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.
