Wood & Finish Gallery

Cherry
Hard Maple
Red Oak
Painted
Alder
Bamboo
Red Birch
White Birch
White Oak
Hickory
Knotty Pine
Walnut
Quarter Sawn
Rustic Species

Cherry

Cherry, historically known as ‘the furniture makers wood’, combines a nice blend of pleasing wood grain and warm color. Almost any finish looks great on cherry as it takes stain evenly. Cherry is known for mid and darker tones, but lighter stain colors also look fantastic on Cherry. Be aware that Cherry will darken over time due to the effects of UV light. As a rule of thumb, any mid-tone stain or darker will mask this effect, but if ordering any lighter tone stain or a natural finish, realize that the cabinets will be 2 or 3 shades darker after 6 months in your house. Don’t let this scare you as Cherry has always been a preferred wood for high-end woodwork and there is really no other wood at this price range that combines the warmth and texture that cherry provides.

Hard Maple

Hard Maple is a light colored wood with heavy density and is known for its ability to withstand abuse. Hard Maple takes light stains well and looks terrific with darker glazed combinations. Medium to dark stains with no glaze will tend to exhibit ‘ticking’, best described as dark flecks or patches where the dark stain penetrated the wood more heavily than it may have elsewhere on the door. While this is not unappealing, it can be more uneven in appearance and bears consideration when placing an order. Hard Maple may also exhibit some mineral streak (light to dark brown streaks running with the grain) up to about 3/8″ and possible pin knots (knots up to about 1/8″). These are naturally occurring in Hard Maple and are not considered defects.

Red Oak

Red Oak is a traditional wood known for its heavy graining and large, arching grain pattern. Popular in the 70’s and 80’s, Oak is rarely used in today’s kitchen and bath marketplace, but this is unfortunate as it is a hearty wood that handles abuse well, stains nicely and is very economical. Consider Red Oak with a medium toned reddish brown stain and a glaze and see how beautiful it looks! If the traditional arched grain patterns do not appeal to you, consider quarter sawn oak available at an upcharge.

Painted

All our Colortone finishes offer a solid-bodied, paint-like finish and are available on several wood species. Color tones are a paint-like finish in that give the appearance and coverage of a paint but provide better adhesion and flexibility for a more durable finish. If you don’t find the color you are looking for, we also offes several other colors not pictured, as well as a custom color palette designed with the help of Sherwin Williams. The result is a collection of literally hundreds of paint colors for you to choose from! Click on a Sample to see it's color code. Note: Lifestyle's color is not intended to be a direct match to the noted Sherwin Williams Color. Order a sample block after viewing the SW swatch in your local store.

Alder

Alder is a western wood made common several years ago because of its similarity to Cherry once stained (especially in darker hues). Alder takes stain relatively evenly and is popular in both its clear and Rustic Knotty variety (we offer both). It is important to note that, while Alder stains nicely, it is a softer wood and will tend to resist wear less admirably than Hard Maple, Cherry or Red Oak. For this reason, many clients prefer to order Alder with our distressing option. When ordered in conjunction with glazing, the pings and dings work well to make Alder already appear ‘environmentally conditioned’ with the glaze hanging in the distressed areas. Due to its beautiful reddish color and nice grain pattern, Alder is a great choice for many kitchen and bath applications.

Bamboo

Bamboo is an environmentally-friendly wood that stains nicely and has a unique appearance. It is extremely hard and durable, withstanding anything your family can throw at it. Accessories are limited in this wood, so contact us for assistance in designing your kitchen around our available offering.

Red Birch

Red Birch is a gorgeous wood that comes from the darker heartwood of a white birch tree. While more expensive than other wood options, this wood’s color is so beautiful that 99% of our orders for red birch use a clear finish, so it will look like the door image shown here.

White Birch

White Oak is very similar in grain pattern and texture to its more popular cousin, Red Oak. If you don’t like the reddish tint of Red Oak, White Oak can be a terrific choice for you to consider. Unfortunately, we don’t offer imagery of finished white Oak.

White Oak

Hickory

Hickory has long been a favorite for many people due to its wild light/dark grain, extremely hard and durable properties, and ‘Adirondack mountain house’ feel. While we don’t have any imagery of Hickory finishes, we can say that it stains very similarly to White Oak, so a quick glance at the images in the Quarter Sawn section will tell you if you might like Hickory. It does have an open grain much like Oak, but does not have the cathedral grain patterns that the Oak’s do.

Knotty Pine

Pine is a traditional soft wood that has been used for cabinets and furniture for centuries. It takes stain evenly and its somewhat knotty appearance lends a rustic charm to any setting. Pine is a very soft wood that does not hold up well to heavy abuse, so be mindful of this when you make your wood selection. It works very well with our distressing and glazing options to create a worn, aged look. These options also help to mask some of the natural pings and dings your pine project will encounter in your home!

Walnut

Walnut is a dark, chocolate brown wood that is masculine and very beautiful even in its natural, unstained form. Walnut wears very well and mellows nicely with age. It can exhibit fairly dramatic grain and coloration differences featuring dark brown bands and blonde areas all in the same door. Due to this inherent character, if you are looking for a simple, clean wood, Walnut is not for you. But, if you love a lively wood and are thinking of doing darker cabinets anyway, it’s a great choice and very affordable, pricing out similar or even less than Hard Maple.

Quarter Sawn

When you think of Quarter Sawn woods, think of Stickley Furniture and the Arts & Crafts style. Quarter Sawn is simply the way in which the log is cut to avoid the heavy cathedral grain common in the Oak woods. The result is a very straight grain and some added burl affect that gives the wood a unique character. Because Quarter Sawing a log results in a poor yield, it is a bit more than standard Red or White oak. The images here are all of Quarter Sawn White Oak. Quarter Sawn Red Oak will look the same in terms of grain, but the reddish/pink color of Red Oak will create a slightly reddish tint to the resulting stained cabinetry.

Rustic Species

We offer knotty, rustic versions of our most popular woods – cherry, Maple, Red Oak, Hickory, and Alder. The knots are large, but sound and the wood is more variable, allowing heart and sapwood in the same door. The result is a look that is at home in a mountain resort home or lakeside retreat. The images here are of the raw woods to show the effect of the wood coloration and knots. For imagery of stains on these woods, please see the wood’s main section above as the colors look the same on the rustic and non-rustic versions of these woods.