Kitchen Guides
4 American Kitchens With Wooden Cabinets
See how different woods and wood grains create warmth and visual interest
Mention contemporary-style kitchens and many people immediately think of glossy white cabinets. But contemporary kitchens can have all the warmth and interest of other styles too. Just look to wood. Bringing the grain patterns and tones of wood, or the simulated look of wood, to contemporary-style slab cabinet fronts delivers an inviting look that fits well with the clean lines found elsewhere in contemporary kitchen design. Here, four kitchens show various ways to pull it off.
2. Simulated pine perfection
Designer: Micah Tipler of Crimson Design Associates
Location: Houston
Homeowner’s request. “The homeowner wanted the space to be detailed perfectly, without feeling overdone, and still maintain a masculine vibe,” says designer Micah Tipler, who used Houzz ideabooks to collaborate with her client on design ideas. “He loves to entertain, so plenty of seating and an open traffic flow in this small space was a must. Executing this design with a level of simplicity in mind was important to achieve the final result.”
Wood cabinets. Durable simulated pine wood grain. “The warmth of the wood cabinets is an important aspect of our design, as it allowed us to keep the rest of the kitchen clean and sharp without feeling sterile,” Tipler says.
Other special features. Porcelain slab countertops and backsplash that mimic Calacatta marble. “The blend of warmth and cool within the veining balance perfectly with the wood grain,” Tipler says.
Designer tip. “For this masculine space, we wanted to execute a monochromatic colour palette,” Tipler says. “However, we’ve found that sometimes these spaces can fall flat, as they lack depth and interest. We decided to incorporate mixed metals of stainless steel, polished nickel and gold to add contrast, warmth and dimension to the space.”
“Uh-oh” moment. “As this project is a luxury condo, space was very limited during the installation, particularly for large pieces,” Tipler says. “When it was time to bring in the dining table we were nervous that it may be too tight to turn the first corner in the hallway. Thankfully for our amazing delivery crew, they were able to manoeuvre the table in slowly and carefully to be placed in its final home.”
Designer: Micah Tipler of Crimson Design Associates
Location: Houston
Homeowner’s request. “The homeowner wanted the space to be detailed perfectly, without feeling overdone, and still maintain a masculine vibe,” says designer Micah Tipler, who used Houzz ideabooks to collaborate with her client on design ideas. “He loves to entertain, so plenty of seating and an open traffic flow in this small space was a must. Executing this design with a level of simplicity in mind was important to achieve the final result.”
Wood cabinets. Durable simulated pine wood grain. “The warmth of the wood cabinets is an important aspect of our design, as it allowed us to keep the rest of the kitchen clean and sharp without feeling sterile,” Tipler says.
Other special features. Porcelain slab countertops and backsplash that mimic Calacatta marble. “The blend of warmth and cool within the veining balance perfectly with the wood grain,” Tipler says.
Designer tip. “For this masculine space, we wanted to execute a monochromatic colour palette,” Tipler says. “However, we’ve found that sometimes these spaces can fall flat, as they lack depth and interest. We decided to incorporate mixed metals of stainless steel, polished nickel and gold to add contrast, warmth and dimension to the space.”
“Uh-oh” moment. “As this project is a luxury condo, space was very limited during the installation, particularly for large pieces,” Tipler says. “When it was time to bring in the dining table we were nervous that it may be too tight to turn the first corner in the hallway. Thankfully for our amazing delivery crew, they were able to manoeuvre the table in slowly and carefully to be placed in its final home.”
3. Welcoming horizontal walnut
Designer: Jessica Curry of Interiors by J.Curry
Location: Rochester, Minnesota
Homeowners’ request. Replace a peninsula with an island to create better flow and extend the sliding glass door to gain more natural light
Wood cabinets. Walnut slab veneer doors with a horizontal grain. “The homeowner wanted to go with wood in here to create more of a ‘warm modern’ look versus a very stark all-painted look against the existing oak wood floor,” says designer Jessica Curry, who gathered inspiration for this design from Houzz photos.
Other special features. Grey glass backsplash tile. Quartz countertops with subtle grain veining. “For the floors, we went with a dark mocha brown stain to calm the grain of the existing oak wood,” Curry says.
Designer tip. “When the peninsula was removed, we opted to extend the refrigerator and pantries down that wall behind the dining space for additional, very functional storage,” Curry says.
“Uh-oh” moment. “One thing that presented a bit of a challenge was getting the right stain colour and tone for the existing oak floor to allow enough of a contrast without being too black or too close to the cabinet wood grain and compete with it,” Curry says. “Luckily, after a few tries of narrowing down different temporary samples on the floor on-site, we came up with the right formula.”
Designer: Jessica Curry of Interiors by J.Curry
Location: Rochester, Minnesota
Homeowners’ request. Replace a peninsula with an island to create better flow and extend the sliding glass door to gain more natural light
Wood cabinets. Walnut slab veneer doors with a horizontal grain. “The homeowner wanted to go with wood in here to create more of a ‘warm modern’ look versus a very stark all-painted look against the existing oak wood floor,” says designer Jessica Curry, who gathered inspiration for this design from Houzz photos.
Other special features. Grey glass backsplash tile. Quartz countertops with subtle grain veining. “For the floors, we went with a dark mocha brown stain to calm the grain of the existing oak wood,” Curry says.
Designer tip. “When the peninsula was removed, we opted to extend the refrigerator and pantries down that wall behind the dining space for additional, very functional storage,” Curry says.
“Uh-oh” moment. “One thing that presented a bit of a challenge was getting the right stain colour and tone for the existing oak floor to allow enough of a contrast without being too black or too close to the cabinet wood grain and compete with it,” Curry says. “Luckily, after a few tries of narrowing down different temporary samples on the floor on-site, we came up with the right formula.”
4. Winning vertical walnut
Designer-builder: Jonathan Eklund of Ecostruct
Location: New York City
Size: 120 square feet (11 square meters); 8 by 15 feet
Homeowners’ request. Open up a closed-in galley-style kitchen. “We were able to figure a way to remove and restructure a load-bearing wall to extend the kitchen and provide some island seating, helping to tie the kitchen and living room together,” says designer-builder Jonathan Eklund, whose client found him by searching for local professionals on Houzz.
Wood cabinets. Vertical-grain matching walnut veneer. “The owners were adamant about having grain-matched millwork throughout the kitchen,” Eklund says. “I was concerned that with the existing oak parquet floors, this could lead to too much wood on-site, so I suggested walnut veneer as a contrast with vertical grain matching to add some depth. The open shelves with the white subway backsplash helped to cut the overbearance of the wood as well.”
Other special features. “With so much wood in the kitchen and darker-stained parquet floors, it was really important to get some neutral colours and varying materials into the kitchen,” Eklund says. “Subway tiles is one of my favourite ways to add a stark pop to break up a space, so we went with a 2-by-6-inch white field tile.” White quartz countertops complement the backsplash.
Designer tip. “In my opinion the decision to swap some of the upper cabinets for open shelves was a game changer in this kitchen,” Eklund says. “The original design of closed cabinets all the way across made me feel like the walls were still closing in a little. The tip on this front is that just because it doesn’t have a door on it doesn’t mean a shelf can’t also provide great storage. You just need to be a little more thoughtful about what you are storing to prevent cluttering.”
“Uh-oh” moment. “The biggest uh-oh moment was when we removed the ‘non-load-bearing’ kitchen and living room partition, only to find out that in fact there was load in the wall and we had no way of properly supporting it,” Eklund says. “Luckily we were able to get a beam into the existing soffit without changing the depth of the soffit too much. Additionally, the clients were flexible with how deep the island portion of the kitchen was, so we kept a little more of the existing partition in place than planned in order to conceal the structural post.”
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Designer-builder: Jonathan Eklund of Ecostruct
Location: New York City
Size: 120 square feet (11 square meters); 8 by 15 feet
Homeowners’ request. Open up a closed-in galley-style kitchen. “We were able to figure a way to remove and restructure a load-bearing wall to extend the kitchen and provide some island seating, helping to tie the kitchen and living room together,” says designer-builder Jonathan Eklund, whose client found him by searching for local professionals on Houzz.
Wood cabinets. Vertical-grain matching walnut veneer. “The owners were adamant about having grain-matched millwork throughout the kitchen,” Eklund says. “I was concerned that with the existing oak parquet floors, this could lead to too much wood on-site, so I suggested walnut veneer as a contrast with vertical grain matching to add some depth. The open shelves with the white subway backsplash helped to cut the overbearance of the wood as well.”
Other special features. “With so much wood in the kitchen and darker-stained parquet floors, it was really important to get some neutral colours and varying materials into the kitchen,” Eklund says. “Subway tiles is one of my favourite ways to add a stark pop to break up a space, so we went with a 2-by-6-inch white field tile.” White quartz countertops complement the backsplash.
Designer tip. “In my opinion the decision to swap some of the upper cabinets for open shelves was a game changer in this kitchen,” Eklund says. “The original design of closed cabinets all the way across made me feel like the walls were still closing in a little. The tip on this front is that just because it doesn’t have a door on it doesn’t mean a shelf can’t also provide great storage. You just need to be a little more thoughtful about what you are storing to prevent cluttering.”
“Uh-oh” moment. “The biggest uh-oh moment was when we removed the ‘non-load-bearing’ kitchen and living room partition, only to find out that in fact there was load in the wall and we had no way of properly supporting it,” Eklund says. “Luckily we were able to get a beam into the existing soffit without changing the depth of the soffit too much. Additionally, the clients were flexible with how deep the island portion of the kitchen was, so we kept a little more of the existing partition in place than planned in order to conceal the structural post.”
Read more:
What’s the Best Material for Kitchen Cabinets?
Fresh Design Ideas From 20 Urban Indian Kitchens
Tell us:
Which kitchen did you like the best?
Designer: Ernie Ruskey of Tektonika Studio Architects
General contractor: Black Hackerson of Newschool Builders
Location: Stowe, Vermont
Size: 400 square feet (37 square meters); 20 by 20 feet
Homeowners’ request. “This was a dated ski condo,” says builder Black Hackerson. “The clients wanted to embrace some of the natural elements of the space while updating and adding some warmer-feeling elements.”
Wood cabinets. “With all of the concrete floors and exposed concrete block of the stairwell and steel railings, wood was a natural choice for the cabinets to break up those mediums,” Hackerson says. “We used a raised-grain white oak veneer on all of the cabinets and vanities in the house, with overlaid doors. Clean and simple but yet elegant in the same breath.”
Other special features. An island with a white oak butcher block top and a custom steel frame clad in nickel gap white oak shiplap. “We also pulled up the flooring and ground down the concrete and applied a clear epoxy finish over the floors,” Hackerson says. “We left a lot of the inconsistencies of the floor to add to the character of the unit. We also opened the floor plan up where the kitchen originally was a galley style. The new larger sliding door brings in a lot of natural light. To add a touch of natural warmth, we installed live-edge walnut floating shelves against the tile backsplash and installed undercabinet LED lighting flush with the shelves.”
Designer tip. “Embracing the canvas we had to work with. We were limited by the original construction of the building — concrete precast slab floors, concrete block exterior walls,” Hackerson says. “We only had a few places where we could run plumbing and venting, and the architects and our team had to work close together to figure out how to make everything work together and blend the aesthetic ideal with the reality of the space we were working in. Once we all embraced the fact there were only so many options given the constraints, things became infinitely easier to find solutions for.”
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