Consumption and Real Estate
Would you pick birch or dark wood cabinets to redo a kitchen?
Question : Would you pick birch or dark wood cabinets to redo a kitchen?
I am remodeling and am trying to decide between birch cabinets or dark wood cabinets. A lot of people have cherry right now–is it going out of style? I live in San Diego –in your opinion should I go with a lighter cabinet? My appliances are stainless steel and will stay. The countertops are white ceramic tile and also have to stay. Also am between a porcelain tile floor or an engineered wood floor. If I use the wood, should it match the cabinets? I am afraid a dark wood floor will show all my dog hair, and make the kitchen look small. What would you do?
remodeling san diego
Best answer:
Answer by mary j
dark wood.
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#2 written by smile4u 1 year ago
Go for the light wood it makes kitchens appear larger. Also when thinking about the floor have you ever considered bamboo flooring or cork. They are very in style at this moment and the bamboo is a very hard wood floor. It has a very interesting pattern in it also. Also since your appliances are stainless the lighter wood seems better. I had antique white in my kitchen with stainless appliances and loved it. Good Luck and happy redo.
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#3 written by Kirsten 1 year ago
In general, a lighter wood will make the kitchen look bigger. It’s better to have light wood if there aren’t a lot of windows too. But sometimes dark wood goes really well with stainless steel appliances if you want a really modern look. It really depends on the size of your kitchen, how much light you have, and what style you are going for. You don’t have to get cherry stain if you’re not crazy about it, just because it’s the “in” thing. You have to look at it everyday, right?
Also it might be good to consider your neighborhood. You don’t want to over-do a kitchen with granite countertops and really expensive high end cabinets in a low income area, for example. But for San Diego, you probably want more high end stuff. If you’re planning to sell the place in a few years, you might want to consider what appeals to the most people. I think most people would prefer the lighter wood, but you could ask some people who sell cabinets what their best sellers are.
I recently saw on tv (I think it was an episode of Flip That House) that someone said the wood floor doesn’t have to match the cabinets. Personally that would bug me if both floor and cabinets were light wood but different, and they are pretty hard to match exactly I think. It will also make the cabinets stand out more if there is some contrast from the floor. Just be careful the grout for the tiles doesn’t attract too much dirt and make it difficult to clean. Go with a pattern instead of plain white for the floor to disguise dirt.
As for birch, just be careful as it is a very soft wood, and might ding more easily than other types of wood like oak which is very hard and durable.
Personally, when I’ve saved enough money to redo my kitchen, I’m going with a light maple for the cabinets. My countertops are cheap white laminate, so I definitely want something that doesn’t stain so easily. For my small condo, I think granite would be overdoing it though. Maybe some kind of corian or the new silestone. I have white appliances but I would want a new stainless steel sink. As for the floor, I’m fine with the neutral marble pattern laminate the previous owners picked out, so I’ll probably leave it.
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#5 written by danielle Z 1 year ago
The nice thing about birch, if and when you get tired of it, you don’t need a whole new kitchen. A little bit of sanding and staining and you have a whole new kitchen for just pennies. (and a little elbow greese. Go for the wood floor. It will keep your kitchen Warm and inviting. you already have tile on the counter.
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#8 written by universalsoul 1 year ago
I dont believe in going along with fashion, but I do believe in personal style.
If you like the dark wood cabinets and its your style, go for it! Dark wood can be pretty classy (light wood is starting to be a bit childish). Go for porcelain floor, to match the countertops, and this will avoid your dog’s hair to show. And remember, painting 1 of the walls in a light color will help it look bigger.
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With white tile counters and stainless, I’d opt for the birch. The dark wood would be too much contrast with white counters, in my opinion. The lighter birch wood with white and stainless would look awesome!
Tile on the floor would make your kitchen too “busy” if there is also tile on the counters. Way too many squares! A medium toned engineered wood floor is the better choice there. By medium, I mean darker than the birch, but lighter than walnut or mahogany. Maybe alder, maple, or oak? Hold the floor samples up to the birch and go with a nice easy on the eye contrast – not too dark, not as light as the birch. Medium
Cherry is pretty popular, but so common now it’s not a big deal. Do what’s best for your space and lighting. The birch, white, and medium floor would be very neutral and easy to sell if you get a new house. Best of luck in your decision!