Are you looking at plain sawn oak, quarter sawn oak, or rift sawn oak? It makes a big difference in how a slab door will look. What you show looks plain sawn, which I didn't immediately find any examples of in a slab door. Rift-sawn slab doors are a very high end look. Rift-sawn is more expensive because it wastes more of the tree-but because the wood is cut radially, it has a very straight and regular grain. Googling rift-sawn oak cabinets should definitely turn you up some examples of slab cabinets.

Here's an article explaining the differences in how the wood is cut and how the grain looks.

https://www.grandior.net/what-is-the-difference-between-plain-sawn-quarter-sawn-rift-sawn-and-live-sawn-lumber/

Most often, to get the prettier graining, you’ll be using veneer doors, which are far more stable than solid. That almost craftsman oak stain is much darker than the current trend of light colored, almost bleached or whitewashed oak.

It’s not the 80’s whitewashing though! So of course, just like with clothing, the trend cycle comes full circle, but with enough changes that actual vintage isn’t quite the sought after look. The embroidered bell bottoms and peasant blouses that I wore in school weren’t the same ones that are the current boho clothing trend.

@User

Thanks for your response! Sorry are you saying that this stain is outdated? I couldn’t quite understand sorry lol I just don’t want the light stain I want something different

@cawaps would maple be better you think? I’m honestly not sure about what differen oaks there are. I can ask the manufacturer. He says it is regular red oak?

This is the vibe we were going for :

Maple takes stain poorly, so I would not recommend it for what you are trying to do.

I don't think your choice is dated, just not on trend. Honey oak is still considered dated, as people haven't forgotten the 90s yet when it was used in 90% of new builds and remodels for a decade or more. Even that doesn't mean that you shouldn't like it, just that is was overdone and people who care about such things got heartily tired of it. But your dark stain is a very different look from the "golden oak" trend.

In the stain you are looking at, the Cook's Kitchen is saying it evokes Craftsman kitchens from the early 20th century, which is so old that it is now vintage or retro rather than dated. You'll see people do that look in homes of that style.

Current trends in oak--which you can take or leave according to your taste--are toward lighter grayish/driftwood color stains. If you Google rift-sawn oak and look for slab cabinet doors, that will be some of what you see.

Oak comes in two species, red oak and white oak, which differ in colors (neither is really red or really white, but white is lighter and I think doesn't darken as much over time). If you are going with a dark stain, I don't think it will make a difference. The plain sawn, quarter sawn and rift sawn are about how the tree is cut into boards, which affects the grain pattern. Oak has a very pronounced grain, so people are very opinionated about it, and how it is cut. Rift sawn is the most uniformly linear, followed by quarter saw, and last plain sawn having a lot of the oval figures you see in your sample. It depends on what you like and want. And can afford, since quarter and rift sawn are more expensive. It sounds like your cabinet maker may only offer plain sawn (though if you said rift sawn/quarter sawn and he didn't understand what you were asking, I might be concerned about their experience and competence, unless it was a salesperson who only knows their line).

If you like the grain of plain sawn oak, I think it can work, and I don't think the dark-stained oak is a look that has been done enough in the past 40 years for it to seem dated.

I'm doing a similarly stained cabinet, but with alder (alder is softer than oak, but has a subtler grain pattern). I'm doing Shaker, though.

@cawaps wow that is so helpful thank you! I love the white oak look as well, but to be honest, I want to do something different as most people are doing that look. I researched a bit more and stumbled on walnut. Is that something you know about? You’re very helpful lol attached is a photo of my inspo of walnut

I adore the look of walnut, but it is a more expensive option than plain-sawn oak (or cherry or alder or maple). Because of the expense, walnut is usually done as a veneer. You haven't mentioned anything about your budget (some folks who post here seem to have unlimited budgets, while others are trying to remodel on a shoe-string).

When you choose a type of wood, it is mostly about the grain pattern, though stains will look different on different types of wood and some stains will not be available on certain types of wood because of that (or because, like maple, they don't take stain well so the manufacturer may avoid certain colors that don't work as well). Another factor is that the color of the wood can shift with exposure to light, with cherry becoming more red and oak becoming more amber. But because you are looking at a dark stain, I don't think that should constrain you (if you were going for something light or mid-tone, it would be something you should consider).

Below I show a couple of images of doors with different types of woods but the same stain. These are Kraftmaid (because I'm familiar with their site and can easily grab an image of a full door). The stain is Cannon Gray, because it was the closest thing I could find that they had in all the woods. If you don't want to spring for walnut, cherry might be a good choice. Oak is fine, of course, if you like the pronounced and slightly raised grain characteristic of the wood.

Cherry

Oak

Rustic Alder (Kraftmaid didn't offer this in a slab door)