Hi all - I will be building kitchen cabinets soon and am wondering what would be a good wood choice. I will be using the wood for the face frames, raised panel doors, and panels for exposed sides of the cabinets. I am also going to build a bench using the same wood fro the mud room which is off the kitchen. My wife and I really like the look of Alder. Currently, everything in our home is oak, and we definitely don't want to use that (too much oak as it is). Maple is also a consideration. I am wondering what you all recommend. I have read that Alder is a softer hardwood and can scratch easily. I have also read that is it not very rot resistant so it may be an issue in a wet place like a kitchen. Any recommendations re. Alder vs Maple (which type of Maple if you recommend maple, and same for Alder). Any other woods I should be considering.

Thanks for your help!
Rob

Mahogany is beautiful but expensive. It holds up very well in a moist environment.

Maple would be a better choice than alder. Alder is soft and will show nicks and bumps faster. Hard maple is the wood cabinetmakers use for the faces and doors. Soft maple is used as a secondary wood where it doesn't show. You can get soft maple cabinets, but having worked with it, I would not recommend it. It is too soft. As to moisture, the finish will be gone long before the wood. If you are letting your cabinets get wet enough to worry about rot, you are going to have problems with anything except locust or osage orange. Those are fence post material. :D

I have to say that I agree with the maple choice. I make tables and maple (although not easy to work with) is a very nice wood and also a very hard wood.

Just remember that sanding maple to a smooth finish is very time consuming work.

The nice thing about maple is the natural tone of the wood, you don't need to stain it, just a clear coat to protect it and bring out it's natural color. It's a beautiful wood. :)

Of course Oak is also nice. :)

Hi, Maple is nice. Maple is good. Maple is hard! Food for thought. I built a houseful of Alder cabs a couple years back. We had a ladder fall up against side of fridge wall. Big ol dink. The homeowner immediately loved it and we beat those cabinets to death with everything we could get our hands on. That is by far the most beautiful cabinets I've been a part of. But as far as maple, I agree with Altenweg. Maple should be shown, not hidden by dark stains. Good luck