You will get a lot more responses if you put a photo example of each. Many people don't know what each is but they know what they like when they see it :)

c - okay thanks, maybe tomorrow :)

The thing is...stain can be many colors! From deepest black to brightest green to honey....Wood species is an entirely different animal than stained wood. Some woods take stain better than others. Oak, hickory and cherry will stain beautifully, while birch and maple, in the wrong hands, can be splotchy and stain unevenly. I think your poll may be too open ended.

I would go for cherry, as oak shows a lot of grains and looks too busy. Hickory , I would prefer in country / cottage home. I prefer more even and subtle grains, which is seen better in cherry than maple. Also cherry can take dark stains better. I guess that's my personal preference.

I would be interested to know how well pine stains?

Pine stains very well...although there are some varieties that don't. Southern yellow pine is bad for stain. White pine, sugar pine and ponderosa pine stain well. Blue pine and the spruces and firs all take stain differently. It is a rare cabinet made out of pine though. I've seen more old knotty pine cabinets on Houzz in the last 6 weeks than I thought existed anymore! I actually like the idea of the English Deal pine cabinets I suggested for the Irish getaway...not common like cherry or oak.... Most of the old knotty pine installs are done with varnish or shellac, no stain. Shellac gives a yellow tint. It is made with the dissolved chitenous shells of a beetle, alcohol based it is easy to refresh with solvent alcohol.

Aniline dye stains are water based and offer pretty consistent results species to species...but they are pro level options.

It depends on if this is your forever home. If so, go with one of the more high-end woods. If not, maple or birch is fine, unless you live in an expensive house where buyers would expect more if you were to sell. Some of these woods show more variation and wood grain than others so that is just a matter of personal preference.

Thanks so much, everyone! I am wanting less wood grain / less variation, so am thinking maple .... but we don't want to mess it up either! So maybe cherry, as many of you suggest. Thanks for telling me that maple might be touchy to stain. We are hoping to do this ourselves. Want a darkish (but not too dark) stain color. Love natural wood and not painted, though painted looks great in many situations. And yes, this is our "forever home" because it's on 5 acres and we put up a huge outbuilding with concrete floor. So we are making improvements as we can on the small, basic house.....

To further what Ironwood said above about Analine - I came across an ideabook the other day about this and there are some amazing looking cabinets there.

https://www.houzz.com/magazine/pro-finishing-secret-aniline-dye-for-wood-stsetivw-vs~3668697

onthefence -- that's wonderful - thanks a ton for pointing that out!!

Glad you liked it Julie! I really like the grain of wood but I like color and something unusual as well. I've been finding some great alternative solutions here. A couple that I've saved here are Maple with Gray Stain and White Oak.

There's another one I've read about and can't remember the term right now. It's a treatment done on Oak. It turns the wood a white-ish gray. Looks almost a bit like driftwood.

Hi Julie, reading your requirements above, Cherry seems to be the right choice. Good luck.

Would love cherry if I can afford it .... thank you, Dezign. Doesn't cherry darken over time? .... does that mean I should stain them just a little lighter than I might want, to allow for some darkening over the years? Kitchen gets a good amount of east-side sunlight.

First choice cherry; second choice maple. But I'd do natural cherry, not stained. Let it darken over time (and yes, cherry does darken, so if you stain it go lighter).

All wood species age or change color after a certain period, although cherry is affected the most. A U.V inhibitor will slow the process. If you are getting a lot of light , hope it falls on all the cabinets, or you will find a difference in aging on different doors. Also if you add more cabinets after a year or two , the difference will be obvious. For that you may keep them in the sun (10 a.m - 4 pm ) before installing them. Staining and toning is another solution to minimize the effects. I'm having second thoughts , whether Cherry is the best option for your kitchen with this information of having a good amount of east-side sunlight in your kitchen . Although all wood age over time, maybe Maple , your second choice may be a better choice , although you may have to add some window treatments , for more protection from U.v rays.

Dezign and feeny - thanks a ton! Tips are so excellent! We have made decision to go with maple. Wish us luck!

Good luck ! post the after pics.

Anxious to get moving on this project!

Have been out doing a lot of looking and pricing. Looks like it will be maple, professionally stained/finished. Thanks for your help!

You r welcome ! Keep us posted.

Good to know, bubblyjock. Thanks!

First choice would be English Brown Oak Solids for the door frames and drawer fronts. With natural Italian Olive wood door panels. The one I am working on at the moment is similar. It is Rift Cut American White Oak solids for the drawer fronts and door frames stained with Old masters American Walnut. The door panels are in Spalted American maple natural. Attached photo is some of the doors currently in finish.

I just voted a random one because I like white painted wooden ones

Just fitted the set of doors in Rift Cut White Oak with Spalted Maple panels that I posted on tuesday. More to follow on this project.