Comments on: A Question about Refinishing Kitchen Cabinets

By: Bill

Bill — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 19:55:19 +0000

Judy – I think a darker wood for the cabinets would work well. Cherry or another smooth grained wood would be best. Oak is “grainy” and another grainy wood would compete with it. Cherry has a nice nature medium tone. But a bit of a stain may be nice to deepen the color and provide some more contrast with the oak. It’s hard for me to name actual stains. The names vary from one manufacturer to another. Ask the cabinet dealer if you can borrow full door samples of some colors you are considering and take them home to see how they look with your golden oak. The choice may become obvious.

By: Judy

Judy — Sun, 05 Dec 2010 17:17:10 +0000

Bill
Thank you for your website. So glad to find it. I am remodeling my kitchen. It was built in the 80′s. The floor plan is very open with lots of golden oak wood. I would like to reface my kitchen cabinets. They are currently golden oak and same color on the hardwood floors. The floors I could leave the same or change to a different color. I would also like to go darker. We have a large golden oak fireplace, oak staircase, and trim, in the living room, visible from the kitchen. My question is: can I go with darker brown cabinets with so much of the golden oak every where else. if it’s visible from the living room. Or would it be to much contrast? Also could you recommend a wood for the cabinets and stain color. Thank You so much I would love a change.
Judy

By: Johnny

Johnny — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 12:39:43 +0000

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By: Bill

Bill — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 01:58:31 +0000

Cindy – The #2 maple sounds like it will be more interesting than “normal” maple, which can look so uniform, it is almost artificial looking. The #2 maple will have more life to it. The quarter-sawn oak is a nice choice for the cabinets, but I would worry about plain sawn oak for the trim and doors. Some pieces of it could look very grainy, much more than your cabinets would. Can you get quarter-sawn oak for the trim and doors?

Cherry is a great wood with a beautiful grain pattern. The darkness will only be “medium” if you used cherry with no stain at all, just a sealer finish. The cherry will darken a bit as it’s exposed to light, but it will never get dark. This is the wood and finish I have in my kitchen in my own house. And just like the #2 maple, if you choose a grade of cherry that is less than “select,” it will have a lot of visual interest even have some light, sap-wood streaks.

If you want to match the cherry look in your doors and trim, a skilled painter can stain pine trim and doors to look like cherry. Have them prepare some samples for your review to make sure they know their stuff. They will probably need to seal the pine first and apply the stain over that. The sealer prevents the stain from soaking into the pine too deeply. Pine has a tendancy to soak up stain unevenly. The sealer it the secret to controlling this.

By: Cindy Holbrook

Cindy Holbrook — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 03:00:20 +0000

Thanks for the great site! We are building a new home with a Maple kitchen floor. It will have some light and some darker wood in the floor, not the uniform light Maple (I think it’s called #2 Maple?) We are debating going with a medium color Quarter Sawn Oak for cabinets and regular oak for trim and doors (a little worried about mismatching). OR a medium color Cherry cabinet with matching trim and doors. We don’t like really dark wood. Which of these would you suggest? And do you have a suggestion for stain for the Cherry so it isn’t too dark but compliments the Maple?

By: Bill

Bill — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 19:40:49 +0000

Diana – I agree that you can’t easily change the wood species and color if they join at a wide opening. But if they join at a doorway, even one up to six feet wide, you could install a flush threshold of another species, such as the dark cherry in your cabinets, to make a transition from one flooring color to the next. Another option is to install more oak in the new rooms and refinish the existing oak and finish the new oak to a less brown color. Choose a color that is more compatible with the dark cherry. A light colored oak could be very nice. But all wood floors take a beating with dogs, I’m sorry to say.

Tile would certainly work. I recommend porcelain tiles. They look great and are virtually indestructable. The dogs can’t hurt it. There are lots of “stone-look” tiles you can choose from. It’s a very high end material at a very nice price. But tile is hard underfoot You will probably want to put a small area rug in front of the sink so your legs don’t get tired when standing on the tile for extended periods of time. Or you could just get someone else to do the dishes!

By: Diana Killen

Diana Killen — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 17:25:57 +0000

Hi Bill!
I sure hope you can help me. We are renovating our kitchen. We have dark red cherry cabinetry. We would like to put wood in this room as well as the family room. What color and type of wood would you recommend. One problem we have is this wood would butt up to a medium oak floor. I really don’t think two kinds of woods would look right. I could put oak in the kitchen and fr but the oak is a brown tone and it would not look right with the red cherry cabinets. Any ideas? Or should I go with tile? I also have 4 dogs – would I have to worry about scratches if I go with wood? Thanks for your help.