Design Input Wanted

[Mike Hollis]

We have this dead corner (HVAC ducting in the bumpout causing this), and SWMBO wanted a coffee bar built. I built the shelves and countertop out of some 8/4 hickory, and she wanted the cabinet itself painted a matte black (might be going with satin because it is such a black hole of color).

Anyhow, now it is time to build the raised panel door. My 3 options are:

- Stiles, rails, and panel black to match
- Stiles and rails out of hickory, panel black to match
- Everything made out of hickory.

I am partial to hickory stiles and rails and a black panel, SWMBO is ambivalent.

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Thanks for any and all help.

[Paul F Franklin]

My $.02 (and worth even less): I'd go with all black.

But why not build it all out of hickory, dry fit it and set it in place. If you like it, glue it up and finish it. If not, Paint the panel. If you don't like that, paint the rails and stiles.

[Jim Reffner]

Agree with Mr. Franklin.

[Gary Ragatz]

Not a fan of all black. I'll offer another option, based on what I saw in a friend's kitchen a couple of weeks ago. She had (moss?) green cabinets and the doors were edge-banded (maybe 1/8" or 3/16") with a light colored wood - might have been maple. It was subtle, but broke up the solid green in a classy way. Hers were slab doors, but no reason you couldn't do the same with a rail-and-stile door.

[Mike Hollis]

Not a fan of all black. I'll offer another option, based on what I saw in a friend's kitchen a couple of weeks ago. She had (moss?) green cabinets and the doors were edge-banded (maybe 1/8" or 3/16") with a light colored wood - might have been maple. It was subtle, but broke up the solid green in a classy way. Hers were slab doors, but no reason you couldn't do the same with a rail-and-stile door.

To be sure I’m following you, you’re saying to make the door all black, with the exception of some hickory edge banding around the outside edge of each stile and rail?

[Lee Schierer]

Hickory is a really nice wood to work with and show. If you are going to paint it black why not use yellow poplar or soft maple.
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[Gary Ragatz]

Yes, that's the idea. I thought it created a nice contrast that broke up the solid green and visually set the doors off from the cabinet frames. I'm thinking you'd build the doors slightly undersized, paint, sand the paint off the edges of the rails and stiles and glue on the edge-banding. Maybe pre-finish the surfaces of the edge-banding that won't get glued.

And to Lee's point, you could make the rails and stiles out of another wood and just use the hickory for the edge banding.

[Tom Bender]

One way to add interest might be to add constellations of stars using small brass nails. These would invite a closer look and flights of imagination, 'out of the box'