I don't know if this is even possible, maybe one of the KD or more knowledgable can reply, but can you opt for a wood like birch or something which offers a more consistance grain and then stain them the natural cherry?

nordhavn, the white streaks are called sapwood. Unfortunately, you will see some in most semi lines. I would question the dealer about what he considers to be within acceptable limits.

While the lighter sapwood is part of "cherry" they don't need to be white-ish streaks. Your cabinet supplier is explaining his way out of his own, or his cabinet supplier's, limitations. (I'm not familiar with dacora).

The white-ish sapwood can be stained to match the heartwood (the wood you like) and make the cabinet one consistent color...if the person doing the staining knows what he/she is doing.

I'm just completing an order for my own near-natural cherry cabinets for a kitchen remodel. The "near natural" is due to a light amount of staining to blend the colors.

Find a local-custom cabinet maker..they should be able to help you.

Pauline, I have tried to find out what the limits are, and I have not been satisfied with the answers. I have been told that if it is really bad, they would send it back, but then they keep saying that "variation is natural". I do not mind some variation~ I just don't want it to look like hickory. And DH does not want to go with any stain, because he does not want to darken it, even though that might even the color variation out a bit.
guy~ What do you mean by a "near natural" stain? What company does that, or can I do it?

Find a cabinet line or custom cabinet maker who will only use heartwood, not sapwood - it will cost you more but you'll get what you want.

nordhavn,

You say DH does not want to "darken" the cabinets... does he know they WILL darken over time? Even if you do a light stain, it will really help conceal the white streaks. Looks much more blended. We looked at the same color (natural) but decided to go with a light stain for this reason. :)

"Near natural" is just using a light-colored stain...one is fruitwood, but there are other tones that lean toward red, yellow, or brown. If the cabinet finisher has to tone down the sapwood he/she may use a darker stain on the sapwood than what is used on the heartwood to deepen the color to match the heartwood....it the end it all blends together. This takes someone that's adept at wood finishing as opposed to someone that is adept at production-line cabinet building/finishing.

The easiest out for a production line builder is to say...sapwood is normal & you have to accept it.

Ditto on the cherry darkening by itself over time...it will. How much is hard to describe in print, but it'll be enough that a cherry panel exposed to normal ambient light, that has a wall hanging on it, ...when you remove the wall hanging you'll see the wood under the wall hanging will be noticably lighter.

I stepped off the cliff with the natural cherry months ago--hoping beyond hope that I hadn't screwed up by making that choice. With my delivery scheduled for today imagine my stress after reading this thread :) ! I'm happy to report, at least as far as the boxes that have been opened, I'm very very pleased with the consistency and finish. I have natural cherry with a low-sheen. I didn't know the difference between heartwood and sapwood until this thread so never asked that question...but the cabinet dealer did make me sign an acknowledgment before ordering that I knew "natural" finishes could result in "wild" variation. Yes, the term wild was in the agreement!
Anyhow, it worked out for me but it seems that knowing the information you now have, the sapwood/heartwood question would be an important one!

Here is a link that might be useful: You can see a couple of my natural cherry cabinets at the bottom of this thread (arrived today)

Berf~
Your house looks wonderful! I particularly like the way it looks like YOUR house~ not that I know you, but I mean that it has so much character! You are very clever.
I ordered the cabinets in natural cherry. I know they will darken. DH may or may not. He keeps saying he wants me to take care of the whole thing and then stepping in and telling me he wants X or Y. So I had originally opted for a slight stain, but he said he wanted them lighter. They will arrive lighter, he will love them, and he will continue to love them as time passes, even though they get darker. At least that's my plan!
I also know that if I had gone with a more expensive cabinet maker I could have specified no sapwood, but that is not in my budget.
If I ever figure out how to post photos of the before and after, I will do so. ANYTHING will be a vast improvement!

I love your plan for DH--I'm certain it will work!
Thanks for your kind words. Would love to see before and after shots when you get there...
Best,
B