For the last several years painted, white cabinets have been the top trend in the kitchen and bath industry. The all white room with white shaker style cabinets topped by Carrara marble counter tops , and white, subway tile back splash has reigned supreme, gracing covers and taking up center spreads of countless kitchen and bath design magazines. That trend is now starting to shift.

What will replace white kitchen cabinets?

In our high-tech, automated world we’re excited to see the trend away from sterile, all-white kitchens, back to something more natural, with timeless appeal: furniture and cabinetry that showcases the beauty of natural woodgrain. The recently completed model home kitchen below-left with TaylorCraft doors in knotty alder is a great example as well as the modern, edgebanded, maple-veneer kitchen below-right.

There have been a number of articles highlighting the natural wood trend recently including:

House Beautiful – Natural Wood Is Trendy Again
Hansgrohe – Experience Nature
LA Times – Trend Spotting

Clear finish or very subtle, light stains are also showing up more in furniture showrooms. Furniture is easier to change out than cabinetry, however where the furniture industry goes, the kitchen and bath industry tends to follow when it comes to material trends.

The steady rise in mid-century modern design popularity has also brought back demand for products made from natural wood solids and veneers.

2017 model home kitchen in stained maple with custom, wood vent hood

We’re starting to see this natural wood trend in products our customers are asking about and ordering, products generating the most interest on our website and products being pinned and saved from our Pinterest and Houzz pages.

The designs are simple and modern and the finish lets the natural beauty of the wood color and grain show through.

With this up-and-coming shift in mind, below are a few cabinet door styles and materials that lend themselves well to a natural finish and modern room design.