Software
Houzz Logo Print
malsh_k

Having a hard time selecting kitchen cabinets

10 years ago

We are building a new kitchen and I'm having a hard time selecting the brand, wood and stain. In our current house we have cherry and I do love the color but after looking at the same color for 13 years now I want something different in the new house. I thought we'll go with maple but I haven't found a stain on maple that I love, everything lighter is jut meh. I also like Alder or Hickory after seeing the following 2 pictures.

This is Hickory, I love this but DH doesn't like slab and I don't know whether it would look good in shaker style.

Calmar · More Info

This is Alder, I have no idea what stain this is. We both like this but I'm concern the Alder color might not be a good match for Quartz oakmoor which we like on the island and we might go with a solid counter top for the rest of the counter top.

We got a quote for Cabico unique line at $19,000 including handles, roll outs and super susan. Countertop will be another $5700 approx. looking at the Cabico site I saw their Hickory door but the veins are vertical and not horizontal so I don't know whether we can achieve the above look.


Hickory door vs Alder


Floor will be tiled, most probably with a tile that looks like wood floors.

These are few of the other kitchens that I love. I don't know what material this is. Help me figure out which wood or stain to go with please.


Artsy Craftsman - Mill Valley · More Info


La Jolla Kitchen · More Info

Comments (12)

  • PRO
    10 years ago

    I think stained cabinets with tile that looks like wood, is a bit too much. I much prefer the picture with the lighter floor. I'm not a huge fan of stained cabinets, but when done in a contemporary kitchen with a slab door, it can be stunning. Not crazy about stained wood for Shaker.

  • 10 years ago

    take a look at Innermost at Lowes...very similar to your inspiration pics. You show "country" with your individual two doors put up in your post, yet the rooms you like are soft modern with slab doors and some modern elements. I'm confused....but look at Innermost and see what you can do with their quartersawn oak, etc. I like the room scenes better than the two doors shown.

  • 10 years ago

    Herbflavor, the very first kitchen(with blue wall) is Hickory cabinets, which is why I was interested in the Hickory door.

    I like the Alder wood and the color of the door but in shaker style but then I'm not sure whether it'll go well with Oakmoor slab. Also how strong Alder cabinets would be as its softer than Maple. I will check out Lowes, thank you.

  • 10 years ago
    last modified: 10 years ago

    Your first picture that you say is hickory is not your typical hickory kitchen. I would doubt that treatment is available from a semi custom source. It looks to be matched veneer applied horizontally. The sample piece of hickory you show is the typical hickory look.

    Your second picture of alder may be natural, with only a clear coat applied. It is very close to the natural color of alder. If you choose alder, be sure you specify the grade. The pictures you have of alder are rustic or knotty alder, but if you are going for a modern look, you will want a select grade.

    Why do you want shaker style, when all your inspiration pictures are slab?

    ETA: it may be helpful to add a pic of your chosen counter choice.

    Check out walnut, it looks great in a modern slab kitchen.

  • 10 years ago

    I wish I had higher quality pictures with better lighting -- these are Starmark Maple in Cappucino stain.

  • 10 years ago

    @nancyjwb: it's not that I like the slab door, What I like is the strip look in my inspiration pictures but I feel that stripy look only goes well with the slab door. If I'm unable to get the stripy look then I definitely won't go with a slab door, then my pick is shaker style. I like the simplicity of the shaker door. But like you said that hickory door I saw in Cabico website is not the one in my inspiration pictures. Cabico Unique is a full custom line. I never looked into walnut, but now I will. The Alder cabinets in the second picture, how do I find which grade that is?

    This is my preferred countertop for the island, I love this, and a solid counter top for the rest. But I must say the couple of pics I've seen of kitchens with Oakmoor looks totally different to me.


    This is a kitchen with Oakmoor counters.

    Schaumburg Elegance · More Info

    So if I were to give up on Hickory would this counter top go with Alder cabinets like in the second picture?

    @arielvetica: thank you for the picture. I don't think we'll be happy with a dark stain. And like in the picture I find most stains on maple looks very flat. I like the shiny bright look in the second picture.

  • 10 years ago

    I think you definitely need to look at walnut. And the problem is a striped wood with a shaker door style will probably wind up looking very busy and not work as well together as with a slab door. I would definitely rethink the idea of a striped wood with shaker doors.

  • 10 years ago

    Cpartist, yeah I have to agree, I had doubts but I guess I was hoping there's a slightest possibility. Thank you.


  • 10 years ago

    It doesn't look like Cabico offers a walnut cabinet. I'm going to have to look into another cabinet place.

    If the walnut option doesn pan out, do you think this counter top will go with this cabinet?

  • 10 years ago

    FWIW my cabinets are not a dark stain, it's just a dark picture because I have a bad camera and my kitchen has northern windows. The stain sample is almost the same as the last picture you posted, if you can believe it!

    Your inspiration pictures look to have lots of direct sunlight--if your kitchen has any less, when you do finally pick your stain you may want to go a shade lighter. :)

  • 10 years ago

    Arialvetica my kitchen is facing the west but doesn't get much light in, while I will have 3 windows in the new kitchen area I don't know how much lighting it would bring. That's why I want to stay away from dark cabinets. But I'm having such a hard time figuring out which color stain or wood to go with. Something light and with a bit of shine I guess. And I want to see the actual slab of Oakmoor, I feel like the look in the picture seems very different to the actual slab.