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I'd like to think of people who want hickory in their kitchen as brave. Either brave or they love wood. Most people say they love wood but they really don't. When they complain about different shades of color or different grain patterns then that alone proves they do not like wood. If you really love natural wood then you must learn to live with Mother Nature. And Mother Nature really went berserk on hickory as it has a very wild display of color. I love hickory but I love wood. If you want perfection in color then just paint the stupid things right? That way it will all be the same solid color.
You are asking if I like maple or hickory better and I feel like you want to know which color I like better. First you have your wood species in it's natural state, then you may or may not apply a stain color.
You do not paint hickory. You can not paint oak either but that don't mean people don't do it anyway. People paint all kinds of crazy things like glass, cabinets, plastic, metal and even the grass in their front lawns, but that don't make it right. Maple is paintable because it is smooth but why paint over such expensive wood? Oak and hickory has lots of raised grain and not even a hundred coats of paint can cover it. The end result is one that everyone will point and laugh at.
You are not alone in hating oak. I don't hate it but a great deal of my customers say those exact words you do.
Yay, I'm brave!!
Guess what I REALLY want to know is, in your professional opinion and to your trained eye which wood would you RESPECT a homeowner more for going with in a shaker style cabinet?
Never have painted a cabinet and never will - love the look of real wood
Guess what I REALLY want to know is, in your professional opinion and to your trained eye which wood would you RESPECT a homeowner more for going with in a shaker style cabinet?
Never have painted a cabinet and never will - love the look of real wood
I don't like shaker very much. I still have people coming in who look at it and do not like it. But the fact of the matter is that shaker is IN. If some one is not working on a tight budget I always push cherry since it is the most beautiful, especially with a mocha color applied.
One of the biggest reasons I don't like shaker is that they are full overlay doors. I am not and never have been a fan of full overlay. In Europe they love it. We hate theirs and they hate ours. I always said if our taste went towards full overlay I would give it all up. All the education, all the experience, all the awards.......poof...good bye. If you don't like what you do for a living then don't do it.
Now if you talk to an Interior Designer, most will try to push that full overlay Euro, especially slab door gross look. They like to tell the customer what they want rather then ask the customer what they want. Sorry kshegirl, I'm not including you.
Hickory shaker is nice, especially when it is rustic shaker.
I don't like shaker very much. I still have people coming in who look at it and do not like it. But the fact of the matter is that shaker is IN. If some one is not working on a tight budget I always push cherry since it is the most beautiful, especially with a mocha color applied.
One of the biggest reasons I don't like shaker is that they are full overlay doors. I am not and never have been a fan of full overlay. In Europe they love it. We hate theirs and they hate ours. I always said if our taste went towards full overlay I would give it all up. All the education, all the experience, all the awards.......poof...good bye. If you don't like what you do for a living then don't do it.
Now if you talk to an Interior Designer, most will try to push that full overlay Euro, especially slab door gross look. They like to tell the customer what they want rather then ask the customer what they want. Sorry kshegirl, I'm not including you.
Hickory shaker is nice, especially when it is rustic shaker.
Thanks for your input!
After looking at them today it turns out my husbnad thinks hickory is "too busy" We both agree to maple and cherry though, so at least we are closer to a decision!
I liked shaker style way back, before it got popular. I've just always liked clean lines and nothing frou frou, you know?
I live in the DC/Maryland area. I would call my kitchen small, about 200 sq ft. Sears came out and gave me a quote for $25,000 for refacing the existing cabinets with port cherry finish and replacing the doors, in addition to a granite counter top. I'm relatively new to the area and think this amount is excessive but then the DC area is expensive for most things. How much of a variance should I expect in pricing for different regions?
I live in the DC/Maryland area. I would call my kitchen small, about 200 sq ft. Sears came out and gave me a quote for $25,000 for refacing the existing cabinets with port cherry finish and replacing the doors, in addition to a granite counter top. I'm relatively new to the area and think this amount is excessive but then the DC area is expensive for most things. How much of a variance should I expect in pricing for different regions?
$25,000 for a reface?!?!?!?:s mack:
3 more and you an buy a whole house.
Sears is more expensive then the big orange and the big blue. While they charge list price for everything, Sears charges 25% over list price. Lots of middlemen to pay commissions to ya know...... I bet you can redo your kitchen with all new cabinets and granite for less then $8000.
Refacing is ALWAYS more expensive then new cabinets. Any time, any day, any place. Refacing is like putting on a nice newly pressed suit and pants on an unwashed old man who is wearing soiled underwear and worn dirty sneakers. Open the door and it's still dirty and unwashed inside of both.
I thought refacing meant putting some sort of veneer on the existing door? Lots of labor involved in that and I would think you would have to have a large number of cabinets (too expensive to replace that many) to make refacing an option. Plus I guess I would worry about warping.
But replacing the doors on the existing cabinet frames - that seems an option for people on a tight budget...right?
I saw that recently on a home improvement show.
If your drawers are in decent shape in terms of fit etc. I don't remember what they did for them...hm?
Personally I like plain fronts, the plainer the better, even slab though I'm not a fan of modern (more farm kitchen) because I hate the cleaning of the crevices. Or in my case the not cleaning of the crevices after which a few years of accumulated kitchen grease and dust its just gross.
Not sure I understand what a full overlay is but I don't want to hijack someone else's thread.
I don't mean to argue with the person who said you can't find red birch in a local cabinet store, but Sticks and Stuff in St. Albans, VT has the most beautiful display I have ever seen. It is red birch and gorgeous. I am sure I can't afford it but am going to price it out for my new house.
I had brand new cabinets made from Birch installed in my new home. They came out beautiful (stained dark like cherry) I would go with the Birch as long as the cabinet maker knows what he is doing..... I also payed less than 5000.00 for all brand new cabinets. I have a 16x16 kitchen and 2 walls are covered top and bottom. I would contact more private cabinet makers... Just a suggestion!!!!!!
I am also looking to redo my kitchen; in trade for a carhauler. I am offered either birch, maple or oak. Personally I have always loved oak (love antiques); but; I am told that that makes a kitchen look dated. I would probably go for very simple doors (shaker-ish) and instead of cabinets below I want deep drawers, had them before and found them much easier to hold pots, pans and bowls. My kitchen is very small (only 2 walls). Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
How can you tell the difference between birch & cherry wood cabinets?
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We both agree to maple and cherry though, so at least we are closer to a decision! 
