I also wanted Shaker style cabinets, and after viewing the door styles offered by Brookhaven I dismissed them out-of-hand. The main reason being that although the door style they call "Colony" is what I would call Shaker, ie. plain, flat style and rail construction with a flat recessed center panel, the drawer fronts appear to be simple slabs which doesn't match with the picture in my mind when I think "Shaker" Additionally I wanted the cabinets to be made from quarter swan oak and as far as I could tell the Brookhaven line doesn't offer that at all.

Hard maple seems to be the wood of choice for painted cabinets in the higher end. It's more stable and doesn't show grain or dent like some of the softer woods. Some woods are so soft that you can dent them with your fingernail. Red maple is hard and seems to be a choice that cabinet makers like for paint grade. Beautiful photo. I love the cabinets with the flooring in the picture.

Alder is a less expensive wood in the Pacific Northwest and years ago wasn't even used much. We have some bookcases in alder that have been stained to a cherry finish. They look great. The doors on the bottom two shelves also look great. But, bookshelves don't take the abuse that kitchen cabs do. I considered alder for my kitchen cabinetry, but my husband would be disturbed by the dents. Since we were trying to lighten up the room, I went with a natural red birch. Staining maple does not always work out. I know that pre-treating is involved. I suspect the larger cabinet shops occasionally have a door that still comes out too blotchy that they just throw out. There are also a number of websites for woodworkers worth perusing.

Plain & Fancy uses 'soft maple' for their distressed painted cabinetry. It paints well and not too soft. With P&F, it is a no charge wood ....so it's not pricey. Even though called soft maple, it has the same janka rating as cherry at 950....making it harder than alder at 590 and poplar at 540.