I used Wood-Mode last year when I remodeled my kitchen. Very happy with the cabinets.

They have that as one of their available wood species.
https://www.wood-mode.com/cabinetry-options/wood-species-other-materials/wood-species/rift-cut-white-oak

Decore shows they have 2 grades of rift sawn white oak for their RTA cabinets.

I have NOT bought their RTA cabinets and have no idea on the price. I have had 2 kitchens and a computer desk that has their doors since my cabinet maker buys through them. They were all very good quality. All of the profiles on the door could be customized. I spent way too much time playing with that feature.

Omega has this as an option. It's a high end line, from what I understand, but they do offer it.

I am surprised you're having a hard time finding it. I've researched dozens of cabinet companies over the last few months and find it to be a fairly standard option. Are you looking only in the lower price ranges? Step up to mid-grade, and you'll find it's a standard stocked wood, and it doesn't have to be terribly expensive. The door style and configurations you choose will have more of an impact on price than the wood type unless you go with an exotic wood. I personally have narrowed my choices to Plato Woodwork (and its frameless Inovae line) or Bentwood (and its frameless Harmoni line) in quartersawn white oak, but quartersawn or rift sawn white oak is carried by many other brands.

We are using Conestoga rift oak. I agree it was much harder to find. We had to go with a custom stain.

Hi Amy Stottlemyer. I am currently installing my white oak conestoga cabinets. What stain/finish did you go with? I ordered unfinished cabinets in the hopes of finding something that keeps it close to the natural wood color. Thank you!

HeatherinOR I just looked and could not figure out my custom color number for Conestoga. I deleted the picture and it's not on my paperwork. Basically it was two light coats of Minwax ipinswich pine that we tested at home. It has a slightly green finish but I like that. It is very beachy and I was trying to tone down all of my cedar without just painting it white. I do not know how Conestoga West finished it exactly.

Looks great! Thank you, Amy:) I will look at Minwax today!

@HeatherInOR some people will use Waterlox on unfinished cabinets, but there are plenty of negative reviews of long-term wear with Waterlox in respect to just not holding up well over time. Also, you'll need to apply something like 4 coats with lots of ventilation and curing time, as much as 90 days, and you'll probably need to re-apply periodically. The linseed oil component in the Waterlox can also lead to yellowing, but it's not too severe according to some reports since tung oil is the primary component and less prone to yellowing.

I've heard good things about General Finishes High Performance water-based topcoat sold at Rockler Woodworking stores, but you must be extremely careful when using a water-based product on white oak in particular, as the higher tannin content of white oak can result in staining from "tannin pull" resulting from water-based finishes. It would be good to get a sample of your wood and pre-test.

I've also heard a little about Rubio Monocoat Oil, which is a one-step process, but be careful as oil-based finishes can turn yellow.

Nothing beats a factory finish for durability. Home brew stuff is not the way to go for kitchen cabinets.

Dormelles Thanks for your reply. I did try a sample of the Great Finishes Enduro... it looked fine on most pieces but pulled heavily yellow on a couple which is making me reevaluate. We used Waterlox on a Myrtlewood counter and it is beautiful! We still have some so I will do a little test.

The more I read about the Rubio on this site the less inclined I am to use it... sounds like a lot of problems.

live_wire_oak Thank you for taking the time to reply to my inquiries here and on my post. I agree on the durability of a factory finish but did not like the look or feel of the finish offered. I don't mind doing the work and have been a pretty confident DIY person for years. I need recommendations that will help me move forward; are there any products you would recommend to someone finishing their cabinets at home? Thank you!

I used oil-based urethane for floors on some pine cabinets and am very pleased with how the finish has held up in a tough rental situation. 6-7 years ago.

Hi Heather! I am also in the process or ordering conestoga white oak! I’d love to know what you decided on. I need to order my cabinet soon!!

Amy! I love your kitchen! Any way I can get a close up of the cabinets? Did you do quarter or riff cut?!?

Nice. I’ve been talking to conestoga. I know they can do quarter saw. I’m hoping they can do riff cut because I think I prefer that.

I like a natural look but I’d like to add a subtle stain or glaze to take away any yellow or yellow hue. I don’t want it to look dated. We are doing a floating inset vanity for our bath.

This is kinda the look we are going for

@eliseharrison Be aware that most companies offering rift and quarter sawn woods are doing it in white oak. White oak has a higher tannin content than red oak, so depending how the finish is done, you can end up with dark areas where the tannin is coming forward or even a greenish tint emerging along the grainlines. This can be avoided if a proper finishing process is followed. Also, some of the yellowing you see is the topcoat itself if it is oil-based. To get a completely non-yellowed finish, you almost have to revert to water-based finishes which aren't as durable as the oil-based ones and can cause even more problems with tannin pull in white oak. Non-yellowing water-based finishes would only be options with a custom shop since the mass manufacturers have a standard finishing process using oil-based lacquers for durability. Both red and white oak woods with exposure to light and air are naturally going to turn "amber" over time which is leaning toward an orange tint. As far as this being dated, the rift and quarter sawn white oak look is considered modern right now, even with the orange cast that progresses over time. A light stain or glaze won't change that orange base from both the wood and oil-based finish. You'd have to go really dark with a stain to conceal it, and the dark stains are considered dated to the 1990s in trends thus far. Most wood in fact does amber over time, which is why I think the painted cabinetry trend has proliferated, so people can get something other than orange and yellow as a base for kitchen decor.

This is what we are looking for. I think both of these are riff cut. Do you think this is just a clear top coat or a whitish stain on top?

@eliseharrison The caption in your first says something about being treated with "oil," which is another option for finishing, using Waterlox or another tung-oil based treatment rather than lacquer. An oil treatment that has tung oil as its base like Waterlox won't yellow as much as an oil treatment that has linseed oil as a primary ingredient. These oil finishes have to be re-applied and maintained, but I've done a fair amount of research on them, and Waterlox original finish is what we're planning to do in our kitchen on cherry cabinetry. A few cabinet companies use oil finishes like Waterlox exclusively. It creates a very natural surface, but the ambering and yellowing will still occur over time to an extent even with this method.

If you wanted to go with a whitewashed finish, then yes, that might work for you to get the color you want, but it won't look natural. It obscures the depth and sheen of the natural wood if it is done sufficiently to alter the color permanently to obscure the natural ambering of the wood. Some people really like this method and have used it to get the light neutral color they want without going for a total painted finish. Just be sure to view samples in person so you're sure you like it.

There is a type of white oak harvested in Europe that has a low tannin content and ages to a neutral, silvery tone, but it is expensive and difficult to obtain in the United States in quantities large enough for cabinetry work. If the budget is generous, you could look into that option with a water-based, non-yellowing lacquer finish to get a natural white wood look.

We are just doing a very small vanity so that might be doable.

@eliseharrison Then check out this thread with this comment about European oak and other finishing methods, "If you are looking for the whitish gray look (kinda silver) then European Oak would have been the wood I would have suggested. It is very pale. As it ages it turns silver. It loses the yellow tones leaving behind a bit of a pale drift wood colour."

We used Conestoga West and did not like their pre-made color choices. They gave us some raw rift white oak and we stained it until we figured out what we liked. (Two light coats of ipiswich pine by Miniwax) It is very light. I would suggest getting samples of your wood and buying small cans to test it. Do not go completely natural because the wood is different piece to piece as you will see if they give you 3 pieces. We thought this stain was the lightest but still evened out the tonal differences. The other thing I have heard is to bleach the white oak with Oaxlic acid first but we were using Conestoga and they won't do such an involved finish. Your sample pictures are rather pink so another wood to consider is beech which is more pink. I will include one more close up not next to the cedar so you can see that it is less yellow/red. The cedar pulls those colors out. Also, we were told that white oak yellows less than any other wood. Before we had alder cabinets which pulled very yellow. Good luck on your remodel.