There is nothing more beautiful than solid wood. No two trees are exactly alike, allowing each piece of furniture to have its own individual appearance and beauty. Each piece of wood, each cabinet, and each kitchen is unique. The distinct beauty of wood cabinets is derived from the grain pattern. The process of staining and finishing helps to enhance, blend, or minimize this grain and bring out the true beauty in each piece of wood used to make your cabinets.
Oak is a strong, heavy wood with pronounced grain patterns. The grain will vary from a closely knit grain to a sweeping arch pattern or flame. Occasional dark streaks known as mineral streaks are common in furniture quality Oak. Knotty Oak exhibits the same characteristics as Oak, with much more prominent and typically larger knots and mineral streaks.
Alder is a strong hardwood, with typically straight and fine textured grain details. Its appearance is often similar to that of Maple, Birch and Cherry. It is very uniform in texture, with occasional mineral streaks and small knots, adding to the unique character of this beautiful wood. Knotty Alder is similar to Alder, with the exception of more and typically larger knots in the wood.
Maple is a hard wood, typically straight-grained, with a fine, even texture. Variations in the wood will also appear, producing a birdseye, curly grain or fiddleback pattern. Mineral streaks or sugar streaks are common, and will vary in size and quantity from piece to piece. They are a natural characteristic of maple and will appear darker when stained.
Cherry is a strong and moderately hard wood. The beautiful markings and rich luster of Cherry have long been desirable to woodworkers and homeowners alike. These markings can be seen as occasional clusters of tiny pin knots or bird pecks, mineral streaks, and small darker streaks of gum. Cherry darkens and gains more red or copper hue when exposed to light, but does reach a point when the color stabilizes. Different elements of cherry, its lighter sapwood and darker heartwood, will darken and change hue independently, and will be more noticeable in lighter stains. In natural or light stains, this wood may show variations in color from white, red, black or green in some areas, and may vary from even to wild.
Hickory is a heavy, hard, and strong wood. Color and shade variations of this wood are dramatic, ranging from off-white to charcoal. Its grain pattern is strong, with a bird"s eye pattern and a medium coarse texture. Mineral streaks, knots and pinholes or bird pecks are common. Typical degrees of variation are often not present in a single sample.
Beech is whitish to reddish brown, straight-grained wood with small grey flecks and light mineral coloring and streaking. Beech is a strong wood with a density that is similar to maple. Rustic Beech has most of the same features as Beech, plus Rustic will include repaired knots of various sizes and heavy mineral coloring and streaking.
