Natural wood kitchen cabinets offer several positives not found with other materials. Our modern kitchens use stainless steel and glossy finishes. The natural warmth, texture, and durability of wood provides the perfect visual contrast. Also, any well-built quality wood cabinet will last for decades. Plus, they can be stained to highlight the wood grain or painted to a smooth, lasting finish. Following is an overview of the available hardwood choices…
Birch is a medium density hardwood with a tight grain and smooth surface texture. It takes paints and stains very well. Also birch trees are in plentiful supply, making this choice of wood relatively inexpensive compared to, say, cherry. Red and white birch are not different species. They in fact come from the same Yellow Birch tree. However, red birch is the heartwood of the tree, while white birch is…
Clear Alder is a light hardwood with no knots, having a grain pattern similar to Cherry. It is characterized by light brown and reddish undertones. It has a straight and even-textured wood grain with indistinct boundaries between the heartwood and the sapwood. Clear Alder accepts stain evenly, often making it indistinguishable from Cherry in appearance. Knotty Alder (also known as Rustic Alder) has a more dramatic grain and often contains…
Cherry is a multicolored hardwood. It is characterized by red undertones but varies in color from white to a deep rich brown. Because cherry wood is light sensitive, it will darken with age. This gives the species a rich, warm and lustrous patina. This characteristic makes cherry wood cabinets much sought after. Cherry has a smooth, close-grained appearance with a fairly uniform texture and random markings. While small pin knots,…
This is the second in our series of occasional posts on the various species of wood that are used in the manufacture of cabinetry. Maple is a medium to hard close grained wood with a straight, wavy or curly grain. In its natural state it is off- white in color. It may also have light brown and pink hues. Occasionally there will be some mineral veining that will darken staining. Maple…
