I have Medallion Maple cabinets in Brandywine and have quite a bit of color variation But from a distance, the color blends.
When they were being installed, One door front had a funny lighter stained streak going through it and I did have it replaced.

Do you have any photos you could post?

lsst,

Thanks so much for sharing your experience. Unfortunately, I don't know how to post pictures here, but will see if my son could help me to post some.

I also noted another problem. I have Medallion Designer Gold series with full extension pull out in all the cabinets. Some of the pull-outs got large area of dark (close to black) on the surface of the maple..They are inside the cabinets, but it does bother me a bit. I did pay quite a bit of money for my cabinets, so I expected to see clean maple wood inside the drawers and pull-outs. I have first grade (one of the best grade) maple floor, and the floor is very clean with minimum grains. I have to admit, I am very surprised about the quality of the maple being used inside the drawers and pull outs. Some are so large, it covers 1/3 of the surface..Not sure how to described it. It gives me the impression of "cheap" maple.

I have heard so many positive things about Medallion, but not sure about my own experience. First of all, 9 of the doors did not come with the right style. Then, two drawers did not fit correctly, and the cabinet installer doesn't thnk he could make it work. Now, I got some black areas inside the pull-outs. I have not said much to my kitchen designer yet. Am I too picky?

Thanks!

I'd ask about the maple drawers. I have cabinets 'from China', and have to say all the interiors are beautiful clear maple, NO black streaking. One would assume that your Medallion cabinets would be at least as good! I don't think you're being too picky!

I need to check my drawers but I do not recall any black streaking.
I will try to post a pick of my cabinets later.
I do not think you are being picky.

Thanks again for your input. My husband sait not to worry since the black parts are inside the cabinets. However, it does bother me to know that the quality is not up to what I expected. When we went to various showrooms to see Medallion cabinets, I recalled the inside was beautiful clean maple just like my wood floor. Now, the wood (with large part of black streak variation thru out) looks cheap. I paid a premium for Gold designer series because I thougt the quality would be better than the lower end group (silver line). I do expect Medallion to use better maple than the ones used for my cabinets.

I wonder if they mixed up your order and sent the wrong thing. I have Medallion in my master bathroom. Several doors and drawers had to be replaced because they had finishing issues. They replaced them with no questions asked, and I was happy with the replacements. Mine are cherry, not maple.

I ordered the particle board or MDF, and they sent plywood boxes by mistake!

My Medallion cabs are the next level up- Platinum. I checked all the cabs last night. No black stains. And the paint job is beautiful-for what it's worth.

Once again, thanks for your input. I have maple, so the finish is not as good as cherry. As I was told, maple does not take darker finish well. If you look at all the cabiets, then you will notice the finish is not even. Some doors are darker, and others are lighter. I pick Maple over cherry because the concern of sapwood..I don't like wood with too much grains..Maple is a good choice for me because it is pretty clean wood.

I am not sure what to do right now. I will try to address all the issues with my kitchen designer in the next couple of days.

Frankly, I am very disappointed with all the issues I am having with Medallion.

Gowelch: They didn't give you "rustic maple" by mistake, did they? I looked on the Medallion wesite and they also offer the rustic maple, which has a lot of black and knotholes on it. I'm just about to order my Medallion Maple Brookhill door in "Divinity" (Just like Marync's color). I've read nothing but good things about Medallion. I sure hope everything turns out alright. Keep us posted!
Barb

Here is a pic of my cabinets. The glare is from the flash.
{{!gwi}}
Here is a pic of the inside of a drawer.
{{!gwi}}
My line is the Silver series so your inside of the drawer may be different.

I don't think it's her drawers that have the dark streaks in the wood, it's the roll out shelves/trays.

And those pix don't look like Silverline. Silverline is veneered raised panel, not a solid raised panel. Your doors look solid for sure. I think you have the Napa Valley door style in their Designer Series then?

Your kitchen looks really elegant...I like the white crown at the ceiling...and nice backsplash. And I've always loved a pale yellow wall with a darker-reddish cabinet. Very nice.

Kompy

I had the "cheaper" Silverline cabinets from Medallion installed last week. The finish is burnished hazelnut glaze over maple. I checked everything over again after reading your post, and my drawers and inner cabinets are all "pure" maple like 1sst posted in the above picture. As for the outside finish on the maple front, the only difference I can really see is the slight tone variation in the different "boards" that make up the cabinet door front. I'm very pleased with mine. Do you think that your installer might have "greased" the drawer tracks, or something crazy like that? I hope you get some resolution on this matter. diane

Thanks Kompy!
I am doing mine off memory. I had them installed 4 years ago.
I know the doors are solid.
I remember upgrading the ends.
Overall, I really have enjoyed the cabinets.

Thanks all, especially to Kompy. I am so grateful for her expertise.

Latest update...my kitchen general contractor came today to address some of the issue I brought up.

1. The GC will get Medallion to replace 9 doors. My KD orders Mendocino style door for all the cabinets, and flat front (like Bella door style) for all the drawers. It was Medallion's error as I was told.

2. The GC will get Medallion to replace the two drawers that can't be closed completely. He could not fix them onsite either, so will order replacement.

3. The pull out trays - GC won't get me replacement. He said the natual maple will come with black streak..I disagreed. Some of them are more than 1/3 of the surface. I will try to post some pictures (if someone could tell me how?) for you all to see. I would love to hear from you to see if this is normal. I don't think it is from what I have read so far.

Thanks again all for taking the time to share your experience.

gowelch,
I am glad you are getting it worked out.

Mineral streaks are a part of natural maple, and are acceptable even in a door of a cabinet unless 100% clear stain cabinet grade maple is upgraded to, in which case, a higher price and perhaps a different line would be in order. For drawers and pull outs, it's to be expected that a lesser grade of maple will be used. Lesser grade doesn't mean less strong, it just means that the wood contains a "normal" amount of mineral streaks, knots, knockouts, pitch pockets, and other "defects" that don't compromise the structural integrity of the cabinet are acceptable. If what you are describing as "black streaks" is a mineral streak, then you're overreacting. Also, some color variation is to be expected with natural wood cabinets. Heartwood and sapwood take stain differently as do edgegrain vs. facegrain. Better cabinet companies will work to minimize this issue, but none can make it be nonexistant. It's the very nature of wood itself.

Live_wire_oak,

I understand your comments. However, when I look thru all of drawers and pull outs again, there is quite a bit amount of streak and knots. It is more than one should expect to have. I have done fair amount of research before ordering Medallion cabinets, frankly, I am very surprised to see this much with my order. I did expect some but not to this degree. Some people didn't have the same problem as I do. I would love to hear other Medallion cabinets owners' experience.

Thanks for taking the time to share your opinion.

My Medallion cabinets were installed last October and they're absolutely beautiful. For my perimeter cabinets I selected the Venice in a medium cherry with no stain, and they're rich and the finish is lustrous. My island and one hutch-type cabinet are the Providence style in maple painted black. Again, there's nothing to criticize and everything to admire. I don't have any of the issues you've described with streaking and knots, and almost all my lowers are drawers. There were no problems with any of the pieces delivered, and they were packed extremely securely with good protection. They shipped the the crown molding of my hutch in the wrong paint color (I ordered the solid black and they sent an antiqued black), but they issued a replacement immediately without asking me to return anything.

I'm so sorry for your problems and I do hope you can work them out to your satisfaction. I'd recommend the company to anyone without reservation.

Dear oofasis,

Thanks for sharing your experience. I do hope to work it out with the Medallion rep. I have 10-12 pull outs, frankly, they are really not pleasing to look at. There is so much of black (big or small) streaks and knots all over the places. They can be seen at the bottom the pull outs, the face of the pull outs. I have taken several pictures and sent to Kompy to see. I don't know how to post pictures here, I would like to show you all. You would understand my disappointment. I really can't find a single drawer or pull out as beautiful as Isst's.

Heartwood and sapwood take stain differently as do edgegrain vs. facegrain. Better cabinet companies will work to minimize this issue, but none can make it be nonexistant.

Here is a link that might be useful: painting kitchen cabinet

Gowelch asked me to post these for her. Here they are! Click on each thumbnail to enlarge.

Gowelch, the first photo...was, like "Wow, I've never seen mineral streaks like that before". And I would say that that one is the worst...and as a business owner, if it bothered you that much, I would replace it for you. On the other hand, it would not bother me at all...in fact, it looks interesting. Now, real question is...is this typical for a semi-custom manufacturer. I do have one in my showroom that is similar (or a bit more streaking) to the one in the third photo...so I would have to say yes. It's typical. Look at it this way...at least you know it's solid wood :-)

I think it's also good to point out that stock and semi-custom are usually standard with lots of vinyl and laminate. When you upgrade with stock and semi-custom cabinets, your more likely to see more 'unclear' woods and veneers...as opposed to a custom line. For instance, my custom cherry kitchen has almost no sapwood....yet, if it was in KraftMaid or Medallion...I would definitely have it. I think this is the same thing going on with your interior rollouts.

Hope this helps.
Kompy

Kompy,

Thanks so much for posting the pictures, and your professonional opinion. After the inital disappointment, I have accepted the inpefection. Medallion rep is coming out next week to inspect the couple drawers that could not be closed completely, then make a decision if he would replace them.

My guess is that when the Medallion orders its raw lumber, it culls out the clear, or nearly clear sections to be used for panels, mouldings, frames, etc., that will show on the exterior of the cabinets. Then uses the pieces with knots, streaks, and such for interiors, shelfs, drawers, rollouts, etc. This is not necessarily a defect as far as structual quality, but rather a cosmetic issue. It also affords a significant cost saving.

If one wants everything to be clear with no sapwood, knots, etc., it would have to be written into the specs, and it is unlikely a semi-custom cabinet maker would be able to meet such a spec. It also would cost significantly more. I am always reminded of the builder who would come into my dad's lumber yard and order a truck load of #2 Pine, but without the knots!

You're welcome gowelch. Here's something else that might make you feel better every time you open up your cabinets. I'm not sure if it's true, but....a cabinet rep once told me that clear wood is harder to get now than it was years ago (and more expensive?), due to the fact that we have less 'old growth forests'.

And really, I wasn't blowing smoke when I said that I thought the knots were interesting.

Kompy--Yes, it's true. The key is old growth/ slow growth wood. The same species old/ slow is harder, more dense, weighs more, tighter grained than the generally available new/ fast grow woods available. Much more pronounced difference in softwoods but it's also true of hardwoods, albeit to a lesser extent.

The knots in the pull-outs bother me, aesthetically; I would cut those out and toss them in the firewood pile. Or save those pieces to use on the back piece where it would never be seen. Structurally, knots are allowable so long as they're tight, closed knots as these generally appear to be.

The bottom panels are just fine. I think they're pretty and they tell me, 'I'm real wood.'