When working on a kitchen cabinet project, specific considerations must be considered. Due to their distinct character and fundamental usefulness, the craft of building cabinets has grown into a separate area of woodworking called “cabinetry.”
Wood is one of the highly demanded and best materials for cabinets. This article will discuss real wood and processed wood in separate sections, so you can get informed and choose kitchen cabinets that best serve your needs.
We also highly recommend reading our guide about how to choose kitchen cabinets for rental homes which can be helpful if you live in a rental property and want to upgrade your kitchen.

Best Types of Real Wood for Kitchen Cabinets
Let’s look at the finest wood for kitchen cabinets. Because of the complexities of kitchen cabinet building, you may wind up utilizing different types of wood.
You might use a different type of wood for kitchen cabinets, for example, one for kitchen cabinet doors and another for the body or frames. So, let’s begin looking at the many types of wood materials for kitchen cabinets.

Maple wood for kitchen cabinets
This hardwood is available in various tints, from virtually white to a delicate cream. The grain of maple is delicate and smooth.
Because of the colour and texture, you may use this wood for cabinet doors and create a variety of cabinetry designs, and you can change the door’s shape to complement the surroundings.
Maple is a popular material for kitchen cabinets since it is easy to acquire and work with. You can paint, stain, or varnish this wood to obtain spectacular effects.
Key features of maple:
- Appearance: Creamy-white to light brown to a dark golden brown.
- Grain: straight and has a lovely texture.
- Durability: Extremely robust
- Strength: 1,450
- Density: 106 kg/m3 (0.6-0.75).
- Easy to work with; costly; nonetheless, reasonably priced compared to other hardwoods.

Oak
Because it is tough, durable, and available in many hues, Oak is the preferred wood for kitchen cabinets. Although some woodworkers now use it to produce more modern designs, this wood still forms lovely wooden cabinets with classic models.
Oak is a common option as wood for cabinets since it is more widely accessible and less expensive than rift oak. If you wonder which material is the most durable for kitchen cabinets? Oak in your answer!
However, technological developments in modern wood paint have also led to several intriguing paint finishes.
Key characteristics of Oak:
- Colour: A medium to dark brown colour
- Extremely durable with appropriate maintenance.
- Durability: 1290 (Janka hardness)
- 0.6 to 0.9 kg/m3 in terms of density
- Workability: Reacts well to manual and automated tools
- Cost: High in most US locations since it is imported

Cherry wood for kitchen cabinet doors
Although cherry wood is classified as a hardwood, it is considerably softer. It frequently appears in high-end woodworking projects because of its brilliant colour, which continues to darken with time, and its simple workability.
Cherry is also a popular natural material for kitchen cabinets because it has a timeless, classic appearance.
Key characteristics of Cherry wood:
- Appearance: Reddish-Brown
- Durability: When used roughly, it is vulnerable to dents and scratches.
- Strength: 950 (Janka hardness)
- Density: 103 kg/m3 (0.38 to 0.56).
- Workability: This material is simple to use, glues well, and readily accepts screws and nails.
- Cost: moderately to extremely costly

Walnut
Walnut is a hardwood with a deep, chocolaty-brown colour and an attractive, straight grain. Due to its rich brown look, it might be utilized for kitchen cabinets of various designs, from classic and transitional to contemporary.
Walnut is simple to work with and requires a little polish to highlight the best colour differences in the grain. For a more traditional appearance, you might pick a darker finish.
Due to all reasons stated above, Walnut is one of the most popular wood materials for kitchen cabinets that carpenters use to make high-quality products.
Key characteristics of Walnut:
- Dark brown with black streaks in appearance
- Extreme durability
- Strength: 1,010 (Janka hardness)
- Density: 103 kg/m3 (0.49-0.7).
- Workability: Depending on the grain, easy to work
- Cost: Exorbitant

Clear Alder wood for kitchen cabinets
This softwood’s homogeneous, fine grain gives it a nice look. Clear alder is similar to the cherry in appearance, ranging from light tan to reddish-brown, but it is considerably softer. This type of wood is commonly used to create distressed and antiqued finishes for cabinets and doors.
Unlike cherry wood, alder lightens with age and exposure to sunshine.
Using this popular kitchen cabinet material, carpenters, door and cabinet manufacturers can produce classic and transitional designs. Because it is easier to work with and less expensive than cherry, it is a possible alternative to the latter.
Clear Alder’s characteristics:
- Light brown with a beautiful texture and no knots.
- Durability: Moderately long-lasting
- 590 hardness (Janka hardness)
- 0.4-0.7 (103 Kg/M3) density
- Workability: More workable than cherry wood.
- Cost: less expensive than cherry wood

Knotty Alder
As the name indicates, Knotty alder is similar to clear alder but contains knots throughout the wood. It is a softwood with a rustic appearance due to the knots, nicks, and dents.
Although the popularity of this wood for kitchen cabinets has diminished over time, it is still a popular kitchen cabinet material for individuals who want to achieve a distressed or worn look.
Another advantage of knotty alder is its convenience of availability.
Knotty Alder features:
- Appearance Highlights: Rugged, twisted finish
- Durability: Extremely long-lasting.
- 590 hardness (Janka Hardness)
- 0.4-0.7 (103 Kg/M3) density
- Workability: Simple to use by hand or machine. It easily accepts nails and screws.
- Price: Moderately priced

Rift Oak wood for kitchen cabinets
Rift Oak has a linear grain and a wood hue that ranges from beige to creamy brown. This wood’s grain pattern and colour make it a popular option for contemporary designs, but it also works well in classic and transitional settings.
Rift Oak costs somewhat more than ordinary Oak. This wood for kitchen cabinets is simple to work with, and once dyed, the inherent beauty of the wood shines through.
Rift Oak characteristics:
- Fine, straight grain with colours ranging from beige to creamy tan.
- Durability: Extremely long-lasting.
- 1290 hardness (Janka hardness)
- 0.6-0.9 (103 Kg/M3) density
- Workability: Simple to use.
- Cost: One of the most costly hardwood species.

Best Types of Processed or Engineered Wood for Kitchen Cabinets
Processed wood is natural wood treated with chemicals or other substances to modify its characteristics, such as glue and other adhesives, paint, polyurethane, stain, varnish, or other similar materials.
MDF and Laminate are examples of processed wood for kitchen cabinets.

MDF wood for kitchen cabinets
Medium-density fiberboard, abbreviated MDF, challenges the cost and adaptability of plywood and related engineered wood materials. MDF even outperforms the others in some cases since it is so easy to deal with.
MDF, unlike genuine wood, lacks knots, grain, and warping, and its flat surface yields smoothly to the saw, leaving no splinters, burns, or tear-outs. MDF kitchen cabinets and doors may be an excellent choice for your kitchen.
Advantages of MDF:
- Cost-Effective and Easily Available
- MDF is Strong
- Stable, Durable, and Sustainable
- Perfect For Painting and Layering
- Moisture resistant
- No To Termites and Insects problems

Laminate
The strong core material for laminate cabinets is commonly made by compressing wood or wood dust with melamine, which hardens the combination into a durable plank wood for kitchen cabinets.
A thin coating then adheres after that. This layer may be printed with a wide range of patterns, looks-like, and designs.
Depending on the product, some laminate types also have a connected underlayment or backing layer beneath the base to help with moisture resistance or offer soundproofing capabilities.
Key benefits of Laminate:
- Due to its simple installation on any wood surface, including plywood and MDF panels, laminates are the favoured kitchen cabinet material.
- They are considerably less costly than veneer sheets or solid wood.
- The material has a long lifespan of two or three decades.
- Its flat surface does cleaning and maintaining it simple.
Conclusion
You can design some fantastic wooden cabinets now that you are more aware of the different varieties of wood for kitchen cabinets.
Although this list is our opinion about the best wood materials for cabinets, there are many other materials that you can choose for your kitchen. Woodworkly has written an article about other materials that are also good choices for kitchen cabinets.
You can choose suitable wood for kitchen cabinets if you know about the wide varieties of wood and materials for cabinets.
You may have a custom kitchen design that will be visually pleasing and survive for many years.