Kitchen Design Pictures dark cabinets

Oak kitchen cabinets are a popular choice for lots of good reasons—they're durable and affordable, oak is a widely available wood, and oak cabinets can be found in a wide variety of cabinet styles.

Oak is a very hard and tough wood, and its coarse, dense grain makes it highly resistant to damage. Natural variations in the grain also mean that oak kitchen cabinets feature a wide variety of grain styles. Ask about these when you're browsing cabinets, and the salesperson should be able to show you the slight but distinct variations that occur naturally or are caused by different sawing techniques.

If you're considering oak kitchen cabinets, one thing you'll need to sign off on initially is the color. Oak has a distinct, pale gold color, which is somewhat difficult to match in its unfinished state. For this reason, many homeowners who choose oak have a plan for staining or painting in place.