The Pros And Cons Of Real Wood Kitchen Cabinets

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A few decades ago, if you wanted kitchen cabinets, real wood was really your only option. Thanks to engineering innovations, that has now changed. Plywood cabinets are now widely available and more attractive than ever before. Cabinet makers are also using composites, like MDF, with increasing frequency. Yet, there is still a market for real wood cabinets, and they may, in fact, be the right cabinets for you. Here's a look at the major pros and cons of choosing real wood cabinets.

Pro: Wood cabinets can easily be made to match your other woodwork.

If you have a lot of other wood in your kitchen, such as a natural wood trim or a wood floor, then wooden cabinets are really your only option if you want everything to match. Cabinet makers can use a wide range of woods, from oak to maple, to make your cabinets. They'll determine what kind of wood is already in your kitchen, and then choose wood for your cabinets that looks the same. 

Pro: You can easily stain and paint wood.

Some materials, like MDF, come pre-finished in a certain color. If you decide that you no longer want that color later on, then you basically have to get new cabinets. This is not the case with wood. If you like the stained look right now but decide you would rather have black painted cabinets later on, that's perfectly fine. You can strip and re-paint wood again and again.

Pro: Wood cabinets are durable.

Some of the newer cabinet materials ding and dent easily. Wood is comparatively more durable, especially if you choose a really hard wood, like oak or maple. Your cabinets will look new for longer.

Con: Wood is expensive.

One reason these new materials are so popular is that they are cheap. Cabinets made from composites can be turned out one after another in almost no time at all. Wood cabinets take longer to produce, so they come with a higher price tag. If you're on a tight budget, real wood cabinets may not be for you.

Con: Wood bows with changes in humidity.

If you live in an area where the humidity fluctuates, you're going to notice that your wooden cabinets bow and warp over time. You can minimize this somewhat by installing a dehumidifier and a humidifier in your home to keep the humidity levels in a closer range, but this is another expense to consider.

To learn more about the upsides and downsides of real wood cabinets, talk to a cabinet maker near you.

For more information about kitchen cabinets, contact a company like Burton's Luxury Bath & Kitchen.

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