Oak Makes A Comeback in Kitchen Design

Oak flooring with a satin finish is particularly trendy in the kitchen right now. Many homeowners are also choosing to install this finish of flooring throughout the entire home, not just in the kitchen.Honey oak kitchen cabinets were trendy in the 1990s. At that time and even afterwards, there was a glut of builder grade oak cabinets that were installed in new homes and apartments across the USA. As these cabinets became dated looking, one top new trend was painting them white or gray to coordinate with other white and gray kitchen design elements that were also trendy.Nowadays oak cabinets are making a comeback in the kitchen. In some cases, homeowners are refacing their old honey oak cabinets to give them fresh new life. They’re replacing dated cabinet doors with new Shaker style cabinet doors. Alternatively, some homeowners are keeping the oak cabinets but replacing the wood cabinet doors with glass. For those who like the uncluttered look of open shelving but prefer the safety of having relatively dust-free storage space, this is a nice compromise.In other cases, architects and home builders are designing brand new homes featuring oak kitchen drawers and cabinetry. One stylish option at the moment is replacing all the lower kitchen cabinets with wooden drawers.

The current popularity of color blocking and two-tone kitchen cabinetry is contributing to oak’s comeback in the kitchen. Right now it’s popular to use two different materials or finishes for the upper and lower cabinets. For example, you might want to install both white painted cabinets and oak cabinets in the same space. Another possibility would be to install all oak cabinets, and stain some of them a dark color while maintaining the natural color of the oak for the others.

These are just a few of the ways that oak is being used in current kitchen designs for 2016. We expect to see more hardwood and more oak being incorporated into modern and contemporary kitchens this year and in the future.