Kitchen cabinets can look vastly different depending on their finish – but not all finishes are created equal. Paul DeFeis, senior managing partner at Trade Mark Design & Build, explains the ins and outs of choosing a kitchen cabinet finish that’s right for you:
A lot of it has to do with preference. To start with, everything in the cabinet industry ends up getting coated with a conversion varnish. It’s an extremely durable type of top coating that goes on top of the cabinet, or a stain.
Durability is the main objective with conversion varnish finishes. They are baked on and you can do hand-brushed ones, painted ones, and can have all the durability that comes with that conversion varnish. It is definitely the way to go.
Certain considerations you might take when choosing different woods concern largely how they mellow out over 10 years. So when planning for the future, keep in mind the result of what your product will look like as it matures. Here are the main ones to look out for:
- Oak tends to get a more yellow tone to it
- Cherries get more of a deep warm red
- Maples tend to yellow a little bit
- Painted finishes stay pretty much the color they are
- With stain colors, go a shade or two lighter with cherry as over time it will mellow out and get some depth and warmth to it.
The next thing to think about it the sheen level. As a rule, a 60 percent sheen level is standard. But in the past 10 years, a 20 percent sheen level - or less - has make pronounced jump in the market. That is a departure form liking all things shiny and new, and we can see this happening in all rooms of the house. A lot more people are now going for a distressed weathered look in the kitchen, for example, with Tuscan or Old World finishes being popular.
We usually want people to reflect on their own gut feeling about what they want when choosing a finish, not worrying about the next person who will buy the house. Their taste will be reflected in every area of the house, and the kitchen finish is just one part of that. That’s really what we advise, not to worry so much about the next guy.
So go for what you like, keeping your own tastes in mind. But think about how it will look and weather in 10 years’ time, and whether it will keep its look or change over the years.
