MDF or Wood door?

13 years ago

Please help, I have vision of beautiful painted cream white kitchen. I've been at this forever, we're getting cabinets from AyA, who gave us best price, we are on a budget.

They have told us that if you're getting painted cabinets MDF if best choice because with painted wood you can get paint cracking at joint lines and where the panel meets the frame. So we had picked out this Allegra painted MDF door, but now it's nagging me if its going to look ok, as the molding/router details of the door are rounded a bit. I'm going off a picture, I haven't seen it in person as they don't have one in their showroom. I'm worried of making an expensive mistake.

The picture of MDF door kitchen attached is very similar to my layout(no-can't get that picture to work) we will have dark wood island as well(with different door like in the pic as same style not available in wood). So the question is do you think this will be ok, or does it look cheap? A picture of wood door to compare (2nd kitchen) is attached, that was my first pick, but they tell me it won't stand up because of cracking issue. So torn.

Sorry can't seem to get other pictures to attach right,not computer savvy.

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

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Comments (6)

phoggie
13 years ago
When I inquired about getting white painted cabinets (which were a 20% upcharge) from a company that makes the best quality cabinets in this area, I was told the exact same thing! and I was shocked to know that they used MDF for the doors. I asked DH and he said that there would be no problem in that (he is a contractor, so I thought he should know). And in my opinion, those doors looked great and definately did not look "cheap".

Why is this such a hard decision for us to make? I guess for me it is because this is quite expensive part of the house and I want to make it right...can't afford to change it if I don't like them the first time.

Good Luck!
lovecreamywhite
Original Author
13 years ago
Thanks, that does make me feel better. So agree. I will be living with this for a long,long time so I want to get it right.
I was just worried about the rounded edges of the trim detail and how noticable it is.

Also do you think it looks all right to have a flat paneled door on the island and a raised panel on the perimeter. The doors are all ready slightly different. But the flat paneled would save us cost a bit and we down-graded some other things, we could spring for a nicer countertop.

Right now I have picked out Wilsonart Milano Quartz laminate, it goes nice with both our cabinet colours, but I'm worried that I see purple in it. I must have looked at every laminate sample their is and can seem to find the perfect one. Sorry for going all over the place, I'm trying to get this kitchen ordered right away before xmas rush.
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aklvdb, yes we are also in MB (bit of a shocker waking up to -30 again this morning). We have kitchen craft cabs and I'll tell you what I know, but it is horribly out of date since we did our kitchen 8 years ago. Kitchen Craft was smaller company and dealt with a lot of small local contractors. They had a good product with great quality control. Right around when we did our kitchen, they were expanding to deal with big building companies and starting to go big and bulk. They started to have quality control problems just because they were expanding so fast. I don't know how those problems were resolved as we haven't dealt with our contractor (he had been using KC for years and his wife was a KC designer/sales). When we bought ours, we weren't even shown MDF as an option (that I remember). We were told maple was a great paintable wood and we've been very happy. When I was looking for bathroom cabs about 5 years ago, I looked at many companies including Jake Klassen and noticed a few MDF doors (Klassen told me that was all they would do for the type of door I wanted). I can't remember which showroom it was, but I remember seeing MDF doors with the edges smushed and crushed. I ended up having a local carpenter make my bathroom cabinets - they were cheaper and are a work of art. No regrets there. Our house is over 100 years old and my bias is to real anything. Much of our furnishings are antique wood and my soft furniture is all covered in linen or cotton. I would rather live with a crack in real wood than have perfect MDF. I completely admit that prejudice. You have to decide yourself what is important to you.
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I know that this topic is getting beat to death, but I feel I must weigh in. If you are doing a painted door you be best off doing a hybrid door, maple or birch rails with a mdf center panel. The stiles and rails will be more durable while the center panel will not show lines from the stave expansions. Cracking is inevitable with the joints, however they can be so slight, that they are not visible, and you can only feel them when you run your hand over them, A flexible finish like latex paint instead a pigmented catalyzed varnish will be more flexible and be less prone to chipping in the future. Plus it is easier to touch up. If you are glazing with a hand rub method you will achieve a better look with catalyzed varnished because they tend to yield a smoother finish. If anyone thinks that a painted finish on a mitered joint with biscuits, will never show finish fractures, than they are naive! A mitered joint is the worst possible joint for a painted finish, mortise and tenon would be a much wiser choice. If the wood at a miter joint contracts then they both contract in the same direction, thus creating the possibility for a joint fracture in the finish. Montalvo, please keep in mind when Khat is talking about cracking the reference is to finish fracturing NOT joint failure. It is possible to have finish fracturing without joint failure. This is why NO door manufacturer or cabinet company would ever warranty against this. The movement of kiln dried wood can be very significant when there is even small moisture changes, With hard maple being one of the worst. If you would like I can post the chart information if you would like evidence. To think that a cabinetmaker would not be using kiln dried wood or making mitered joints without an additional joint lock is ridiculous, they would not be a cabinetmaker, they would be an amateur woodworker.
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You should not worry too much about resale that is 5 years off. Trends change very quickly and what works for one house can look odd in another. I do not think your doors and cabinets are oak. That is not the usual look of oak - someone with better experience with wood will be able to tell you more. Warm wood tones are returning, so you can just leave the trim and paint walls in a pretty neutral. Creams, sage greens, green grays and whites tend to work better than cool grays with warm wood tones. A white with a gray undertone or greige may also work, but the greige would probably over do the brown tones in the space. If you can afford it, a natural or lightly stained oak solid hardwood floor would look good and fitting in the space. That is a more traditional floor, but since it is in homes over a hundred years old and still used today, it would be timeless rather than trendy and flexible to style changes. Your trim looks to me that it might be pine. I did paint my dark stained pine trim, but did not paint my cabinets and interior paneled doors. Wood interior paneled doors have more value than white, which are usually MDF. Wood moves with changes in temp and humidity which can cause hairline cracks in the paint at the joints. For this reason most factory painted cabinets are MDF or a wood and MDF comb. Wood doors are also much easier to care for than white. A painted over previously finished surface also does not have the durability of a factory painted finish - though paint can extend the life of worn cabinets. Here are some examples of white trim with wood doors. These pics also show traditional hardwood floors.:
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bigdoglover
13 years ago
That is a stunning kitchen and I think the doors are beautiful. MDF doesn't hold up to getting wet, which is unlikely to happen to a door or drawer front -- right? It chips/damages more easily than solid wood if it gets bumped or kicked, which is somewhat likely with lower doors. Does it hold the hinge over a period of time, seeing that it doesn't have the strength of real wood? I don't know but suspect not.

I had my last kitchen redone and painted, adding all new doors and drawer fronts and some other elements, and then someone came in and lacquered the whole thing. It was a beautiful finish. The doors I selected had mitred corners and I was told they were likely to separate and thus the paint/lacquer would crack. We stayed in that house about three or four years after it was redone and nothing cracked.

Personally, I would not get MDF doors but that is just my own preference from what know about the material. I'm not an expert by any means.
lovecreamywhite
Original Author
13 years ago
Thanks. It's confusing. Anyone else have mdf door, do you like it? Or anyone with wood doors, how have they stood up.

Also, last minute countertop decision, this is what is coming down to. I feel best going with the laminate budget wise, ( (Wilsonart Milano Quartz) with cream white and chocolate cabinets. But I am also considering quartz. Does anyone have any of these Ceasarstone colours carmel, chocolate truffle, savannah, champagne limestone?
kitchenkrazed09
13 years ago
I really think you should see a door sample in person. I looked at an MDF door from one company versus their wood door with an MDF panel in the middle and the solid MDF door looked plasticy and fake. I thought the same thing about the edges being too rounded, not defined enough, and that the door looked like it was poured into a mold. The photo looks great and then when you see it in person, it looks totally different. I've noticed that about a few other things too. (The knobs on the rangetop I'm considering, for example, looked really huge in person and not what I was expecting.) Especially if you are spending a lot of money on something, it's better to see it in person, even if you have to delay the order.

I was told the same thing about painted cabinets and am considering a solid wood door with an MDF panel in the center. It's a world of difference between that and the solid MDF door.

Also, some of the laminate counters look very nice, but if you are concerned mainly about your budget, I've read in other posts that the laminate counters can be as expensive as some of the granites. The Caesarstone I was considering was actually more expensive than the granite. You might want to get prices on all of them (if you haven't already).

Hope this helps!
cribbs
13 years ago
I love an mdf door-- for most of the reasons stated above. Wood doors will crack no matter what.

MDF or Wood door?

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MDF or Wood door?

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phoggie

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