Remodelling your kitchen using solid wood cabinetry and worktops will leave you with an elegant, refined look suited to a traditional-style kitchen or even more contemporary style depending on colour choices. Solid wood cabinetry is durable and will add an elegant aesthetic in your remodelled kitchen. Wood cabinets are distinctive in their look and are known to be classic, beautiful as well as timeless. Solid wood cabinetry adds value to your home. There are a variety of solid woods available that vary in cost, aesthetic look and durability. High-end woods are very durable and will last many years. For example, white oak is more durable than red oak. The most common types of solid wood types used in kitchen cabinetry are maple, birch, oak, hickory, cherry and pine. Wood is a flexible material and is versatile in terms of the different ways you can create your cabinetry regarding shape, design as well as colour. Making wood cabinets is not labour intensive, so you can find wooden cabinets at more cost-effective prices even when customised. If you compare wood to metal cabinets, these are labour intensive to install and cost more to fit as a result.
Assessing your cabinetry needs
Solid wood cabinetry can be ready-made or bespoke and made according to the measurements of your kitchen. Bespoke cabinetry is usually pricier but ideal if you want unique cabinetry to fit perfectly into your kitchen. You need to come up with a figure for your budget. It is a good idea to visit your local Scotland-based kitchen showroom. Kitchen companies sometimes offer help with the entire kitchen remodel from design to making of cabinetry and installing it. You can ask for a quote and design which is sometimes free to start the remodelling process. Kitchen companies sometimes only sell or offer a service of making bespoke cabinetry, in which case you will need a kitchen designer and someone to fit your cabinetry and do any electrical or plumbing work for appliance fitment too.
Assessing your worktop needs
Solid wood worktops can be made using Beech, Cherry, Iroko, Maple, Oak, Sapele, Teak,Walnut and Wenge. Your choice of wood is matched to taste, your kitchen’s theme and style and design needs. Beech worktops and Oak worktops are the more rustic choice suited to cottage-style kitchens. The other options come in a variety of colours and give off different grains and patterns which can be finished for the natural look.
The colours of the solid woods differ so you can choose a sleek and contemporary look with Beech or Maple light in colour hardwoods, a friendly look with Cherry or Oak mid-colour options or you could choose from the darker woods such as Iroko, Sapele or even Walnut worktops bringing elegance to the picture.
Solid wood as cabinetry material
Working on solid wood kitchen cabinetry is usually a wood craftsman’s favourite material to use. This is because this type of wood lends itself to building specific pieces of furniture that require strength for parts like legs and aprons and creating durable cabinets that can handle shocks and knocks as well as offering stability in construction. Solid wood kitchen cabinetry is created from a solid wood material throughout the design using solid lumber planks. These cabinets display the natural pattern and grain of the wood they are made from and look perfect in a traditional kitchen. The solid wood cabinetry painted white, for example, suits a more modern, elegant kitchen.
Comparing common solid wood types for your cabinetry
There is a big variety of woods available for cabinetry. The benefit is that you can paint your wood cabinetry a colour of your choice. Maple is a grainy lightwood with a consistent colour base and is very popular particularly if you want to paint your cabinets a solid colour. Oak is a medium to light colour with a more defines grain than maple. This wood has natural knots and streaks and looks good polished. Birch is used in kitchen cabinetry too. Hickory looks good aesthetically and is durable, dense and has a distinctive grain. Hickory is appropriate if you are seeking a more unique look. Cherry will lighten in colour with time, particularly when exposed to light. A few months after your hickory cabinets are installed the original colour may have changed. Chery has knots or can come without knots. It is a very durable solid wood and can withstand knocks. Pine is a softwood and is more easily dented than other hardwoods, but is commonly used for cabinetry. Knots found in pine suits a country or traditional style kitchen depending on which décor you choose for your kitchen. The rarer the wood choice you make for your cabinetry the more expensive it will be. You can also alter your woods’ colour using stains and paints.
Using oak for your kitchen cabinetry
Oak is a hardwood, light to medium brown in colour. It is very coarse and has an uneven grain. Oak is readily available and is cheaper than Rif Oak. Oak cabinets are associated with an older style. However new finishes have made this wood type more popular. Oak is typically painted.
Using maple wood for your kitchen cabinetry
Acer/Sugar/Maple Wood/Rock Maple Wood is native to the hardwood forest area of East Canada. Northern parts of Central and Eastern USA also find a home to Maple. Maple has various species and each is different. There is hard Maple and soft Maple, both hardwoods. Acer Maple Wood is most commonly used in kitchen cabinetry construction due to its hard and dense consistency.
Acer Maple Wood contains swirls of grain known as the bird’s eye swirl, as it looks like a small eye. Maple is strong, beautiful and affordable. Due to Maple Woods’ light finish, it is popular in modern and contemporary kitchen styles. The wood patterns are a mixture of elegance and beauty perfect for a modern aesthetic. When you prepare meals and entertain, you want your guests to feel welcome in your home and kitchen area. So choosing a solid wood that suits the aesthetic you want to achieve and is within budget is important.
Using Cherry for your kitchen cabinetry
Cherry is a hardwood, but softer than other woods found within this category. It displays a rich grain interspersed with pin knots. Cherry is a common wood as its readily available but is relatively expensive. Cherry is classic and timeless. It looks good with a reddish-brown stain.
Using Birch Wood for your kitchen cabinetry
Your choice of solid wood can make a big difference in your kitchen cabinetry design and knowing more about the origin of the wood and the wood type will help too. Two types of solid woods commonly used in kitchens in Scotland are birch and maple. Birch wood is found in the North East of the USA and in Canada. Yellow birch wood is native to Quebec and White Birch Wood is native to Saskatchewan, Canada and is well-known for flexibility. Due to its abundance, it is an affordable solid wood utilised in cabinetry making nowadays.
White Birch is a mixture of paper, indicative of the Betula family species and Grey Birch which is majorly a sapwood with a white colouring. Yellow Birch is pale in colour with a slightly yellow to golden colour and a cream to white sapwood with a curly pattern with a rippled appearance. The rippled appearance and buttery colours of Birch Wood together with dark lines leave the natural look of the wood very appealing. It will increase the value of the home and due to its firm consistency, it handles hardware and screws well. So, Birch wood cabinetry is best in a natural finish suited to the more traditional kitchen. It is the most affordable solid wood.
Using hickory for your kitchen cabinetry
This wood is creamy and pale yellow in colour. It can be stained but looks better in a natural finish. Hickory looks good in a rustic style kitchen. Hickory is not a common choice for bespoke custom cabinetry and semi-custom cabinetry.
Using walnut for your kitchen cabinetry
Walnut is a hardwood with a distinctive grain and colour from cream to dark brown. It is seen as a premium wood as it’s not as readily available as other wood types. It is suited to traditional, transitional and contemporary kitchens. A light finish emphasises the natural colour.
Using pine for your kitchen cabinetry
Pine is porous and looks good in a wide variety of stain finishes. You can modernise a pine cabinet by removing old paint and varnish and staining the wood in colour of your choice. Or choose to paint your pine cabinet in a variety of colours depending on your choice of worktop.
Solid wood kitchen cabinetry and worktops
You can have a solid wood theme throughout your kitchen using solid woods in both your cabinetry and worktops. Wenge, Iroko and walnut worktops complement oak cabinetry. Lighter colours look good with oak worktops. If you choose classic worktops such as oak or beech, consider complimenting them with cream or pale blue cabinetry. If you want to achieve a completely modern-style kitchen, bolder colours like crimson and black cabinetry look good with solid worktops or even granite.
Looking at solid wood worktop options
There are a variety of solid wood worktops to choose from dependant on the colour and grain you like and your budget. Beech is less course in grain than other options. It has a tidy and sleek look. Otherwise, if you like the rustic feel, you can bring out the colours and features of this wood.
Cherry worktops
Cherry worktops are versatile and cheerful in aesthetic with a warm feel. This choice of solid wood worktop will age well with time becoming a deeper colour and more luxuriant. Cherry is caramel in colour and looks good alongside solid oak cabinets. The paint choice for the cabinets accompanying this would be beige or white.
Beech worktops
Beech worktops have a pink tone so can be complemented by bolder colours. Pale green cabinetry paired with beech worktops has a vintage appeal. Maroon cabinetry also compliments a beech worktop.
Iroko worktops
Iroko comes from Africa and has a charming caramel colour, with a rich colouring. This wood has a higher oil content than other options, which means maintenance will be easier and it will age well to a more bronze colour. Iroko goes best with white cabinetry and soft tones.
Maple worktops
Maple worktops are paler with a rippled aesthetic. If you want a sleek looking kitchen this is the right choice of wood for your worktop. Maple has an easy-going feel. Maple worktops are complemented by crimson cabinetry. Or you could opt for blue cabinetry for a trendy feel.
Oak worktops
Oak is a popular choice for worktops. The natural look is timeless and the rustic version displays knots and patterns known to Oak. Blue, cream and green cabinetry suit an oak worktop. These colours contrast well with the warm colour of the oak, but still looks inviting.
Sapele worktops
Sapele wood is derived from Africa and is a dark wood often used in place of mahogany. Depending on the accessories you choose. It can look simple and elegant or grand. Using Sapele wood for both your worktop and kitchen cabinets will look good in a natural finish.
Teak worktops
Teak is another option of material to use for your worktop and it ages well. It begins as a medium brown colour and darkens into a richer honey colour, perfect to show off at meal time. Teak worktops suit white or cream coloured cabinetry.
Walnut worktops
Walnut comes in an array of colours from a light brown to a chocolate colour and is also a nice option for your worktop. Walnut features honey-coloured sapwood and darker, chocolate heartwood. Due to the mix in tones you there is a choice for colour-matching. Yellow or off white cabinetry complements a walnut worktop.
Choosing your appliances to fit in with your colour palette choice for your kitchen worktops and cabinetry
You will need to plan your kitchen space when you have chosen your wood types for the cabinetry and worktops. If you plan on investing in new appliances you will need to decide in the design phase of your kitchen where they will go. If you are using solid woods for both your worktop and cabinetry you will choose the woods and if you are going to paint your cabinetry to complement your worktop. Your appliances can be neutral colours like white or stainless steel or you could choose a bold colour like a red toaster or kettle, for example, to fit in with the wood worktop and painted cabinetry. You will need a fridge and freezer, a stove, potentially a dishwasher, possibly a washing machine and tumble dryer. The washing machine and tumble dryer should be allocated a separate area away from meal preparation zones to keep things ordered. Smaller appliances needed are a toaster, kettle, blender and possibly a grilled cheese machine. It may be wise to stick with the more neutral colours for appliances as it may be overwhelming to have bold coloured appliances when you already have a solid wood worktop making a statement and your painted or natural finish wood cabinetry.
Making a convenient and aesthetically pleasing cooking station
Your stove is critical to meal preparation and having a reliable stove makes all the difference to your meal preparation. Some people prefer a gas oven and gas stove plates while others prefer gas stove plates and electric oven. Or you may prefer all electric oven and stove plate top. If you want a gas oven, you will need an electrician to install the gas bottle for you that leads to your oven. The Scotland-based kitchen company of your choice may offer fitment of ovens for you in which case that will be easy or you will need to employ an electrician. Installing a backsplash behind your stove is important. Backslashes protect the wall behind your stove from cooking oils, grease and sauces that may spray up during cooking. They can be tiled or mosaiced and act as a feature to your kitchen.
Creating a solid wood multi-purpose kitchen island
You kitchen island cabinetry can be made from any of the afore mentioned wood types. These are oak, maple, cherry, birch, hickory, walnut and pine. The worktop can be made of the same wood as the base or can be granite, quartz, marble or something for a cheaper option laminated MDF. A solid wood base and worktop of your choice will suit the theme of your kitchen. Kitchen islands act as storage units, meal preparation surfaces and an eating space. You will need to choose some bar stools or chairs that can also be a wood of your choice or a stainless steel stool with cushioning. Kitchen islands are wonderful in bringing the family together while you prepare a meal or are ideal for entertaining guests.
Lighting
Lighting sets the mood in your kitchen. With a majorly wood dominated theme down LED lights would be a simple lighting solution. The kitchen company you are using may do the installation themselves or you will need an electrician to do your lighting and other electrical plug-points. Hanging lamps with lampshades look good as a feature above a kitchen island or you could even try a chandelier for a more grand, traditional kitchen.
Flooring
There is a choice when it comes to flooring options. Stone or tile is good for high traffic areas. Ceramic tile is durable. There is a variety of colours and styles to choose from. Limestone is a natural stone with an old-fashioned appeal. It must be sealed on installation and twice a year thereafter. Cork is durable and versatile. It is water-resistant and acts well as a noise reducer. Wooden flooring would fit in well with a wood-styled kitchen. Wood flooring is available in solid hardwood milled from a single piece of wood or engineered hardwood which is made by bonding layers of hardwood together. Plastic laminates are an alternative that is cheaper than wood. Vinyl flooring comes in a variety of colours and styles and is suited to those on a smaller budget.
Tying together your solid wood kitchen
The end result will look wonderful in your solid wood kitchen. With solid wood cabinetry and a solid wood kitchen island topped with wood countertops there will be an elegant theme to your kitchen. Or you could choose an alternative worktop with wood cabinetry which will also look good aesthetically. There is a host of wood to choose from for your worktops and cabinetry. After visiting your Scotland-based kitchen company you could get a free quote and design if offered to set the ball rolling on your wood choices. Wooden finishes are versatile. With wood worktops, many families choose painted wood cabinetry too but you may enjoy the natural wood finish on both your worktop and cabinetry. It all comes together after the design work is done and your cabinets are installed and worktops mounted. With your appliances in place and your flooring finished your kitchen will be everything you dreamed of and more!
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