What's a good wood to go with if I want something dark and "dignified" for my kitchen cabinets?
Asked by
ellamays (
7
)
January 25th, 2011
I’m trying to create a kitchen with that Italian vibe and I need something that looks natural and has “character” but is not too expensive. Frankly, I can’t afford a custom job :(
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13 Answers
I like mahogany,but you can go with an oak and stain it.
Realize that, if you’re definitely going with wood, you can go with a lighter wood if cheaper and you can just stain it any shade that you want. @lucillelucillelucille beat me too it while I was looking for this link which shows what you can do with tinted stain as well. Damn you, @lucillelucillelucille
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Painting the cabinets a Tuscan-style color. If you prime and treat the wood with a layer of Crackle, you can give them an aged look that way.
Use grapes or wine as your theme. That would be light, vibrant and care-free. Dark and dignified seems not to reflect the Italian bonhomie around food and drink.
Unless you have a very large kitchen with lots of natural light, I wouldn’t go with a dark cabinet choice. I spent weeks stripping and staining my doors “dark and dignified” because I like that look too and the result was like a “light sponge” sucking in all the available sunshine and giving me more of a dungeon effect than anything else.
It’s easy to accessorize lighter wood and keep it contemporary but dark stains often look outdated unless you spend money on very nice custom work.
Here are some examples of Tuscan kitchens. A window that faces a view of Tuscany helps.
If I remember correctly, cherry is dark, but I don’t remember what prices are like for cherry.
Cherry is both expensive and not dark. It is a beautiful wood for any kind of cabinetry and has an undertone of a reddish hue. Cherry stains vary.
I think maple might be an option. I am not very familiar with different varieties of wood, but cherry is very expensive I think, and mahogonay might be also. Oak has more gran and knots if I remember correctly, maple is a hard wood, so it would resist scratches, and has a close grain, and I think it is a moderate price.
If you go to a kitchen store they will be able to guide you.
I love Cherry for a dark, bloody, dignified color.
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