Kitchen Cabinet Stain Colors: How to Design a Stylish Kitchen?

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Does the look of your old kitchen bother you? Do you feel the interior dull and uninspiring? There are plenty of ways of giving a kitchen a brand new look without blowing away your entire budget for kitchen renovation. One of the best possible ways of doing so is to choose brand new kitchen cabinet stain colors. This works especially well if you have a kitchen with quality cabinets that don’t need any kind of refurbishments.

High quality wooden kitchen cabinets are a worthy possession. They should not be thrown away at a whim especially when it is so easy to give these cabinets a new look only by changing their colors. Once you finish this project, you will immediately notice how bright and beautiful your kitchen starts looking. If you have an open plan kitchen this will also wow your friends who come to visit you in your home.

Kitchen cabinet inspirations

Almost every kitchen is decorated with two types of cabinets – the floating ones that are mounted on the walls and the base units. The floating cabinets, especially those that are mounted high on the walls, are used for storing away from kitchen appliances, utensils etc that are not too heavy. You may also store away kitchen articles that you don’t need frequently in this part of the cabinet.

The base units are generally reserved for frequently used kitchen items – from pots and pans to spices and condiments. The base units are easier to access which make them very useful for organizing frequently used kitchen articles. Kitchen islands are also fitted with shelving systems and drawers. You can store away your cutlery and other necessary items on these shelves or in the drawers of this cabinet.

From metal to plywood, modern kitchen cabinets are made of multiple items. Sometimes cabinets are built from a combination of different materials like natural wood, plywood, metal and glass. Natural wooden cabinets are costlier than metallic or plywood cabinets with laminated surfaces. Despite its price, solid wooden cabinets remain one of the most coveted features in contemporary kitchens for modern homeowners.

Changing kitchen cabinet stain color: What you should know?

Before you plan to change the cabinet stain color, make sure the material used for this purpose is suitable to adapt to any stains. Choose a color that complements the color scheme of the kitchen. If you have an open plan living room, dining area and kitchen take note of the color scheme of the entire space before option for any one color for the cabinets.

Take into account the natural color and texture of the wood. Sometimes it is best to play up these features rather than covering them up under a different color. The natural shade and texture of wood also have a warming effect on the ambience of the kitchen. Many homeowners like to have a trendy kitchen design. So they fall for the stain colors that are in vogue for the moment. Don’t try to do this in your kitchen. While refinishing kitchen cabinets, choose colors that have a perennial feel. Choosing colors for a single season will quickly make your kitchen look outdated with the change of the season.

While opting for a specific color scheme, consider how much light is available in the space. Certain colors like charcoal gray or chestnut brown look more beautiful in a room flooded with natural light. When natural light is insufficient, you may install artificial lighting fixtures to make this space look and feel more cheerful. The effect of the stain colors will be optimum under sufficient lighting.

How to stain kitchen cabinets?

This is a work for the specialists so don’t attempt this unless you have got some experience with this type of work. You will waste your money, time and efforts unnecessarily. Once you have chosen your favored color, use sandpaper to remove the old stains. Use a dust mask and wear gloves to protect yourself during this phase.

You will need quality pre-stain wood conditioner which should be applied on the raw wood. Do this once you finish removing the old paint with the help of sandpapers. You may opt for either oil based or water based pre-conditioners. Oil based wood conditioners should be used prior to utilizing oil based stains. Water based pre-conditioners are better for water based stains.

Oil based wood conditioners are especially needed for cabinets made from fir, maple, pine or birch. Remove the cabinet doors and hardware to easily work on the surfaces. This will help you reach to the corners of the cabinet more effortlessly. Take some time out after this and let the wood conditioner get properly soaked in by natural wood. Then you may proceed with the work of repainting the cabinets with a brand new stain.

Cabinet stain colors ideas

Homify has a great repository of kitchen designs which you may search for new cabinet stain colors ideas. Some of the most popular kitchen cabinet stain colors include dark gray, pitch black, warm white, chestnut brown, blonde, blue and cherry red. Scandinavian kitchens can be decorated with gray, white or black kitchen cabinets. 

Blonde and brown cabinets look great in almost every setting including rustic, country style, vintage and classically designed homes. Modern kitchen can be decorated with any of these colors depending on the overall color palette of the room. Complement your cherry red cabinets with a neutral color scheme. Cabinets with such vibrant colors are bound to be a center of attraction in this space.

White stained cabinets

White stained cabinets give this space a very chic feel. It is an evergreen stain color so you need not fear going out of fashion with the change of the season. Invest in washable colors as they are easy to maintain especially in a space like kitchen which tends to develop stains and dirt marks easily. White cabinets can be set in a Scandinavian style kitchen, modern kitchen or retro style kitchen. To create an interesting contrast you may install worktops with blonde shade. Granite or slate worktop also looks chic in a space like this.

Gray stained cabinets

Gray stained cabinets are modern favorites. You may opt from a wide variety of grey shades. Gray merges well with other hot shades like carmine, orange, yellow or persimmon. It can be combined with white and black as well. In fact, it is a transitional shade between black and white. You may opt for pale gray stains for your cabinets, especially, you have a small but light filled kitchen. Charcoal grey cabinets can be reserved for larger spaces. Try to balance some of the stern character of gray with potted plants. Herbs like mint, basil, spinach and lavender can be easily grown in small planters and kept close to the windows. With small but careful touches like these you will easily be able to decorate a very modish kitchen.

Dark color options

Dark stain colors like cherry red, brown, black, dark gray, green and blue are frequently used in kitchen cabinets. You can utilize any of the colors in your kitchen too. One huge benefit of using dark colors is it does not make stain mark easily identifiable. Kitchen cabinet wood stain colors can be used in combination with dark shades. For example, if you have a dark red, blue, grey or brown feature wall or back splash you can set cabinets with wooden stain colors against them and give a very appealing makeover to the entire room. Don’t forget to make optimum use of light. Otherwise, dark colors will make this space look drab and dingy.

Check out these trendy kitchen designs for your home.

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