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Remodeling Kitchens Design Dilemma

Color -paint or stain with Honey Hickory floors?

carolecreates61

last month

In the process of remodeling our east-facing galley-style kitchen. We will have wide-plank, hand-scraped, honey hickory floors and Taj Mahal quartzite counters.

The question is what would look best for the cabinets - painted a dark Iron Ore or stained cabinets? If stained, what wood species and stain would look best?

Appreciate your advice.

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Comments (6)

herbflavor
last month
last modified: last month
the honey hickory is on oak.....not the species hickory..right ? its rather a tight galley..I think you could get oak base cabinets in a darker stain to align in a coordinated way w floor. that means about the same shade or a shade lighter or even darker [I'd probably go the darker route- i think darker looks good with oak] then the lighter counter/light backsplash and white wall cabs . so going from lower to upper the space feels airier / lighter because of the narrow room is the reasoning. I dont think I'd pay for a full painted kitchen..good painted cabs are more money and knicks and dings are so likely here . Take the hard wearing choices / .floor is very nice. Here is dark walnut cabs w dark hardwood floor and light uppers. Walnut is great but pricey [this space is more custom] but you get the idea of the tones.
White and walnut kitchen · More Info
kandrewspa
last month
Iron Ore would be very dark. I don't usually like the two color look, but if you really like dark colors then restricting it to the lower cabinets would brighten up the room. I think the room is too small and not open enough to have all dark cabinetry. But I think you're doing things in the wrong order. It is a good idea to pick a floor, then cabinets, but now you need to look for the source for your cabinets and see what choices they have in finishes. You might have to adjust your floor choice according to the options available. Unless you're getting custom the choices will not be unlimited. Then look for a counter after you decide on your cabinets. I like Taj Mahal also, but are you going to let that drive your cabinet choice?
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We have hickory floors with no stain. It does have a lot of character, meaning color variation. Our floor guy said they could do "premium" hickory and all the color would be more consistent. The natural character hickory goes well in our home, but I agree that the variation is perhaps too much in your kitchen. All light boards would be very pretty. Hickory is very hard, so is a great floor for a kitchen.
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I have hardwoods in the kitchen and also in my master bath. When I was researching about putting them in the bath (worried about water issues), I was convinced by people on some forums here, that regardless of the flooring, if you have a serious leak or flooding, it's going to ruin whatever floor you have. Or at least it's going to have to be pulled out in order to avoid mold and underlayment issues. So, I wouldn't have any worries about using wood in your kitchen, esp site finished oak. It will stand up to anything, barring a serious leak or flood. I understand your desire for a dark floor "However, the kitchen look that I love is a marble type quartz countertop, with a dark brown floor" but since you are expecting to sell soon, I would think a cohesive, coordinated floor throughout the house, will appeal to more people than the look you want (when it's so different from the rest of the house). Maybe you can make your preferred look, the look you want for this kitchen, your goal for the house you'll be buying to replace this one?
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To "lighten up" a finished wood product always means "sand and refinish". If you have a floor that has a stain on it (hickory is a nice wood to stain), you will need to sand down all the finish on it and then refinish it in a "clear" coat (aka water based polyurethane). A traditional sand/refinish = $5/sf. A refinish on a floor with Aluminum Oxide = $7-$9/sf. You REALLY WANT to change the flooring to accept the higher cost of refinishing a factory finished floor....and that's assuming the floor will allow it. An engineered hardwood with a THIN wear layer (less than 3mm) will not support a refinish. It is a "one and done" type of product. Once the finish is 'dead' you need a new floor. Please tell us how thick the wear layer is. Photos would also help as Hickory has a wide range of colour variation which could be what you are trying to lighten (and won't work).
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In the building industry, the rule of thumb (please look into state's/province's statutes) is the original contractor (are you sure you hired a reputable wood flooring professional?) to make ONE attempt to correct their mistake. Once that mistake has FAILED your requirements - which you were smart enough to write down in a text or email WITH a response from said contractor - you can then remove them from the contract (they failed to meet terms) and you can go out and find someone else to do the work. The courts like to see ONE attempt to let them fix their mistake and make their money. If they applied a second coat of stain, it *sounds like (I'm assuming, only you and the contractor were there...which is why you document, document, document...and if in doubt...document) you have already voiced your concerns with their first attempt at stain application. OK...you need to get all this in texts/emails. You need to give clear, well written directions that the contractor MUST create/produce/or correct to ENSURE they get their payment. What does your contract say? What COLOUR are you trying to 'force' onto hickory (hickory is like a brindle pitbull...it is HEAVILY striped browns, red-oranges, walnut browns and strong blondes). Hickory can be stained...but it takes a LOT of effort to get it to do something AGAINST its inherent nature.
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carolecreates61
Original Author
last month
Clarifying a few things… the floors are hickory, the species, not oak. I, too, am not a fan of two-toned cabinets and do not want light/ white ones. Been there, done that. However, am concerned with it being too dark, even if it is a east-facing space with lots of light. The kitchen flows into the main room and will be all hardwood, which is why I’m considering painted cabinets to avoid overdoing the wood. Yet, the cost of painted cabinets may be the deciding factor 😄Yes, we are going with Taj Mahal counters for a number of reasons. The cabinets will be custom, so finding a match should not be an issue. Before meeting with the cabinet maker, I want to go in with solid ideas vs. being talked into something without doing my research. So thank you all for your responses.
vinmarks
last month
Are you sure that is hickory? It looks like oak to me.
ffpalms
last month
last modified: last month
I think I would want some relief from all the wood, especially in a galley kitchen. Since you don’t want another light kitchen, I’d consider pulling one of the darker colors from your Taj Mahal quartzite slab. If painting is too costly, I’d sample many different tones of stain that complement that beautiful floor.
carolecreates61
Original Author
last month
@ffpalms- great idea! Thank you

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