You may hear me mention wood cabinetry, and the flash back starts, taking you to the 90s with your golden oak decorative cabinets paired with laminate countertop, and linoleum flooring. If this is you, you may have promised yourself that you would never have a wood kitchen again. But the wood cabinetry we’re talking about today is different from the wood cabinetry of yesterday.

More and more of today’s homeowners desire to bring more nature-inspired and warm elements into the space, while still creating a timeless space. Wood cabinetry and furniture is an excellent way to combine both these goals. Depending on your style, wood elements can enhance the rustic feel to a traditional space or add warmth and texture into a modern home.

So how should you incorporate it into your space so you don’t feel like you need to change it again in 10 years and avoid feeling like it was a passing trend.

Believe it or not, the base cabinets in the kitchen above are red oak! Believe it or not, these cabinets are Oak! By designing this kitchen with slab fronts, light color, and paired with white painted upper cabinet we achieved a modern design while being able to show off the strong texture of the oak wood. So now I hope I have you convinced that wood cabinetry is not just a thing of the past. So how do you incorporate it into your kitchen…the right way? We offer 7 different wood types and alternatives in our two cabinet lines – Maple, Alder, Cherry, Red Oak, White Rift Oak, Walnut, and Textured Melamine (TFL). Read more about each type of wood on our blog post here.

Two-Toned Kitchen

Two-toned kitchens is one of the most popular ways we see homeowners incorporating wood tones into their home. When designing a kitchen with a mix of painted cabinets and wood cabinets, a general rule is to design the base cabinet in wood and the upper cabinets in a neutral painted finish. Here are a few more ideas on how to incorporate two tones into a space.

• Base cabinets & Island in Wood,
• Upper cabinets and Pantry/Fridge in White

• Perimeter in Wood
• Island in White or Colour

• Perimeter in White
• Island and Range Hood Accent in Wood

Three-Toned Kitchen

A design style that has come up in popularity in the most recent years is a three-toned kitchen. A three-toned kitchen often combines a neutral, a color, and a wood that compliment each other.

This kitchen is one of our favorite examples of a three-toned kitchen. Wood on all the base cabinets including the island, white for the tall pantry cabinets, and a pop of blue for the upper cabinets and range hood.

Another way to execute the tri-tone kitchen is a color for the base cabinets, white for the upper cabinets and pantry, and wood on the island matched with the floating shelves

All Wood Kitchen

Not something you see very often in newer kitchens is an all wood kitchen. But we love it! Balanced with a lighter backsplash and countertop an all wood kitchen can be warm and homey.

This kitchen utilized our modern cabinet line with TFL front which is used as a wood alternative to achieve the look of wood with a more consistent pattern.

Accent with Wood

You may prefer a mostly white or neutral-color painted kitchen but want to add a touch of warmth into the space with wood. Below are some beautiful ways to do this sp.

Wood floating shelves in an all blue kitchen

Wood interior shelving in glass cabinets

Wood detail on the range hood

Wood detailing on island

Combination of wood detail on island, range hood, and floating shelves

A few additional tips to adding wood cabinetry in a modern way into your home:

• Choose a slab or slim shaker door style – simply choosing a a simple, less decorative design in the door style will help overall in taking the kitchen out of the 1980s
• Choose a lighter stain – the way you may remember wood cabinetry is natural oak cabinets, which yellow overtime. Opt for a light color stain for a more modern, and homey feel
• Choose a modern cabinet line – our Zonavita product line was designed specifically with modern kitchen design in mind.
• Be aware of the accessories you pick – a lot of the time the thing we don’t like about a kitchen may not even be the cabinets, but the hardware and the countertops!