Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
ianace

Last minute panic. Natural maple cabs or honey stained maple

ianace
10 years ago

I just received my sample door which is maple with a honey stain. The cabinets are shaker style and I'm going for a contemporary look. I ordered the honey because my KD said the natural turns yellow over time. I've read all the threads here about the discoloration. Some people have said it's the type of sealer they use that can cause the yellowing.

I have one window in the kitchen, but the window never receives direct sunlight but it is very bright. The current kitchen is completely white. I don't want to make it drastically darker.

When I opened the sample door I felt it was darker than I had hoped for. The KD said I can probably still change the stain to natural. The cabinets are Brookwood which is made by Starmark.

Does anyone have brookwood/starmark cabinets in natural maple? If not, what would you do? P.s. Husband thought the color was fine, he did not think the honey was too dark.

Thanks for your help!

Comments (6)

  • live_wire_oak
    10 years ago

    All natural maple ends up a honey color over time. It as the nature o the wood to change over time. Maple stained honey will end up darker as well. The end result in a coupe of years time would be that the natural very new blonde maple will be just about the color of your honey maple sample that is new right now. And the honey maple sample will be a shade and a half darker than it's current color, which most people would still think of as a light wood color.

    Sorta like this KM Toffee color.

  • ianace
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Good point. I actually like yellows and ambers....so maybe all the people who are complaining about the yellowing just don't like yellow?

    We have a cabin in NE PA that was built in the 50's with knotty pine panelling so I know what pine looks like after many years of oxidation and UV exposure. I have cherry cabs there and I know they too will darken over time. I chose maple for this house because it is such a light colored wood and I love the all the different grains especially the birds eye maples.

  • bookworm4321
    10 years ago

    It took me a few weeks to decide between natural maple with brown stain, and the honey-colored ones. I went with the former and one decision I don't regret. (The brown stain makes the beading stand out, as my cabs are shakers with the extra ridge around edge.)

    I kept moving the 2 cabinets around the room, checking them in different lights.

    It is still dark here, but I'll try to add picture. The picture shows the trim, but cabinets NOT yellow at all, just the lights on.

  • ianace
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Love them! It's good to know I'm not the only one who agonizes over these decisions! Thanks for sharing.

  • lam702
    10 years ago

    We chose a light maple finish for our remodel. It seems like the trend is white or a dark cherry which are beautiful but didn't seem right for our kitchen. Our old cabinets were a dark stained oak, with light counters and we wanted to change it up. Now, we've got the light cabinets with a dark counter top and I love it. The light finish just brightens up the whole room. I love white kitchens because they are just so bright, cheery and clean looking. But all our wood trim and interior doors are stained medium brown and white just didn't seem to belong with that. (Love white trim and doors too, but don't have the energy right now to paint it all!) The dark cherry is lovely too but my old cabinets were dark and I needed a change. The light color of the new cabinets lighten up the room, but keeps the warm feel to it that I wanted. We originally wanted the natural finish, but chose a light stain shade, hoping they wouldn't yellow so much if they had a stain instead of just the clear coat. We installed under cabinet lights to offset the dark counters too.

Sponsored
Velero Deck Designs
Average rating: 5 out of 5 stars3 Reviews
Loudoun County's Source for High-End Custom Decks & Outdoor Structures