I vote for Birch

Birch is a more modern choice. Adding hardware to cabinetry can extend their life.

It comes down to if you like wood grain showing or not. Oak = yes Birch = not as much

Birch as well!

Birch. It's smooth and timeless. Oak is dated and ugly imnsho.

My hubby like oak because of the grain and he thinks its better. But I like the look of birch. I told him oak is fine since its standard and we don't have to pay extra. But I think it's worth the extra $.

Hi leahladd, Congrats on your kitchen remodel ! Go with Birch. :)

Ok birch it is. Any suggestions what kind of granite countertops that would look good on it? I'm also considering quartz...

Thanks guys:-), with all the decision making that comes with building a house it gets a Lil overwhelming, but I'm sure it's all worth it!

Birch is a nice closed grain wood (smooth to the touch). Oak is an open grain wood (you feel the grain). Oak is a harder and more dense than birch making it more resistant to scratching and splitting. I see oak coming back to popularity next year in very dark stains. Look at quarter sawn oak if your home décor is more rustic. This would most likely be an upgrade to the standard oak from your builder but looks very nice.
Birch has been used in kitchen and bath cabinetry for many decades and will hold up just fine. Like maple, it stains well and should always be in style.

Leahladd - quartz tops are terrific, but start to think now about the whole house palette. You will want contrast, something light - so then you are looking at off-whites and they come in a ton of different undertones. Think about your whole home - what color is your upholstery? what tones are you drawn to in art or walls - warm tones or cool tones? with the tone of cabinet you showed us above, you can do many different things but the main thing is this - warm or cool? That will help guide you.

Definitely birch. It will look more stylish today and be better for resale in the future as well. Your husband may like the heavy visible grain on oak, but many buyers don't. Quarter sawn oak is a totally different matter, and is gorgeous in Craftsman style kitchens, but that would be more expensive than the birch I suspect.

Thanks for the tip libradesigneye.

Birch would so be worth the upgrade fee! Don't ever skimp on costs for your kitchen cabinets or countertops, if you can afford it. This is one of the most important rooms in a house as far as re-sale.

p.s. The Birch looks much more upscale!

Definitely, NOT OAK ! : > )

anything but oak.

What stain? The one pictured?

For countertops, find a fabricator in your local area and go to their warehouse with at least a color in mind. It will give you idea of the possibilities and you might just find something you love.

How much more is the birch? Are you paying cash for upgrade or financing it for 30 years? Is it really the where you want to spend the money while building? There is nothing wrong or dated about oak cabinets. Don't feel pressured to upgrade everything in your new home at once. Focus on mechanicals and structural things, cabinets can always be upgraded later. For sure in 5-7 years you will want something "newer" anyway.

Hi,
A quick note about our experience: Brigitte and I consistently design between 70-90 kitchens/year (for over 34 years) and have designed thousands of kitchens.....We also design full structural including below-grade foundation plans.....We have 2 Chicagoland locations and a Michigan location which cover the Wisconsin to Indiana borders, N.W. Indiana and S.W. Michigan.....Anyway, we spend most of our installers time on oak cabinetry demo/haul!.....No question about it-go with the Birch.....John & Brigitte

Whether you are paying cash or financing the upgrades, the cost is still a relevant issue. In general, I don't believe in financing anything which is not expected to outlive the length of the financing...so, if you're buying a house on a 30 year mortgage, don't borrow money to buy items which you will want to replace in a few years time.

The best bet is to upgrade to classic materials, styles and quality which will last you for decades, not years. My mother designed a kitchen almost 50 years ago which is still a functional design and now works well for my brother and his wife. The appliances and faucets have been changed and a pantry added, but the original birch cabinets still look nice. I know that the cost of that kitchen was a significant expense, but buying quality products pays off when you don't need to replace them after just a short time

I have a question, is this in a neighborhood with a developer and he gives you a few choices to pick from, or are you working with a custom builder? If you are working out of a developer showroom, I would take pictures of the options and get suggestions here.

I love the birch, and the door style. There is a reason why it's an upgrade, it's just so darn pretty!

Birch.

Birch.

BIRCH!!!!! *or Knotty Alder

Iamjudy, yes it has that dark stain its called midnight.

Ikdrew, the cabinet guy said its about 10 percent more for birch than oak, we are paying cash on all the upgrades.

I am working with a custom builder, we have a certain budget for the cabinets and we can go with whatever we want. He has built a bunch of houses before but he doesn't have a show room.

It seems that birch is the way to go then. It is all relative and it will be all upgrades as you build. He should have some sort of showroom, or at least a place where you can go look at all the suppliers' products. Be sure you know what you will be getting installed.

We love to use Alder for our custom cabinets. stains beautifully!

A piece of advice on the countertops.... Do not select from a little tiny sample. If you decide to go with granite, the slabs each have a unique look and they do NOT look like the samples. There have been many sad Houzzers who have hated their countertops becuase they only looked at a little five inch square.

Ginale, thank u that's something I wouldn't have thought of. I'll make sure to see a whole slab .

I LOVE OAK!!! Having that said, I would not install oak in a house because so many people dislike it. I have some oak furniture, but that will go with me when I leave. We bought maple cabinets with a medium cherry stain that was also glazed. We love them, and we hope a future buyer will also. :)

What is great about Oak is how it looks with a darker stain the grain shows soft but still has interest (or what is termed as movement) Birch is lovely when using mid toned stains it has a softer grain and both take stain colors well. Oak and Maple are slightly harder than Birch but all 3 species are very good for dry climates (swelling, warping, etc)

I personally would go with the birch! Love the look!

Birch. Classic and timeless.

We are building a new house, are stain for the cabinets is going be Expresso ( dark brown) like a walnut. We also have the option of oak or birch.
What recommendation do you select between oak and brick. I know that oak will stain nice,

I agree - Oak is no longer popular unless you want a country feel. Go with the birch.

we did a milk wash on birch, and it ended up pink not milk.

Birch. We've built seven times and Reno'd once. Oak is very old style. Too much grain.