Here is my bathroom with oak cabinets. I also have a big closet in the hall way. Well all my cabinets in the house are this way but the kitchen and laundry room. They are glossy white.
here is the master bath (small but we like it that way)

hope this helps

This post was edited by ice1 on Thu, Jun 27, 13 at 8:45

Ikea Lixtorp is one also

I think the cabinets in the above photos are rift sawn? Plain sawn has more of a ...curved grain to it with more motion. Rift sawn has a linear grain.

Here is a link that might be useful: {{!gwi}}

Deedles, we put plain oak in our utility room. I'm not against plain oak cabinets at all, but they can be overpowering if there are a lot of cabinets. The stain the cabinet maker used on these is SW chestnut, and it looks more red in person. No underlying yellow at all.

if you don't want the oak to absorb too much stain, thus reducing the visible graining, you first need to "fill" the grain. That can be done with a light coat of varnish or shellac or diluted solvent. Or even using gel stain. Your cabinetmaker is the best person to ask about this.

ice1: those are beautiful cabinets, but alas, I agree probably rift sawn. Just gorgeous, though. Thank you for posting.

darcyjo: (my DS name is Darcy :) thanks for the link!

Joyce: are you saying that filling the grain makes the grain pattern less noticeable or keeps the grain pattern more distinct? I wouldn't mind the grain pattern being more subtle.

Our oak cabinets (both red and white oak) with a reddish-brown stain.

This post was edited by mu3jump on Thu, Jun 27, 13 at 23:32

badger: those are lovely. You must have specified white oak (?) as their baseline wood is red oak. I just sent a letter to him to get our bedroom closet project firmed up.

my3jump: those look great as well. Don't suppose you could say which cabs are which wood, though? Thanks for the pic!

deedles, my husband and his dad made the cabinets, and it is a mix (they used whatever, whenever). With a darker stain, I don't think red and white oak cabinets are going to look any different. If you are going for a natural or light stain, the differences will be more pronounced. That being said, they made a little play kitchen for my kiddos with a mix of both woods without stain, and I haven't noticed any differences. Hope that helps!

It does help, thank you!