Painted Finish Cabinets

Painted finish is becoming more and more popular with cabinetry these days. It can give your kitchen a more modern look and the options for a painted finish are truly endless. You can get any color your heart desires as well as options like glossy, matte, or satin paint.

A bonus to doing a painted finish on your cabinets is that it gives you the freedom to use less expensive wood material. The paint will cover up the grain of the wood and therefore you can use wood materials like hardwood, plywood, and medium-density fiberboard.

However, with great freedom, comes great responsibility. Painted finish cabinets often require more maintenance than stained cabinets. They typically cannot be washed with water unless the paint specifically state. In addition, they are more likely to crack over time since the paint is simply sitting on top of the surface.

Stained Finish Cabinets

Your second option when deciding how to finish your cabinets is a stained finish. Stain is different from paint in that it is absorbed into the wood material of your cabinets. It adds some color to the wood, but its goal is to enhance the natural grain of the wood material.

Some added bonuses to doing a stained finish on your cabinets is it is easier to maintain and easier to clean. Stained finish cabinets can be washed with water while most painted cabinets cannot. Stained cabinets fair better with touch-ups than painted cabinets, because the touch-ups tend to blend better with the exposed wood grain.

Another benefit that stems from the stain blending with the wood material is you are less prone to cracks. The stain will move with the wood as it contracts and morphs with humidity, whereas painted cabinets would be more prone to cracking.

When deciding to do stained finish cabinets, it’s important to get a high-quality wood material. There are a couple reasons for this. The stain blends in with the wood. With a low quality material, this blending will not occur. Plus, the more high-quality wood material you use the more beautiful your cabinetry will be as the stain will accunate the stunning wood grain.

There are benefits and drawbacks to each finish, but ultimately, you can’t go wrong. With the proper care either finish can be perfect in your new kitchen. If you’re having trouble deciding between finishes, you could benefit from consulting with an interior designer like L&M Design-Build-Furnish. An interior designer will help you determine which finish will fit in seamlessly with your kitchen.