Tag: cabinets

The Beauty of Hickory: The Most Variably Grained and Colored Wood

Posted on by Justin Ehrman

If you’re looking for a wood species that offers a wide range of graining and color consistency, hickory should be at the top of your list.

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This versatile and beautiful wood has become a popular choice for any room in your home, and for good reason. With its unique graining, natural variation, and warm, inviting color, hickory is a wood species that truly stands out.

One of the defining features of hickory is its variability. Below are two areas in which hickory’s characteristics can vary, providing an unexpected beauty with each cabinet.

Variability

The graining in hickory can range from straight and fine, to wild and wavy, and everything in between. This variability means that each piece of hickory wood is truly one-of-a-kind, and it gives the wood a natural and organic look that is difficult to replicate.

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Color Consistency

The heartwood of hickory can range from light to dark colors, with a reddish hue that adds warmth to the wood. Sapwood is usually lighter in color and can have a yellow or creamy hue. These color variations within a single piece of wood are part of what makes hickory unique and beautiful.

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Hickory is a strong and durable wood, making it a great choice for high-traffic areas like flooring or furniture. It’s also a popular choice for cabinetry and millwork, as its natural variation and character make it a great addition to any kitchen or bathroom.

Hickory cabinet doors finished in Sparrow showing variability
This photo demonstrates the variability of stains on hickory. Sparrow finish shown.

Also, whether you prefer a natural finish that highlights the wood’s natural graining and character, or a stained finish that adds a pop of color to your space, hickory is a versatile wood that can be customized to fit your style.

If you’re looking for a beautiful and character-rich addition to your cabinetry or millwork, hickory is a great choice.

Dark stained bathroom cabinets
Dark stained bar cabinets
hickory cabinets

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So why not add this beautiful and versatile wood to your home today?

Connect with a local Showplace dealer to get started on your next home improvement project.

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Effects of Lighting on Cabinet Color

Posted on by Justin Ehrman

Many factors affect the appearance of color. So, when you’re investing in new cabinets from Showplace, you want to make sure they’re going to look as close as possible to what you’ve envisioned.

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If you’re just getting started and are trying to pick the cabinet colors for your space, narrow down your choices by working with a designer at your local Showplace dealership.

Explore their color chip samples and our list of standard paint and stain colors. Then, when you think you’ve selected the colors you want, order a sample door from your dealer so you can see what an actual Showplace cabinet door will look like in your space. We highly encourage you to make your final finish selections based off a sample door, rather than a color chip.

Be sure to hold the door at the approximate location the cabinets will be installed and view the door with lights on and off, and at different times of day because light affects color in different ways.

Here are some ways light may change how your cabinets appear:

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Artificial Light and Color

The type of indoor lighting will change the appearance of the finish or surface of your cabinets because different bulbs have a different color temperature.

Incandescent, fluorescent, halogen, or LED lighting have different color and intensity.

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Natural Light

Natural lighting will also cause your cabinets to look different, depending on how direct the light is, whether clouds are dampening the intensity of the sun, or if window treatments are causing indirect sunlight.

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Sheen Level

The level of sheen (glossiness) reflects light, which may make the cabinets look a bit different in various lighting. Learn more below.

Sheen Level

If you’ve ever picked out paint before, you already know what “sheen” is. It’s the relative “shininess” or “glossiness” of a finish. Showplace offers all its finishes in your choice of two levels of sheen, no extra charge. 

“Satin” is what most people would consider normal sheen for home cabinetry. “Matte” is a little bit softer, a little bit flatter than Satin and is often associated with the finish on fine furniture.

Satin sheen tends to be a bit more reflective than matte, but adds more depth to the color.

White kitchen cabinets
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Natural and Gray kitchen cabinets
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White and gray kitchen cabinets
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Reflections

Depending on the light source and sheen, different colors will respond differently:

  • Whites may seem a bit yellow or gray, and may even reflect nearby objects, changing the appearance of the color.
  • Dark, rich colors may appear to change shades (i.e. dark blue may appear as a shade of purple)

Be Prepared

  • Be sure to purchase a sample door from your Showplace dealer so you can take it home and place it in your space to see how it looks in the lighting you have now.
  • If you plan to include different lighting in your space than you have now, go to different rooms in your home that may have similar lighting to view the sample.
  • Remember that colors on a screen will most likely not match the appearance of the same color in person, so consider this when viewing colors online.
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