If you like the idea of wood flooring and also want wood kitchen cabinets, selecting the right material and stain combination is key to a room that doesn’t feel cabin-like and overwhelmed with wood.

Hard wood floors are timeless because they’re a durable, beautiful, natural material, and wood cabinets are desirable for the same reasons. The key to balance in wood-heavy rooms is visual contrast and breaking the vertical plane.

If the materials are all the same or there isn’t enough contrast between the floors, cabinets and sometimes walls and ceilings too, the room will look like one heavy block of wood and the eye has nowhere to rest.

Kitchen with TaylorCraft's Beech Shaker style cabinet doors in C101-OE4, IE2, flat panel in custom finish by customer

Ideas to break up the wood surfaces:

Create a contrast sandwich

  • Use countertops in a color and material that contrasts with the wood color and reflects more light into the room, like a warm or bright white quartz or marble in a solid color or with light veining. Wood already has texture and visual interest so a busy countertop pattern or heavy veining paired with room full of wood can create an overwhelming look. The organic texture of Zellige tile reflects light unevenly, breaking up the large swaths of woodgrain, and makes a great backsplash option for wood cabinets.
  • Select backsplash materials in a similar color or the same material as the countertops to enlarge the contrast area and help bounce light around the room.

kitchen with double islands, 4S Slim Shaker cabinet doors, custom appliance panels in White Oak

Break up the wood surfaces

  • Do not try to match cabinets to the floor. Oak floors are popular for their durability. Rift and quarter sawn white oak cabinets are desirable for their neutral color, durability and beautiful wood grain pattern. To create contrast with similar materials on the cabinets and flooring, vary the grain and knottiness of the wood. For example use straight-grain, rift white oak on the cabinets and a cut with heavy cathedrals like plain sawn or wide plank, live sawn oak on the floors, or use knotty material on the floors. The knots in the flooring can help ground the space.
  • Vary the wood tones. Use a darker or lighter wood stain on the floor to contrast the cabinets.

Kitchen with Select Hard Maple shaker style doors with OE5, IE2 and FP1/4 profiles

  • Use a different material on the kitchen island. Paint the kitchen island in a color like green, blue, black, brick red, etc. to create contrast.
  • Waterfall island material down the island sides to create a visual break in the wood and reflect light and brightens the room.
  • Use washable rugs and runners to break up the large spans of wood materials and bring additional color into the room.

 

Kitchen with rift white oak 4S 1" Shaker cabinet doors for those looking for slim shaker look without mitered construction

  • Break up upper cabinets visually with open shelving, painted uppers or glass doors in different sections.

Introduce contrast through hardware, appliances and fixtures

  • Use matte black, brass or chrome hardware pulls and knobs to add visual interest and give the eye contrast

White Oak kitchen island with flat panel drawer fronts with vertical panel grain, wide stiles and rails and IE4 inside edge

  • Add large lighting elements like pendants and minimal, modern or traditional chandeliers, that create a statement, draw the eye upward and provide extra brightness in a room where wood absorbs a lot of light.
  • Use wide planks on the floor to contrast with more narrow cabinet door stiles and rails

For additional wood kitchen cabinet door and flooring combination photos visit our cabinet photo gallery here.