Virtually all hardwoods change color as the years go by. Light-colored wood, such as maple, will naturally darken due to exposure to UV light and oxygen. As the years pass, even a white maple piece will develop a honey-gold patina.
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.
Since maple has a tight grain, it doesn't always absorb stain well, leading to uneven patches. In areas with a more open grain, excess stain may be absorbed, resulting in dark spots. This could be a problem if you're considering installing light-coloured maple.
Maple has light and bright white with reddish brown hues before exposure to sunlight. Gradually, after continuous exposure to sunlight, it will turn into shades of grey and pink color, then into a bright golden color with the passage of time. Maple will darken but not quickly as other wood.
The light color of maple surfaces comes from a clear oil finish, but this oil finish breaks down and regains its original oily orange color in a gradual and inevitable chemical process.
The fall foliage of the red maple (Acer rubrum) sometimes contradicts its common name, since conditions may cause the color to range from a dirty yellow to orange—not always red. However, when growing in well-drained and slightly acidic soil, it often provides a lovely red color that transitions from yellow-orange.
Sugar Maple
These native maple trees are spectacular in autumn when their foliage turns vibrant red, orange, and yellow. They make excellent shade trees for large backyards.
Maple wood, in its original state, is light-colored and ranges from almost white to a creamy golden color. Sometimes there are hints of amber or honey color in maple wood. Whether you choose a natural color or select a stain perfect for you, maple kitchen cabinets will bring light and a unique style to your home.
Maple is a notoriously difficult wood to stain, as it tends to absorb stain unevenly, especially with dark colors. Christine Adams pits GF's darkest water-based stain (Espresso) in a test against GF's darkest oil-based liquid stain (Spiced Walnut).
Maple is in common use for heavy-duty flooring, such as bowling alleys, dance floors, kitchen cabinets, furniture, joinery and some veneers. Advantages: durable, strong, long-lasting wood.
Maple wood kitchen cabinets are incredibly versatile! And far from outdated. They're one of the most durable woods used in kitchen cabinets, and with the right finishes, they can fit in perfectly with any look, whether it's a traditional, modern, rustic, or contemporary kitchen.
The main benefit of maple hardwood floors is durability. Maple is a highly dense and hard type of wood, harder than oak or ash. In fact, it's one of the hardest types of wood around, with a 1450 rating on the Janka hardness scale, compared to 1,360 for white oak, 1,320 for ash, 1,290 for red oak, and 995 for cherry.
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.
The cons of maple flooring
Discolours over time – As with any solid wood, with constant exposure to light it will yellow over time.
Classic medium-toned browns such as cherrywood, mahogany, oak, maple, walnut, birch wood, and hickory are all timeless colors that never go out of style. Cherrywood is a deep, rich color that has a deep mahogany shade with warm tones of red or brown, often mixed with hints of pink and even purple.
Ideally, your stain will preserve the rich color of your maple cabinets, not hide it. But maple is tricky–it can dry blotchy and fade over time with poor treatment or low-quality stains. That is why we'd recommend using a pre-stain conditioner, like Minwax, to first prepare your maple for staining.
The best maple wood stain is actually a wood dye. Wood dyes are more easily absorbed into the tighter grain of maple and provide a darker color. However, if you want the benefits of a stain, then you can turn to a lighter gel-based stain.
Maple Finishing Tips
Want to retain maple's light look? Coat it with a clear, water-based finish. Be sure to damp-sponge the wood to lift the grain, then sand, both before and between coats. Give maple an aged look with dye and an oil/varnish mix.
If you're looking for the best stain for maple, one of the go-to choices would be an oil-based wood stain. Oil-based stains have been around for a long time and are really effective because of their ability to penetrate deep beneath the surface of the wood and bond with the wood fibers.
Benjamin Moore's Classic Gray
Benjamin Moore's Classic Gray (OC-23) is an understated gray paint color. Its warm undertones complement light maple wood's natural tones and grain patterns. Incorporating Classic Gray into your design helps balance the color scheme.
Pros – Affordable and ultra durable. It can take a beating and look great for many years to come. Because it takes dark stains well, maple is often used to mimic more expensive woods. Cons – Because of its ability to mimic pricier woods, it puts maple trees at risk from deforestation.
Color/Appearance: Unlike most other hardwoods, the sapwood of hard maple lumber is most commonly used rather than its heartwood. Sapwood color ranges from nearly white, to an off-white cream color, sometimes with a reddish or golden hue. The heartwood tends to be a darker reddish brown.
In autumn, the leaves of sourwood, sumacs, dogwoods, and some maples often turn red or purple like the Brandywine Maple. Sugar maple leaves can be a brilliant orange. Red Maple trees such as Autumn Blaze Maple or October Glory can have shades of orange and red.
Maple trees convert more glucose to anthocyanin when stressed. An early turner might be nitrogen deficient, or it might be trying to rid itself of a bug by changing color. Some insects identify green leaves as food and abandon trees that turns red.
Crimson King Maple TreeAcer platanoides 'Crimson King'
Crimson King is red in spring then transitions to a bronze, green and deep purple color, giving you intrest all year long! Don't wait until fall to get colorful foliage, Crimson King's color lasts all summer. Crimson King Maples have deep, sharp leaf margins.