. Best decision I ever made as I feel cherry has been over done.

[Peter Aeschliman]

I missed the part about it being a rental. One word- Ikea. Keep the good stuff for something else!