There’s nothing like beautiful solid wood to bring out the best in a kitchen, bath or any room in your home. With custom cabinetry, your choice of wood species for your cabinetry is quite plentiful. How you choose is a matter of personal taste. Perhaps you want a rich, dark look with very little to no grain. Or maybe you’re looking for light and bright. Or a rustic feel. The wood species that make up the lion’s share of our work are Cherry, Maple, Knotty Pine, Red Oak and Walnut. But there are many more species to choose from, including exotic woods such as Carmelized Bamboo, Quartered Black Walnut, Quartered Figured Anigre, Medium-Heavy Birdseye Maple, Reconstituted Wenge, Reconstituted Zebrawood, Quarter Sawn Cherry, Rift Cut Oak, and Quarter Sawn Maple. But wood species selection is just the beginning. The finish you choose for your wood can greatly affect the personality of your cabinetry. And your finish choices are many. Working with a design professional to find the perfect combination of wood species and finish is a big part of creating your one and only. And, of course, paint grade wood (usually Maple or Poplar) gives you the freedom to create a painted look – including special finish treatments – that’s just what you’re looking for. Here is some interesting information about the characteristics of some of the wood species we offer.

Cherry: Belongs to the rose family, and was used by the Greeks and Romans as long ago as 400 B.C. for furniture making. Cherry helped define American traditional design because Colonial cabinetmakers recognized its superior woodworking qualities. It has a rich red-brown color that deepens with age and exposure to sunlight. Its exceptionally lustrous appearance almost glows. It’s straight-grained and satiny, and sometimes contains pin knots and gum pockets that give the wood a distinctive character. Its more uniform texture takes a stain very well. Cherry is light, strong, stiff and rather hard. Cherry may have mineral streaks and pin burls, and will darken noticeably with age. Sapwood may appear in profiled areas.

Maple: Interestingly, until the turn of the century, the heels of women’s shoes were made from Maple, as were airplane propellers in the 1920s. Maple has been a favorite of American furniture makers since early Colonial days. Maple coloring ranges from cream to light reddish-brown, with a uniform grain and texture. Maple is heavy, hard, strong, tough and stiff with excellent resistance to abrasion and indentation – ideal for a kitchen chopping block or counter. Its uniform surface takes a stain well. Maple may have mineral streaks or dark areas, especially in profiled areas.

Oak: Oak has a long, distinguished history in furnishings and interior design. Oak was a favorite of early English craftsmen and a prized material for American colonists. Red oak grows only in North America and is found further north than any other oak species. A red oak grows slowly, taking 20 years to mature and living an average of 300 years. Red Oak ranges from a white/cream color to a warm, pale brown, tinted with red. The grain is known for its “rays,” which reflect light and add to its appeal. Depending on the way the logs are sawn into timber (rift cut, flat sliced, flat sawn, rotary cut, quarter sawn), many distinctive and sought after patterns emerge: flake and flame figures, pin stripes, fine lines, leafy grains and watery figures. Oak is heavy, very strong and hard, stiff and durable under exposure, and wear-resistant. Oaks take a wide range of finishes very well.

Knotty Pine: Light in both weight and color, Northeast White Knotty Pine contains knots that give it a distinctive character, ranging from pin knots to large bull's eyes. Its straight rained, usually a blondishrwhite, and can be stained in a variety of colors or left its natural shade. Often used for provincial or country designs, Knotty Pine is a perennial favorite. Knotty Pine, however, is a soft wood and dents easily. Pine has pitch, which under extreme heat can Ilse to the surface. Colors around knots will change.

Hickory: A heavyweight contender for your kitchen, Hickory is famous for its extreme strength, flexibility and shock resistance. Once used for wagon wheels, and even the Wright Brothers' historic plane, it exhibitr wide variations in colors, ranging from white to chocolate, and provides an alternative to oak for consumers who prefer an open-grained wood, but have tired of the traditional oak look.

Walnut: Rare and treasured, Walnut is a durable, strong hard wood with a grain wavier near the roots and straighter at the trunk. Light to chocolate brown, it contains hurls, butts and curls, and looks great in a variety of finishes. For reproductions and antique styles, Walnut is versatile and popular, since its luster grows over time - reflecting the incoming light and suffusing a kitchen with a warm glow. Walnut varies in color considerably from light to dark.

Paint Grade wood may be a blend of birch, soft maple or hard maple, which are all close-grain woods. Paint grade is non-select for color and grain pattern and may vary from dark heartwood to very light sapwood. If you are interested is using a species different from any of these, we can usually source it.