Again on my new house;
We’re going back and forth on what kind of wood to use for our cabinets. First it was Cherry, then Maple with Cherry accents, then we went into a plywood shop and found Planetree wood, which as I investigated, became not so exotic but was actually Sycamore from Europe, but is (I belive) fundementally the same as domestic Sycamore. Beautiful color and depth with lively fleck.
Anybody with any info on the suitability or not of this wood?
Thanks again,
mike
Replies
our of curiosity, has this house been built yet? If so, is the kitchen waiting for cabinets... floor, walls, countertops have been decided? How does this wood choice fit into the entire scheme? Personally, I find attention grabbing woods on kitchen cabinets to be somewhat annoying after the initial novelty has worn off. just wondering how you'veapproachedthis.
Here is the wood. From a sycamore tree also called planetree. Not overly exotic, very warm with gold and reddish tones. (If the file attached) Floors planned are Natural Cork Merida pattern click lock, modern organic style in the home. Cedar valance running throughout above doors and windows. Cabinets are planned as Flat Panel doors
interesting looking wood, a 3-D effect, does it take to machining well?
What I've learned on the web is that it is not terrifically stable, although it has been used in the past as a butcher block, for the sides of drawers, and older furniture.
It's mostly used now in veneer and may be catching on as a funiture wood tho my architect thinks it looks too varied, like Hickory. (I don't think it's that gradiated, in person the grades really flow together)(as I recall)
Don't know anything about this particular wood... but one word of advice.
Exotics are appealing to some people... however, when it comes time to sell a house, exotics can be your best selling point... or your worst obstacle. Cherry, Maple, Maple with Cherry accents... pretty standard and overall appealing to a wide spectrum of people. If you are looking to be in the house for a long time... do whatever floats your boat, as long as the wood is not a horrid cab wood. If you are looking to only be there a short time... then a more conventional choice may be in order.
One story. Just after I returned to the biz... I had a customer that wanted custom purple-heart cabs with maple crown and maple raised panels. I advised the same as above... but they decided to go ahead with the custom cabs. Cool with me... I advise, they decide. (LOTS of engineering in those cabs, as the expansion characteristics of purple-heart and maple are A LOT different)
Caught wind that they may have sold the house. (Keep in mind, these cabs turned out absolutely b-e-a-u-t-i-f-u-l). Stopped by to see if they needed any work done on their new place... and sure enough, part of the deal with the new buyer included removal of the custom cabs and the cost of install of oak cabs by the seller (buyer was picking up the actual cost of the new cabs... but not instalation... that to be paid by seller). Just so happens that, with very little modification, the custom cabs can be used in a bar area in the seller's new house.... so they are taking them with 'em.
Mike:
2 thoughts:
Good luck
daveinnh
Hello there:
We recently built cabinets with maple stained with a 50/50 mix of cherry and early american stain - my Minwax. They were about 30 percent cheaper (material costs) than cherry and looked pretty fine when we were finished. Satin finish. Everyone was pretty happy.
I've seen a few cabinet banks done with highly figured woods and I find they can be a bit much. However that is just personal taste. The worst was an entire kitchen of curly maple done in an automotive high gloss finish . . . . it hurt my eyes. However, I'm sure that the next guy would go in and think it fantastic. I tend to use highly figured woods for small accents.
My 3 cents.
mark
I agree with a point , if your not going to be in it long, pick a popular and known type and style.
we built a set of cabinets for a owner, this was gonna be their home forever.
She wanted a rustic looking hickory, the knotty the better. And it did fit their life style.
Floor was #3 oak, again , going for the rustic look. But it all started to clash, to much "action"
opps divorce , house sold. First thing to go, acording to friend that got the job, was to reface the cabinets
Cherry looks nice too, but cherry gets darker as it ages. I like it for entertainment centers, furniture, occasional bath cabinets
IMHO you want a kitchen that is bright and inviting, not one that needs 800 watts of light bulbs going to make it feel bright.