suggestions-kitchen cabinets

Pecan was popular in the 70's. They may be very good quality compared to what's out there today.

Take some current photos. Ask some kitchen design services like HD or Lowe's. Some places can photoshop your kitchen w/a new look so you can preview before you buy.

I've been house hunting for several months. I just looked at one home where the kitchen was overdone compared to the rest of the home. I mean like overdone on steroids. While it was very nice it showed how the rest of the home needed upgrading badly.

Think about your neighborhood and your home. Who will be your likely buyers? Young families? Take that into consideration if you're going to be moving in a few years.

You might want to check out pinterest or some decorating blogs and see what people are doing now.

You should spend some time looking around - we have medium brown kitchen cabinets that are maple. There are also nice medium brown cherry out there. i had a hard time deciding which I wanted between the cherry and the maple and chose the maple because I liked the smoother finish as the cherry had highs and lows on the how the wood took the stain. I have medium brown cherry in our trailer and they are pretty there with a small space and so much wood with all the built ins - the highs and lows look nice there.

We built our home in 1988 when everything was oak, I love cherry and chose cherry wood for our cabinets.

Right now cherry is in big time. I don't think it ever goes out of style. To save a dollar or two, maple wood looks very simular.

I think maple and or cherry wood is always in style. The wood grain is very nice.

I agree with Happy Housewife that cherry does take on stain differently and the color will be varied on the same piece. Maple takes the color more evenly. Maple can be stained light, medium or dark. Sometimes maple is stained to look like cherry.

I would stay away from pine...it's too soft and shows dents and nicks and oak too as the grain is very pronounced and dominent.

If you're thinking of selling in the future choose cabinet doors that will appeal to the masses..a smple style that will go with modern as well as traditional styles.

If you want to incorporate that trim color into your cabinetry, you could consider doing the uppers and lowers two different finishes. One stained and one painted. This would keep the flow of the wood color in your house, yet incorporate another color so there won't be too much wood tone. Or you can do an island in a different finish, etc...

I would recommend going to a kitchen showroom--you will be stunned by the all the options available and combinations that you never even could have imagined! New displays are being added all the time. Don't limit yourself to Home Depot and Loew's--they're just the tip of the iceberg. It doesn't cost anything to look, and a good kitchen designer can guide you in the right direction for your price point and particular circumstances, and save you endless hours of your time.

I know I need to spend some more time in the show rooms...just sometimes the options start multiplying! And price points can really differ.

I think I will stick w/ medium tone wood, likely in maple, but also appreciate that I don't want to 'over-improve' relative to the whole house. Thanks for all the great suggestions! I appreciate your opinions,

I just had a hutch made by the Amish about a year ago. This is the top part of the hutch. It looks like oak, but it is hickory. Hickory has a much tighter grain than a lot of other woods and is beautiful. If you leave hickory in a natural state, there will be a lot of variation of color, but a stain will tie it all together.

Hope you like this. I have to agree, I would consult with a designer from a show room.

If your wood cabinets are in good condition, you might want to consider keeping them. I took the doors to my large upper cabinets to a woodworker and had them customized. We removed the center panels and replaced them with glass. For less than $50 each.

We are very pleased with the result.