Wood Types and Finishes

Every sample below is a finish we have actually built and photographed, not a supplier swatch. Color varies between screens, so use these to narrow your shortlist and then ask us for physical samples before you decide. We will bring them to your estimate.

Oak and Maple: the two we build most

Oak is the traditional choice and the one most people picture when they think of solid wood cabinets. It has a strong, open grain that shows clearly through stain, so the wood still reads as wood from across the room. It is hard, forgiving of daily use, and ages well. Quarter sawn white oak, shown here in Sealy and Tea, is cut differently to expose the medullary rays: a tighter, straighter figure with a flecked pattern, and the classic look for Mission and Craftsman kitchens.

Maple is the smoother, quieter option. The grain is fine and even, so it takes stain uniformly and reads as a calmer surface. It is harder than oak, which makes it a sensible choice for a family kitchen that takes knocks. Maple is also the wood we most often recommend under paint: because the grain is so tight, a painted maple door looks like a painted surface rather than painted timber.

If you want the wood itself to be part of the room, oak. If you want a smooth finish or a painted door, maple. Both are solid hardwood throughout, with dovetailed drawers and mortise and tenon doors.

The other woods we work in

Cherry is the premium timber here and it does something the others do not: it darkens with age and light, deepening from a light reddish brown to a rich color over several years. If you choose cherry, expect the kitchen you live with in ten years to be warmer than the one we install.

Hickory has the most dramatic variation of any wood we use, with pale sapwood and dark heartwood often in the same door. It suits a rustic or lodge kitchen and is the hardest wood on this page. If you want uniformity, avoid it; if you want character, nothing else comes close.

Knotty alder is softer and knottier, with an informal, rustic feel that works well in cabin and farmhouse kitchens. Shown here in natural, red and gray.

Stains, paints and glazes

Stained finishes let the grain show and are the usual choice for oak, cherry and hickory. Painted finishes give a solid color, work best on maple, and are shown here in Country White, Georgian, Glacier, Metropolitan, Pomegranate, White and Antique White.

Glazed finishes add a thin darker coat that settles into the profile of a door and the corners of raised panels, giving depth and an aged look. We offer stained and glazed, painted and glazed, and a rubbed-off glaze where the glaze is worked back by hand. Distressed and cracked paint finishes are also available if you want a kitchen that looks like it has always been there.

Choosing in a Louisville kitchen

Two practical things worth knowing. Solid wood moves with the seasons: humid summers and dry heated winters make it expand and contract, which is why our joinery is built to allow that movement rather than fight it. And light matters more than people expect. A north-facing kitchen makes cool paints look colder, while cherry and oak warm up under afternoon light. Take samples home and look at them at different times of day before committing.

Not sure? That is normal, and it is what the free estimate is for. We will talk through how you use the kitchen, what the light does, and which woods suit both.