Best Wood for Modern Kitchen Cabinets (11 Stylish and Charming Choices)

Create a breathtaking transformations to your kitchen using these top 11 modern cabinet wood options. Written by : Roomdsign.com Editors | Last Updated : April 17th, 2023

When it comes to modern-style kitchen, wood usually not be the first priority for the cabinets. However, mixing the natural beauty with modern flair becomes a new trend in recent years.

That’s why in today modern interior decor, you can find a lot of homeowners or interior designers try to incorporate some wooden elements to warm up and make the entire space feel comfy and cozy.

For a kitchen, cabinets is a perfect place where you can add those wooden twist to make the kitchen feel fresh and natural. However, keeping the kitchen’s visual appearance stay on the modern track can be a bit tricky. Thus, choosing the right kind of wood will be very essential, or you will potentially make your modern-themed kitchen shifting to a traditional or classical ones.

One of the most important things is looking at the wood character : the colors, texture, and grain. For a modern looks, you may need to choose any wood with lighter, neutral color instead the bold and vibrant ones. You may also need to choose any wood with simpler texture and grain, rather than the rich ones.

And since there are a dozen of different kinds of wood available on the market for kitchen cabinets, the selecting process may be overwhelming.

To help you with this, our expert will gives some practical advice and recommendations, added with real-life picture examples, so you can confidently choose the best wood for your modern kitchen cabinets. Let’s dive in and explore all of the options :

What Are The Best Wood for Modern Kitchen Cabinets?

Maple

Maple kitchen cabinets
Maple kitchen cabinets

With tight, uniform grain, maple can bring a sleek and clean appearance that will suit perfectly for a modern-style kitchen.

It’s smooth looks emphasize clean lines and bring a minimalism twist while still feel fresh and natural as any other wood choices.

It’s neutral tone is another advantages of this beautiful wood, giving you plenty of flexibility to use it alongside any other colors.


Birch

Birch kitchen cabinets
Birch kitchen cabinets

With pale color and finishes, birch can be a great alternatives for a modern, contemporary kitchen. It will emphasize simplicity and sleekness, making your kitchen looks clean and crisp.

But don’t worry, even tough it’s not as vibrant as any other wood, birch can still bring some warmth to make your space feel welcoming and inviting.


Cherry

Cherry kitchen cabinets
Cherry kitchen cabinets

If you want to bring strong richness to your kitchen, then you can try using cherry. Cherry wood had a rich, warm color that gives unique and distinctive appearance, creating an artistic looks for your kitchen.

To get the most of it, you can finish your cherry kitchen cabinets with glossy stain and make it a glam yet fresh addition to your kitchen.


Walnut

Walnut kitchen cabinets
Walnut kitchen cabinets

Even tough walnut had a deep and rich color, it can still looks neutral, and that’s why it can looks great inside any modern style kitchen.

With beautiful brown hues, walnut will add character to any kitchen without becomes a distraction, and can help any other kitchen elements to stand out.


White Oak

White oak kitchen cabinets
White oak kitchen cabinets

White oak is the best oak variant when it comes to modern decor. It had a light finishes with clean, consistent grain pattern that blend perfectly to contemporary kitchen design.

With strong durability, white oak is had a great resistant to moisture, making it a good choice for kitchen cabinets that are potentially exposed to high levels of humidity.


Ash

Ash kitchen cabinets
Ash kitchen cabinets

With bright color and texture, ash not only will fit inside any modern-themed kitchen, but it can also blend with any other colors, including the dark or vibrant ones.

And that’s why you can use ash for your kitchen cabinets if you prefer a simple, clean cabinets without too much drama.


Hickory

Hickory kitchen cabinets
Hickory kitchen cabinets

Hickory is a unique wood that had a wide spectrum of colors, making it a great vibrant choice if you want a wooden kitchen cabinets that stand out and becomes a main focal point for your kitchen.

And as a second hardest hardwood in North America, hickory can be a great investment in the long run.


Mahogany

Mahogany kitchen cabinets
Mahogany kitchen cabinets

If you are looking for a wood that can fit into your modern luxurious kitchen, then this is the best option for you. With strong, rich, and vibrant dark color, mahogany can creates a big statement wherever it’s used.

You can combine the mahogany cabinets with some glam hardware for an even better visual appearances.


Teak

Teak kitchen cabinets
Teak kitchen cabinets

As one of the strongest, and most durable wood, teak had been a popular choice for wooden outdoor furniture. However, it can also becomes an awesome choice for any interior elements such as kichen cabinets, giving you a great return of investment.

Moreover, it’s simple grain pattern will keep your kitchen looks sleek, while it’s exotic golden-brown color add a pop of color to bring your modern kitchen feel alive.


Bamboo

Bamboo kitchen cabinets
Bamboo kitchen cabinets

Most people may be using bamboo because of it’s environmentally friendly feature. However, as you can see in the image above, bamboo can also provide a beautiful vibrant looks that will fit perfectly inside any modern kitchen.

Another interesting feature of bamboo is that it can be finished in a variety of ways, so you can choose any kind of finishing that you like most.


Ebony

Ebony kitchen cabinets
Ebony kitchen cabinets

While most of the neutral wooden choices tend to be light, you can go to the opposite side and using this ebony wood for an elegant and bold black color.

Thus, this can be a great alternative for you who want to have a bold kitchen cabinets that still spread some natural and earthy vibe as any other wood.

However, since this kind of wood is quiet pricey, you should be allocate more budget compared to any other wood in this list.

Category : Kitchen Decor