It all depends on what the MDF is coated with.

By itself it looks pretty bad.
It is normally hidden behind a surface.

Anything from printed 'wood,' sheets of Formica, Melamine, etc.

Some higher grades of MDF can take paint and leave a decent surface, but lower grades look like hell unless covered with something more substantial.

These upper doors are MDF with a spray paint finish (either BM oil base or FPE oil base) and they are satin-smooth. The edges were treated with autobody filler type stuff since the flat surface takes paint but the edge surfaces can be sponges to paint.

Parts of these doors are MDF:

In the custom millwork division of our shop. we always use MDF for the center panels of a raised or flat panel door and on the wainscott panels- If they are to be painted. The MDF doesn't "move" like a solid wood center panel, helping keep the paint from cracking at the joints. The finish is smooth and uniform.

Linda - www.acwkitchens.com

Here is a link that might be useful: Architectural Custom Woodwork

I think the fakiness of MDF depends a lot on the surface. The kind that pretends to be open-grained wood is awful, but otherwise with a painted finish it's the paint job that determines fake looking or not, not the actual material. I've seen real wood look pretty fake, too, with some commercial painted finishes.

When I was looking at cabinets, I saw some nicely painted MDF cabinets. I thought that they were wood until I was corrected by the salesman. I don't remember what the brand was as they sold a few different brands there.

Have you looked into getting cabinets made by Amish people? Especially in a house of your vintage, that's something to consider. There are Amish pretty much all over the country (though there's a big concentration in the midwest and northeast), and the quality-to-price ratio is just amazing. They were cheaper than midrange Home Depot when I got a quote, and we're talking handmade cabinets with furniture-grade plywood boxes, solid wood doors and dovetailed drawers with soft-close slides.

Good Amish cabinet link below... if they don't serve your area they probably can point you to someone who does:

Here is a link that might be useful: Mullet Cabinet (Amish in Ohio)

MDF is also used as a substrate for wood veneer. MDF is very flat and stable, which is why makers like it, and why it has that plasticy look.

If you're looking at painted cabinets, however, the plasticy look can also come from the factory paint job. It's supposed to be a lot more durable than brush painted, but it creeps me out. You can get that kind of paint on either MDF or close grained, paint ready plywood and not be able to tell which is which from looking. If that's the problem, the answer is to have the cabinets brush painted instead of factory sprayed. Then the surface isn't flat and slick.

Are you by chance thinking of the Therma-Foil finishes? Those tend to look like plastic. I dont have a link off hand but if you look it up, that's probably what you have seen in MDF.

My hubby is a cabinet maker - and is doing our cabinet door panels in MDF. As someone above mentioned it's pretty much the industry standard. They can be venered with wood.. or painted in any color.

HTH
~ D ~

Absolutely not! Our white kitchen cabs are painted mdf...not plasticky at all. Our stained cabs are maple though...I think you can only get away with it with painted cabinets. Our finish isn't too glossy...I think it's 20% gloss if I remember correctly.

Redroze- I love your white cabinets!! They are beautiful! Who makes them? How expensive were they? More info if you please!! ;)

Newbie - thanks! They were done by a custom company in Toronto, Canada. They were an excellent deal as it was the uncle of a friend.

Thank you SO MUCH for all of the responses! I've certainly learned a lot about what to look for in MDF cabinets. Thanks for the pics and links, very educational!

If you can afford wood, I would go that way. More character as they age. Fits better in an older home. Humidity in a kitchen, especially over a stove, could affect MDF more than it would wood.

Thanks to all, think I will try to adjust my budget to afford wood (although the MDF pics you've posted are lively).

You might be looking at cabinet doors that are not painted at all but rather have a "resonated thermo-foil" formed and adhered to the shape of the door.

Some manufacturers offer a "paint grade" specie which uses MDF for things like the center panel of the door (MDF in this application is not only less expensive, it won't shrink or swell with seasonal changes). In this case, other true hardwoods are used for the part of the door known as the frame and this hardwood would also be used for the cabinet frame. The rest of the cabinet shouldn't be much different from the material used for the cabinet box for other species.

When all of this is painted, it should not look like plastic at all.

Probably will save around 10% buying a painted finish on paint grade (with MDF) vs painting something like maple.

Here is a link that might be useful: MDF used in paint grade cabinets