Birch, a strong hardwood, is a classic kitchen cabinet wood. Birch kitchen cabinets not only stand up well to bumps and scrapes, they’re considered the least expensive wood cabinet choice. If you're on a limited budget and like light to medium wood tones that feature small knots or burls, birch kitchen cabinets may work well for you.
If you prefer wood that has a consistent graining and color intensity, birch kitchen cabinets may not be the best choice since they don’t always have a uniform surface appearance. It’s a good idea to look at birch cabinets in person at a home improvement company showroom to get an idea of your wood style preference. Birch is a light wood that usually has cream to yellow undertones. A typical birch kitchen cabinet finish is medium brown, but white to pinkish-brown finishes are also available. If you prefer darker wood tones, birch may not be the best cabinet choice.
The relative paleness of birch wood can contrast nicely with darker granite or stainless steel countertops. Birch kitchen cabinets are considered a classic and popular choice as they offer a medium color option so that countertops, walls and floors in kitchens can alternate between lighter and darker shades to give an interesting multilevel look to the room. Since a birch kitchen cabinet design is also easy on the budget compared to other wood cabinets, it's a wise choice when renovating a home for resale. A big selling point is that not only do birch kitchen cabinets stand up well to everyday use in kitchens, they’re made of real wood and not laminate products. Like laminate floors, laminate cabinets are made from photographs of wood that are covered by a clear coating.
Wood kitchen cabinets tend to look much more elegant than laminate varieties and are considered more desirable by most homeowners. If you prefer the shiny look of laminates but want wood cabinets, glazed birch may be an attractive option. If you're considering custom-made birch kitchen cabinets, keep in mind that custom-designed work costs more and many ready-made cabinets are birch anyway. Birch is one of the easiest woods to work with when building kitchen cabinets. Custom birch kitchen cabinets may be a good choice if you want to design your own unique storage options in your kitchen.