Cabinets, Kitchen and Bath Remodeling

5 Types Wood That Works Best For Bathroom Cabinets

One of the most beautiful features you can add to your bathroom are wooden bathroom cabinets. There is nothing quite like the look and feel of natural wood bathroom cabinets to complete your home design goals. 

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Going with solid wood bathroom vanities and cabinets might seem like an expensive dream, but it is an investment that you can feel proud of for decades. We have never heard of anyone who regrets having real wood bathroom cabinets installed in their home.

For this article, our expert cabinetry team will explain the best types of wood for wooden bathroom cabinets. From reading this article you can go from a complete beginner, to knowing everything you need to choose the correct wooden bathroom cabinets for your home.

Cherry Wood Bathroom Cabinets

The wood of the cherry tree is known for its exquisite beauty, and if you want to have unfinished wood bathroom cabinets or clear coated cabinets, this wood is an excellent choice. Cherry has a light colored sapwood, and a rich red heartwood with notes of pink throughout. 

Because of its intense beauty, cherry wood can come with a high price tag, and it is not recommended to paint over it or cover it in any way. If you want to show off some impressive hardwood in your bathroom, cherry is an excellent choice.

Cherry wood darkens as it ages, taking on more of a brownish color but keeping some of its redness. Don’t expect your cherry wood cabinets to keep looking the same over the years, or you will be disappointed.

Douglas Fir Bathroom Cabinets

One of the most abundant wood species in the USA, douglas fir is a great option for light wood bathroom cabinets. You can opt for clear fir, which is more expensive, or you can choose knotty fir which is a budget friendly solid wood option.

Douglas fir is the second tallest species of tree, reaching over 300 feet and many hundreds to a thousand years old. It is widely planted by timber companies and makes up the framing lumber for many homes in the USA.

It is an easy wood to work with for cabinets. It has light colored, straight grains that many people enjoy looking at. Don’t feel too bad about painting douglas fir, it is a common wood and not too expensive.

Birch Wood Bathroom Cabinets

This widely available wood is a wonderful, budget friendly alternative to other hardwood species. It has a light colored sapwood, with a dark colored heartwood. Therefore, you can choose different shades of wood for your bathroom cabinets.

Birch wood takes paint very well if you want to have solid wood cabinets to put a nice color of paint on. It is not considered a high end wood, but it still looks amazing and beautiful if you want to clear coat it and display it in your bathroom.

The closed grain nature of birch makes it nearly waterproof, which is perfect for the humidity found in most bathrooms. Birch wood is used for many types of furniture because it is strong and lightweight, which means it can be a durable choice for bathroom cabinets.

Oak Wood Bathroom Cabinets

The wood from the oak tree is a classic choice for bathroom cabinets. It is a light colored wood that works well in a modern bathroom with lighter colored walls or tiles. In a darker bathroom, oak can feel a little cold, so be aware of your surroundings.

Many hardwood floors are made from oak, so you will instantly recognize this wood when you see it. It was very popular in the 90’s, but fell out of favor in recent years. It is now ready to make a comeback as a trendy species for cabinets.

Oak is extremely hard, so it will stand up to the wear and tear of being in your bathroom. Oak is not terribly expensive, and it takes paint well. Moreover, oak is a fine choice if you want to paint your solid wood bathroom cabinets.

Walnut Wood Bathroom Cabinets

This wood species is most famous as the material for many bathroom vanities. Walnut makes beautiful and durable dark wood bathroom cabinets with a rich satiny finish. Furniture makers have loved using walnut wood for centuries, and it is an elegant choice for your bathroom cabinets.

Walnut is extremely hard, which makes it perfect for bathroom vanities and cabinets. It is not easy to make scratches or dings in walnut furniture. You can be sure that you walnut bathroom cabinets will keep looking incredible for many years.

Many people choose to leave walnut cabinets unfinished because they don’t want to mess with its natural properties. Having a walnut bathroom cabinet or vanity in your home is something you can feel proud to show off to friends and family.

Some Things To Know About Solid Wood Bathroom Cabinets

Most cabinets today are made mostly from plywood. The difference between plywood and natural wood is that plywood is made from pieces of natural wood glued together. Plywood is cheaper and easy to work with, but doesn’t always last as long as solid wood.

For the most part, only the doors of wooden bathroom cabinets are made from solid wood. The boxes themselves may be framed in solid wood, but the walls, floor and ceiling of the box are made from plywood.

There may be some additional maintenance with solid wood cabinets. You may need to refinish them every five years or so to keep them looking their best.

Watch Out For Wood Veneer

Many people buy wooden cabinets thinking they are getting beautiful, solid wood. Only to later find out that they have purchased plywood cabinets with a thin layer of real wood on the outside. 

A refutable cabinet seller would never trick you into thinking you’re buying solid wood cabinets. Make sure you know what you are buying so that someone doesn’t take advantage of you. Plywood cabinets or veneer cabinets should be considerably cheaper than solid wood cabinets.

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