The kitchen is the heart of your home. Its beauty and functionality are much more integral than you might think. One key element inside your kitchen is the cabinets. Now, there are versatile material options you can choose from for your cabinets.
However, selecting a material that is timeless yet stylish is the real task. While wood is the safest option in this category, there’s still a myriad of selections you can go for. Among all these wooden cabinet options, white oak has distinctive characteristics.
In this post, we’ll discuss everything you need to know about white oak. From its availability and durability to customization, we’ll provide all the necessary details you need for your kitchen.
Let’s get started.
White Oak: Types & Their Differences
White oak, as the name suggests, comes from the white oak tree. Compared to the red oak, it has unique grainy patterns that flow along the length of the wood which makes it highly desirable.
White oak is exceptionally durable and resistant to natural elements, even more so than red oak. It has a durability factor of 1360 on the Janka Scale and is naturally resistant to moisture. These two aspects make white oak a perfect fit for your kitchen cabinets.
There are 4 different types of white oak that you can acquire. Even though they come from the same tree trunk, they are unique in their patterns and designs. The key difference depends on two factors, the cutting technique and the area being cut. Let’s check them out:
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Plain Sawn
The most common type of white oak planks that you can get is the plain-sawn planks. They are cut perpendicularly to maximize the amount of wood. These planks provide the natural wavy pattern of wood without any external intervention.
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Quarter Sawn
As the name suggests, quarter-sawn only uses 1/4th of a trunk at a time. This cutting technique unveils a fusion of straight lines and long wavy patterns.
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Rift Sawn
Next up is Rift-sawn. These are the most sought after planks of white oak. Since they are cut at a 90° angle, the wooden planks have straight lines without any wavy patterns. Because of this exquisite pattern, rift-cut white oak is considered a luxury product.
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Live Sawn
Lastly, live sawn is for people who prefer intense medullary waves in the grain of their planks. While they are not used widely, live-sawn planks can add a unique flair to your kitchen cabinets.
White Oak Kitchen Cabinets Ideas For A Classy Look
Once you decide on the grain pattern of your white oak cabinets, the next step is to shortlist the design ideas. It may seem simple on the surface but the entire process takes some time. The right selection can retain its grace for the years to come even without any renovations.
Ultimately, the selection of design comes down to personal preference. Some prefer darker tones for contrast, some go for a bright look while some choose to mix and match. The possibilities are quite literally endless.
However, there are some ideas you can take inspiration from. Like which sort of cutlery you should use, the lighter tones in your wall paints, or even the color of cabinet knobs and handles.
White Oak Cabinets & Marble Countertops
Marble is an exceptional material when it comes to beauty and aesthetics. Its unparalleled natural patterns go hand in hand with white oak’s grainy style. This will give you a combination of white oak kitchen cabinets with white countertops.
You can either use oak in its natural form or stain it to create a slight contrast. However, it is essential to use staining agents that match the overall aesthetic shade.
We recommend going for an off-white wall paint with golden knobs, handles, and faucets. You can mix and match other white shades for your furniture for enhanced gradient.
White Oak Kitchen Cabinets with Black Hardware
As an alternative to an all-white aesthetic, you can pair your white oak kitchen cabinets with black elements. These elements could be anything from faucets, lamps, cutlery, furniture, and even appliances.
This fusion of black and white gives a jaw-dropping contrast to your kitchen. You can even ambient lighting to give one contrast a slight nudge. However, you have to maintain a balance to make sure one aspect doesn’t overpower the other.
White Oak Kitchen Cabinets with Different Shades
Last but not least, you can mix and match your white oak cabinets with varying shades. You use dark countertops and light furniture or any other combination of shades. As long as there is a balanced contrast, you can transform your kitchen into a dreamscape.
You can even create a fusion of various darker shades for a contemporary vibe.
Benefits of White Oak As Kitchen Cabinets
Following are some of the advantages of using white oak for your kitchen cabinets.
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Water Resistance
Moisture is a normal element inside a kitchen. Whether in liquid or steam form, it can cause staining and damage to normal wooden cabinets. However, white oak has an impeccable natural resistance to moisture without any treatment.
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Easy to Clean
The natural and treated versions of white oak are both equally convenient to clean. You can simply use a dusting fiber cloth to clean off any residual elements on it. Even oil stains don’t adhere to the surface of white oak permanently.
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Rot Resistance
One major downside of wooden cabinets is the eventual rotting. White oak doesn’t suffer the same fate. It is natural resin layers make it highly resistant to rot buildup. For this reason alone, white oak is an exceptional choice for kitchen cabinets.
Conclusion
This brings us to the end of our post on the white oak kitchen cabinets. The world of kitchen design has endless options. Everybody can create their perfect kitchen. However, selecting the right elements plays an important role in the final results. This is why, we highly recommend going for white oak kitchen cabinets.
They are functional, sustainable, cost-effective, and most of all, aesthetically marvelous. With so many qualities, it is hard to go for any other option in the wood category. You can virtually fit white oak in any theme for your kitchen design. It goes well with bright and dark contrasts.
Hopefully, this information helps you in making an informed decision. Let us know what are your thoughts on white oak and its timeless aesthetics.