kitchen cabinets with 2 different finishes?

I tend to watch a fair amount of the DIY Home Improvment type shows.

The way i look at is that a lot of the 'higher' level designs will look outdated far sooner than the simpler designs.

But the key thing is, if you like it go for it. Doing it for property value is a fallacy. Do it, and do it now, and then you will have more time to enjoy it while you live in it. We spent many years putting up with substandard stuff, and then when we moved out decided we should 'upgrade'. Stupid. We should have upgraded while we were there and enjoyed it...
 
yeah, Brent, I agree. I haven't decided yet how I feel about the 2 colors.

This next house we're moving into, we plan on staying in until we leave in pine boxes. We're fixing it up exactly how we want it, just for us for our own taste. For the first time in our lives, we don't have any interest in whether anyone else likes it or how it might affect market value. this will be only for us. So I was just wondering about those two color cabinets that I'm seeing more and more. I think it's probably a fad. I've also seen cabinets where the panel is different wood than the frame.....

I've been planning all along to use Hickory--there's 2 colors for ya! I think Hickory is way too busy for any of that nonsense. but since I saw some Cherry, now I'm hesitating....Cherry is awful pretty.....
 
I've seen those shows too (probably because Brent had them on).

I think it's a fad, but one thing, it may draw the eye away from those times that you just don't get around to cleaning the kitchen (I'm really not trying to be funny/snarky like I usually am). I think those types of cabinets will draw the eye away from the overall look of the kitchen.

When I glance over at my kitchen (we have it all in a great room), I just like how subtle it is (even with all the misc. stuff on the counters). A simple maple. Perhaps if we had a separate kitchen "room", then I would be more daring with it's look.

But, I agree, if it is what you want, then go for it, and send us plenty of pics, because as you know, no pics, it never happened :rofl::rofl::eek:
 
...we plan on staying in until we leave in pine boxes...

The trend these days is for two-toned boxes, maybe maple on top and cherry on the bottom. But I think it's a fad. Good ol' pine will go with any cemetery decor. :p

I tend to prefer a single wood and color for both uppers and lowers, but I've seen some beautiful raised panel cabinets with the (typically high-figured) panels a different tone than the frames.
 
Hey Vaughn, pine is okay with me. Here's a photo I've saved for 10 years. I love this kitchen. It's pine isn't it? And see those round spindles? next to the lower cabinets? those are made with a lathe aren't they?

View attachment 46598

Looks like pine to me, and I agree...it looks very nice. And yeppers, those spindles are made on a lathe. Quite possibly an automated machine instead of some guy holding a chisel to the spinning wood, but a lathe nonetheless. Perhaps something like this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcGnbkEbw-g

And here's the hand-driven equivalent (although his tool technique is not a stellar example):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8kOcbvcLFw
 
I guess I'm an odd ball cause the houses I bought I could have cared less what some one else might think about how we were fixing it up. I did it for us to enjoy while we lived there and when we sold it that person could do what they wanted to it. Seems kind of crazy to spend that amount of money on a house and live with something you might not like after a while just because you might sell it someday. Life is to short for craziness like that.:wave:
 
That's not to hard to build Cynthia. Definite country style. Raised panels are quite easy once you get the right set up. Those posts do look like an interesting feature but do waste a bit of valuable cupboard space in my opinion and making them on the lathe would be easy ( see I knew you would be drawn to the dark side:D).

Cherry wood is very nice but you have to be careful when you assemble the components as wood even from the same board can be blotchy. I scored a full set of cherry cabinet doors ( 35) from used Vic that a local cabinet shop was throwing away as someone had messed up and mixed up some different shades of cherry into the frames. Doesn't bother me but the people spending big bucks up on Bear Mtn Golf resort only want the best in everything.

When I get to building my shop and new home on Salt Spring island I will use them in the new kitchen I am designing.
 
That's not to hard to build Cynthia. Definite country style. Raised panels are quite easy once you get the right set up. Those posts do look like an interesting feature but do waste a bit of valuable cupboard space in my opinion and making them on the lathe would be easy ( see I knew you would be drawn to the dark side:D).

Cherry wood is very nice but you have to be careful when you assemble the components as wood even from the same board can be blotchy. I scored a full set of cherry cabinet doors ( 35) from used Vic that a local cabinet shop was throwing away as someone had messed up and mixed up some different shades of cherry into the frames. Doesn't bother me but the people spending big bucks up on Bear Mtn Golf resort only want the best in everything.

When I get to building my shop and new home on Salt Spring island I will use them in the new kitchen I am designing.

Drew, when we say Pine, what kind of pine are we talking about? Do each of the evergreen woods look different? I'm thinking any kind of pine would be an attractive price.

Also, with the evergreens, isn't that when you have problems with pitch pockets?

Re: spindles. I have a better idea. How about I get *you* to make the spindles *for* me.

When are you moving to Salt Spring? Are you gonna have a nice rowboat so you can come visit me up island? :D

And last--I want flat panels. but I'm thinking it's doable. Just gotta get started and get some experience under my belt. :thumb:
 
Drew, when we say Pine, what kind of pine are we talking about? Do each of the evergreen woods look different? I'm thinking any kind of pine would be an attractive price.

Also, with the evergreens, isn't that when you have problems with pitch pockets?

Re: spindles. I have a better idea. How about I get *you* to make the spindles *for* me.

When are you moving to Salt Spring? Are you gonna have a nice rowboat so you can come visit me up island? :D

And last--I want flat panels. but I'm thinking it's doable. Just gotta get started and get some experience under my belt. :thumb:

Spruce, pine and fir are the woods that we have around here. They are soft woods and not my first choice for cabinets. Pitch and knots are a problem with these types of wood. No mater what you use it will have to be Kiln dried and I have still run into issues with the knots not taking finishes well. Sanding can be in issue too as the grains are not consistant and you can get hills and valleys in the wood as they will sand different. Not saying it can't be done but this is why I don't like using them. Given a choice I would go with maple or cherry. It comes down to cost as well and though I can make doors sometimes it is cheaper buying doors made in a factory as they have all the equipment to do it and unless you are going to get into making doors on a regular basis I find it not worth it to get all the equipment for just a few cabinets. It can get expensive, but saying that it is rewarding making them yourself. You just Have to ask yourself how much it is worth to you. :dunno:

We can discuss the spindle/ post issue later once your moved :rolleyes:

We have a place there already on acarage, as my wife lived there for 23 yrs and her late husband was the captain of the ferry. We just had to wait till the kids had moved out and am waiting to hear back from the school board about my getting hired back on with them. We have plans on building a shop and maybe a second home/cabin there. Oh yea I already built a cedar strip canoe and have plans and materials for cedar strip Kayaks that I have to get to one day ( I have been trapped by the spinning vortex for the past 9 months :rofl:)

Everything is doable and getting set up is only half the fun. You have started off on the right foot by joining a good family on here and not just lurking in the shadows. There is a wealth of info here on any topic of wood working you want to know. :thumb: There are also wood working/ turning guilds and clubs all over the place espesially where you are moving to. I have a subscription to Fine WW mag and Wood Mag has lots of good projects in it. I am sure that there are more but those two are my favorite and the latest edition out ( august) has discussions about air filters/cleaners and sharpening chisels and plane blades that is worth looking at. I have years of issues and you can get back issues on line too. Just don't be too over welmed with everything too much it is lots of fun accumulating tools oh and go to garage sales it is amazind what you can find there or on used Victoria and craigs list.
 
Spruce, pine and fir are the woods that we have around here. They are soft woods and not my first choice for cabinets. Pitch and knots are a problem with these types of wood. No mater what you use it will have to be Kiln dried and I have still run into issues with the knots not taking finishes well. Sanding can be in issue too as the grains are not consistant and you can get hills and valleys in the wood as they will sand different. Not saying it can't be done but this is why I don't like using them. Given a choice I would go with maple or cherry......

We can discuss the spindle/ post issue later once your moved :rolleyes:

Everything is doable and getting set up is only half the fun. You have started off on the right foot by joining a good family on here and not just lurking in the shadows. There is a wealth of info here on any topic of wood working you want to know. :thumb: There are also wood working/ turning guilds and clubs all over the place espesially where you are moving to. I have a subscription to Fine WW mag and Wood Mag has lots of good projects in it. .....oh and go to garage sales it is amazind what you can find there or on used Victoria and craigs list.

Yeah, sounds like the softwoods aren't worth it. If I'm going to do it, I better choose a hardwood. What I want is a "country" look. I think I can achieve that with any wood. I do want to do the doors. I want a pretty simple flat panel door. Go big or go home. I want to be able to say, "I made that. all of it."

Yeah, I will join the guild in Victoria and there's some kind of club up island too. And I think you could say I'm taking full advantage of the forum. Pretty soon, I'll have a question/post under every heading here! :D

Hey, why roll your eyes? I thought it was a BRILLIANT idea. :D:D:rofl::thumb:
 
Don't let Drew scare you off of pine. IMO it's one of the easiest woods to work with.:thumb::thumb:

I'm not trying to scare her off it and that is the last thing I would want anyone to get from me. I have built cabinets and doors with it before and I am just passing on some of my experiences with it. Sure it's easy to work with but there are issues with it all the same. It is also getting pretty expensive these days.
 
Cynthia,
Another wood to consider is Alder.

In your part of the world, it's fairly inexpensive. It's a bit harder than pine - about like poplar - and is easy to work with. It takes a clear finish well, and also takes dyes and stains with minimal splotching (actually way better than pine in that regard).

I did a whole kitchen in Alder about ten years ago, when I lived in SoCal, and it got a lot of compliments - especially when I was selling the house.
 
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