• If you are looking for kitchen cabinets, the type of wood they are made of will be one of your biggest decisions. Style, color and other considerations are important but not as critical as the decision about what type of wood to purchase. Your budget and the type of cabinets you want will be major factors in your choice of wood.
  
  

Oak

• Oak is one of the most widely used woods for building cabinets of all kinds. The reason is that there are more than two hundred types of oak and they come from all around the globe. Another reason is that oak is a dense hardwood that will last for many years, even with the harshest use. Many finishes are available but most people prefer a natural or honey finish on oak cabinets.
  
  

Mahogany

• Mahogany is also a much sought after wood for kitchen cabinets. Although it is not strong as woods go, many people love the reddish-brown color of mahogany. A drawback is that mahogany is one of the more expensive woods; it can rival exotic woods in price.
  
  

Maple

• Maple is another widely used and highly prized wood that is used in the manufacture of kitchen cabinets. As with oak, many different types of maple wood are available. The variety of maple makes this wood desirable because each species has its own grain and look. Maple is also easy to work with and is one of the easiest woods to stain because it accepts stain readily.
  
  

Pine

• Pine is another common wood used in the manufacture of cabinets, furniture, shelves and many other wood products. Three varieties of pine are most commonly used: white, yellow and ponderosa.
  
  

Bamboo

• Bamboo is fast gaining on other woods in popularity because it is considered to be eco-friendly. The eco-friendly label stems from the fact that bamboo is abundant and grows quickly so it is harvested and quickly replaced. Because of these characteristics, you might think bamboo is inexpensive but that is not the case. The reason is that bamboo is not thick enough to be cut into planks so it has to be veneered over another type of wood.
  
  

Cherry

• Cherry is used in many higher priced cabinets. The feature that makes cherry a desirable wood for cabinets is that it gets darker as the years pass even if you originally applied a light stain. That is why antique cherry furniture is a dark reddish-brown.