I have natural maple in Millspride... the cheapo HD brand. They've replaced it with Distinctions I believe. Mine are about 7 years old and extremely yellow. I would not do natural maple again.

Many woods we have in our home (oak, maple and cherry furniture), etc fade or darken over time- depending on the finish, species, etc. We love what time and sunlight and oxygen does to cherry and to oak, but to the maple not so much- don't know why.

The natural maple cabinets in my previous home became more golden over time, but I expected it and liked it. A layer of glaze probably would slow the change but I wouldn't count on it if you really don't like the yellow tone.

do you think the tone of the glaze would matter, ie, darker glazes to cause the wood to fade more slowly?

"do you think the tone of the glaze would matter, ie, darker glazes to cause the wood to fade more slowly?"

My first thought was that darker glazes hide the effects of the fading better, causing the faded and un-faded parts to look more similar to each other. Or at least that is my very non-expert guess.

Hi Chris2009 -- In my last kitchen re-do (1999) I put in natural maple cabinets (Cabico) and natural birch cabinets (IKEA Adel Birch)and at first they looked great, very pale and simple and contemporary, which is what I wanted. Our house gets a tremendous amount of sunlight, and now all the cabinets are a pukey yellow. I'm itching to remodel again (to switch from LP gas to induction, not just because of the cabinets), and I won't choose natural maple or birch again, ever. Hope this helps,
rcvt

Thanks rcvt...you have confirmed my suspicions. I should have realized that maple cabinets would react the same as my maple hardwood floors, which have, of course, changed color drastically since installed seven years ago.

We need something bright, as the room has low ceilings and is a little dark. At the moment we are now looking at a two-tone concept: cream cabinets on top and maple-spice on the bottom.

Just out of curiosity...if anyone has tried the two-tone concept, which color combinations did you choose and did it work out?

The maple cabinets in my new kitchen are (were) quite hideous after 11 years, our kitchen is south facing & the cabinets were a sickly yellow colour. I painted them as I'm not going to bother changing them out.
As for your second question, my last kitchen was two toned, cream on top, green bases.
Good luck!
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thanks - the cream / green combo is first on our list, but we can't quite afford the manufacturer (KraftMaid), so unless we want to try and match brands, it looks like cream uppers and maple/spice bottoms will have to do. Love the pics.

Hmm. I gotta chime in... the maple wood is not culprit in the yellowing debacle - its the finish. You can see this especially on hard wood floors that have used an oil-based poly. If you use water-based poly you don't get the yellowing - although it's more brittle so less durable. If you resanded your floors and finished them with water based, they'd be like new. If you want the clear finish to stay on your cabinets you'd have to make sure you had the proper finish.

That said, your cream/spice combo will be stunning!

I agree about the finish thing - and with American Woodmark, who can be sure what is used to seal the wood. Thanks for the vote of confidence on our new color choice, it's a last-minute change in direction that has us a wee bit nervous. It's good to see so many two-tone designs surfacing.

bethv - I have new maple cabinets. How can I tell if I have the proper finish?

FYI - we have 6 yr old Kraftmaid natural cabinets (custom) inherited from the PO. Bought new appliances & had to order a new, deeper cab for over the stove/microwave. After > 2 mths, the cabinet came and it was BLONDE not "yellow" as the older cabinets. Thankfully, the store ordered the wrong dimensions so we were able to send it back, but now we are crushed...new microwave that is still in the box mths later! No fan over the stove! Unfortunately, the fan for the stove is under the microwave or I'd just buy a vent hood or something.

Can't find a mix 'n match (maple + darker cabinets) that uses maple. I found an article on the WWW where one can set the cabinet out in the sun to age it and check it hourly until it is the shade to match our other. Has anyone else tried this?

Also found different advice from sanding and refinishing to tainting shellac and can honestly say am not remotely interested in those, i.e., we're at the tail end of major renovations (inside & out)& just do not have the will to start another project. New - matching - kitchen cabinets were not part of the budget.

Any words of wisdom are appreciated.

We have maple cupboards made by KraftMaid, They were installed by PO sometime prior to 1997. I love the rich color of the aged maple. I do not consider it faded, rather I consider the color deepened, and made better. We did remodel in 2003 and added a pantry to the kitchen, again, KraftMaid, natural maple. Yes, the initial color was pale, not the same color as the others. Today it matches the rest. I did not notice when it caught-up with the others, but it did so just fine.

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I wonder if there is a halt point to the color change? It seems so, but I see nowhere where it is discussed.

We are weighing similar choices about natural maple cabinets. I generally like how wood ages, but we've never had maple and I'm worried I don't know what people who don't like older maple are experiencing. Photos from anyone with experience would be really helpful! Thank you all so much!