Wood Cabinets Make a Kitchen Design: Here's How to Utilize Them

The wood cabinets in your kitchen form the backbone of the entire design. When you are looking to remodel your kitchen you need to configure the cabinets in order to make the most use of your kitchen size and its layout. You also want to make sure that you can maximize the use of your wood cabinets. Wood cabinets in your kitchen serve a dual purpose.  Their first purpose is to do what cabinets are supposed to do, and that is to store stuff out of sight. The second role of wood cabinets in your kitchen is to provide an aesthetic lift.  Other than your countertops, your wood cabinets are going to be the most expansive feature in your kitchen.  As such, when you are designing your wood cabinets you need to keep in mind the layout and look that you want, select the right type of materials, and ensure that it goes with the overall feel and design that you are trying to achieve. The best way to get the cabinets that will meet your dream kitchen requirements is to work with a professional designer who can lay all of the options out for you so that you can make an educated decision as to what kind of wood cabinets you need in your kitchen.

It is important to remember that wood cabinets in your kitchen primarily have a function to fulfill. With this in mind, you need to choose a style of wood cabinets that are going to fit all of your belongings, provide you with the right amount of space, and still give you the look that you desire. Currently, European-style frameless wood cabinets are extremely popular. This is because these European-style wood cabinets afford more storage than the traditional rail-style cabinets that have often been found in U.S. kitchens.

Since we are talking about the function of cabinets, it is important to note that many cabinets are now coming with soft-close drawers and doors. If you are interested in this, you should ask about the cost of having soft-close drawers and doors because sometimes it is an add-on cost with certain models of wood cabinets. For even more sophistication, you can go with touchless cabinets which are currently considered a luxury item, but experts believe will eventually move into the mainstream. This is a great application and very convenient for waste or recycling drawers.

Added Features

There are some features you should consider adding to the cabinets in your kitchen, which will increase function their functionality. For example, in order to counter the dead space in the far back corner of your cabinets, you can request a pie-cut corner base cabinet that pulls out and utilizes the space or has an old-fashioned Lazy Susan installed. A Lazy Susan spins around and brings stored items from the back to the front of the wood cabinets. Similarly, you should consider getting fully adjustable door hardware which allows us to adjust the doors so that the gap between them is uniform. Additionally, we can hide any of the under-cabinet lighting features that you may want to be installed.

To discuss your new kitchen design, give us a call.

Tips for Picking Out Wood Cabinets

Our wood cabinets are made from select hardwoods that will last a lifetime. If you are remodeling or building a kitchen or multipurpose room in your home, there will come a time when you must pick out what type of wood cabinets you would prefer. We recommend only choosing cabinets of the highest quality materials that will perform well and look classy for years to come. Some of the categories you should take into consideration during your decision process are hardness, grain, and color.

Hardness

The hardness of your wood cabinets is important, because when you invest in an attractive, long-lasting wood option, you want it to withstand the damage from daily use, children, and even moving appliances around. While Brazilian walnut wood is the hardest you can find; the commonly used white pine is the softest. You will want to consider how trafficked your kitchen is when you determine the hardness of your wood cabinets. The hardest wood option may not be necessary for your uses, but you could instead choose a wood of medium hardness. Some popular options that fall into this “medium” category that are often chosen for cabinets are yellow pine, American walnut, cherry, silver maple, and African mahogany. A widely popular hardier option is either the white or red oak. When you visit to discuss your wood cabinets with us, we can help you scale out what level of hardness you need so you can more easily narrow down your choices.

Grain

Our solid wood cabinets and even our veneers have variations of grain. Different trees are unique in design and beauty, and our fine wood cabinets created from these trees carry on their attractive attributes. Some grain is strong, colorful, and distinct, and it will show through any finish you put on it— This is common with oak cabinets. Other options like walnut or maple wood will have fine grain patterns that are lighter in color. The grain you choose depends entirely on your taste. With some woods, the grain can be muted down quite a bit by the shade or finish you choose.

In addition to grain, all of your wood cabinets will come with their very own unique characteristics like small holes from bird pecks or worms and knots. These characteristics are not only interesting to admire, but they are also proof that you have chosen a sophisticated and genuine solid wood option for your cabinets.

Color and Shade

While choosing a color for your wood cabinets is important, even if you decide on an option like yellow pine, which is lighter in color, you can stain and finish it to look darker. Some woods even darken over time rather than fade. For example, a cherry wood will already have a reddish, dark hue to it, but it will also soften and become darker with age. In this case, you should choose a lighter finish as to not overpower the color. As you are narrowing down your wood cabinets, ask for more information about how the wood will fade or darken with age. This will help you better determine an appropriate stain and color choice. Some woods may even require a heat shield to keep them from changing color due to radiation from the oven and stove.

While you are considering your options for wood cabinets, you may have more questions. You can call or visit us for more information about all of your options so that you can pick the best choice for your home.

Here is Everything You Need to Know About the Types of Wood Cabinets

When you think about wood cabinets, more often than not, kitchen cabinets come to mind because kitchens tend to require the most storage space. However, cabinets are more than just storage units. With thousands of options to choose from, wood cabinets can reflect your personality, your taste, and your sense of style and, at the same time, fit into most budgets. Most wood cabinets can be fit into a few categories such as framed or frameless, stock or custom made, traditional, country, or modern. They can be made of hardwood, softwood, wood veneers or other materials.
Solid Wood
Because solid wood cabinets are not only extremely versatile but have a timeless appeal, they have become the most popular and sought after material used for cabinetry. Wood looks warm and inviting, comes in a vast array of enticing options that can work beautifully well with any décor.
Different woods are priced differently, depending on their availability, point of origin, durability and overall appearance. When choosing your wood option, it all comes down to three important details, type, color, and grain.
Wood is largely classified as hardwood or softwood. Hardwood comes from broad-leafed trees such as birch, oak, maple, cherry and hickory and are easy to saw. Softwood comes from needle bearing evergreen trees such as pine, spruce, and cedar and are harder to cut.
From the lighter touches of maple to the darker hues of birch, all woods have natural color variations, which can result in a number of attractive possibilities for the room you are decorating. Different wood finishes can either enhance or mask the natural grain patterns and color variations. When selecting wood options that will suit your home, it is important to understand the natural characteristics of the wood you will choose and which varnish or stain will work best.
Some Of The Popular Options in Solid Wood Cabinets

• Oak.  For years, oak was a favorite among cabinet builders because it is a very hard, durable, heavy wood with a coarse grain that varies from straight to distinctive sweeping arch patterns. Many consider oak to be timeless, blending with virtually any color scheme or style. Oak also stains well with standard finishes.
• Maple. Recently, maple has become more popular choice because of how adaptable it is to any cabinet style, how durable and shock resistant it is. Maple is a medium to hard wood with a straight, wavy or curly grain and has a uniform, light appearance that produces a smooth, clean look when stained. Its popularity can also be attributed to the fact that it can be finished to resemble other, more expensive woods such as cherry and cedar. Maple would be a great option if you were looking for a light, airy kitchen or a dramatic kitchen with darker finishes.
• Birch.  This is a smooth hardwood with a straight, curly or wavy grain. It is especially resistant to wear and tear and is susceptible to most stains and finishes. Birch is relatively light in color and can vary from cream to yellow tones unless it is taken from the core of the tree. If from the center of the tree, birch will have darker reddish to brown tones. It is extremely versatile and looks equally at home in a casual or more refined setting.
• Hickory.  This is a strong, hard and heavy wood. It is unique, in as much that it has an array of random, colored streaks that run through the wood.  These streaks can range from light cream, dark reddish browns to sometimes nearly black, all of which can be enhanced by light or natural stains.
• Cherry.  Recently cherry has become more popular.  It is well known for its smooth grain and unique pinkish color that deepens as it ages into the more reddish brown tones. Depending on the how much light exposure it receives, cherry wood will tend to darken several shades over time. The darker tones tend to add a warm elegance to any room.  Cherry is considered a luxury wood and is a little more costly.

Mahogany, ebony, walnut, and teak are considered more exotic woods and are, therefore, far more expensive.
With the never ending variety of wood cabinets to choose from, finding ones that match your personal style, decor, and budget, is not very difficult.  We can help you to select the perfect set of wood cabinets for your home.