If you choose wood, you have the choice of solid wood or wood veneer. The latter is cheaper and is less influenced by weather conditions.
The humidity and temperature outside have an effect on your solid wooden kitchen doors, but the biggest influence comes from the changes in temperature and humidity in the kitchen.
Veneer can also give a more uniform look to the fronts (if this is what you want) as the pieces of wood used are cut from a larger piece in thin strips to cover all the doors.
Wood itself is available in all kinds of colors, but it can also be glossed, painted, colour washed or waxed to give it the finish you prefer. Look at the pictures on this site and on the Internet for more ideas and examples.
Cabinet Woods
Pine:
Has a casual, rustic look, some graining, color variation and knotholes. It is the softest of cabinet woods, so hinges may need to be tightened periodically as they tend to pull out of the wood after use.
Oak:
Has a casual look, a lot of graining and an even color tone when stained. It is a very hard wood and looks great in many styles, especially a mission style.
Hickory:
Is very grainy and has a lot of color variation with a natural finish. Once a stain color is applied the variations tend to even out in color. Hickory also has a rustic feel to it.
Birch:
Birch has a very fine rather swirly grain and is very even in tone without much color variation. It is very pretty when done in a natural finish and in a reddish stain it can have the look of cherry wood (without the higher price). Lighter brown or golden stains tend to look patchy. Birch wood looks good on any style door because of its fine grain.
Maple:
Maple wood is most popular in a natural finish and is very similar in appearance to birch wood. Like birch, maple can also appear patchy in certain stain colors but has a very even tone and grain. It looks great in a variety of door styles. It is used most often on Shaker style doors.
Cherry:
Cherry wood has very distinctive graining and the color variation is great when used in a natural finish. In one door alone you can get color variations from blond to deep red. A stain helps to even this out, but cherry looks best in its natural state. If you don't like wood variation then don't select cherry as your cabinet wood.
These are the most widely used woods in cabinets although there are other choices such as ash, mahogany, red birch and walnut. These woods are more expensive, harder to find and are mainly used in furniture pieces.
Stains and Colors
There are endless effects you can achieve with stains, colors and glazes. Stains range from clear sealers, which allows the wood's natural color and grain variations to show through, to a very dark walnut stain. You have your choice of blondes, browns and red-based stains. You can also use colored stains in green, country blue and red.
A cabinet frame can be finished in one color and the door in another. Some companies offer glazes, which come in white or browns. Doors can also be distressed to create an old, worn look. The options and color combinations are only limited by your imagination and budget.
