Cherry Cabinets: Cost. Maple and cherry, while both premier wood species, can come at significantly different price points. Maple will almost always be less expensive than cherry.
Cherry is more expensive, but earns its price with its smooth grain and rich cherry shades, as well as its even display of stain and its ability to be carved into detailed shapes. Hard maple displays light colors, looks gorgeous in a natural finish, and can handle heavy use.
Because it grows natively across the United States, pine is more affordable than many other natural woods. In general, pine wood cabinets will be significantly less expensive than the tier of oak, maple, and birch.
Price: Maple kitchen cabinets cost between $2,500 and $6,000. Maintenance: Maple should stay out of direct sunlight or can you risk discoloration. Porosity: Finishes may discolor or fade over time. Installation: Maple cabinets should be installed by a professional contractor.
The least expensive material you can use to make kitchen cabinets is particleboard. This material is made from compressed wood chips, though it doesn't have the same strength and density as MDF or HDF.
Use lighter colors.
A light color on the walls and cabinets instantly brightens a space making it look larger and in turn, more expensive. Light colors reflect light and hide a multitude of sins, including those scratches, dings and dents in your old cabinets.
White oak is one of the most expensive cabinet materials on the market and can be roughly 40% more expensive than its red-oak counterpart. There are two key reasons for such a stark contrast in pricing. First, there are simply more red oak trees than there are white oak trees, making them readily available.
Of course, if you're careful around your cabinets, this difference in strength may be negligible to you as a user. Cherry is still a strong and durable hardwood choice for any kitchens - but if you're concerned about your cabinets being vulnerable, maple is the way to go.
There's a good reason why maple is still a highly preferred choice for kitchen cabinets. Maple is super durable for the cost and is compatible with multiple stains. Maple kitchen cabinets are versatile enough to be used in almost any style of kitchen design.
When it comes to strength and durability, maple and oak are some of the best kitchen cabinet materials you can have. After all, they're both hardwoods. That being said, maple is a slightly stronger hardwood product than oak. Maple is one of the strongest and most durable natural wood options available.
Cabinets made of MDF, particle board, or other mixed synthetic materials are going to be much less expensive than lacquered cabinets or those made of solid wood or glass.
Solid Wood Cabinets
Solid natural wood cabinets are the gold standard when it comes to strength and longevity.
The 5 best and most popular woods for kitchen cabinets are pine, oak, hickory, cherry, and maple. Pine, oak, and hickory are cheaper and easier to get. Cherry and maple look luxurious and cost more than the others.
With a rating of 1450 on the Janka hardness scale, Maple is one of the hardest species of wood commonly used for flooring. Cherry, on the other hand, is one of the softest hardwoods in the flooring industry, with a Janka rating of 950.
Many people think that cherry cabinets might be going out of style because they've been around for so long, but the answer to that is that they're here to stay.
Maple surfaces owe their light natural color to their clear oil finish, but this finish gradually breaks down as time passes and returns to its original oily yellow color.
A fresh, natural crowd-pleasing green inspired by the color of a perfectly ripe avocado like Avocado Toast by Clare provides a nice contrast to maple wood cabinets. Carry the green theme throughout with potted herbs and mix in pastel pinks, blues, yellows, and orange for a cheerful look.
Maple Cabinetry
More specifically, maple cabinets are the go-to natural wood in 2023. It's a wood that's just warm enough but also light enough to keep your kitchen looking updated and bright. Maple has a great tone that works with almost any paint color, from white to the trending bold colors of 2023.
What is the most popular color for kitchen cabinets? Though trend reports may show that white is falling out of favor, interior designers say that, generally, homeowners are still most drawn toward white kitchen cabinets. “It's classic and great for resale value,” says Hattie Collins of Hattie Sparks Interiors.
Like cherry, maple will darken over time, though far less dramatically. Maple starts off very light and bright, with a few pink and grey tones. Over time, it will age to a warm golden honey color.
Shaker-style cabinetry is a timeless design that fits any budget, whether it's small or unlimited.
Slab doors make an excellent canvas for unique hardware (knobs, drawer pulls, etc.) and are easy to keep clean or refinish. Because of their simplicity, flat-panel cabinets can be the least expensive, although factors like the type of wood used, finish applied, and hardware affect the cost.
Semi-Gloss Finish
As the most popular sheen, semi-gloss provides your kitchen cabinets with a nice shine that is not overbearing.