Seacrest2 Dawn Cabinets

The woods are similar enough in appearance that most
people won’t know the difference.

NewCabinets, how sure is the cabinet maker that he can match style, grain and color enough to satisfy you? Looking at a small piece (sample) and a single door might look a bit different when it becomes a wall of cabinets. Will he build the cabinets on speculation and thereby guarantee your happiness with the finished product?

The problem is the maple will be prettier :)
Ok, that’s subjective. I like birch and the appearance in terms of color would be very close and you could probably get an acceptable match for color. Most maple I’ve used lately has more character than the birsh I’ve also used lately. My cabinet boxes are really nice birch ply. And the insides are pretty (we painted the outsides). I used maple for the face frames and the rails and stiles of the doors. The maple (to me) is a prettier species.

Did he say why he couldn’t build them in Birch? If he’s a cabinet shop/maker, he should have access to Birch as well as Maple. I personally like the looks of Maple better, but if a customer had Birch cabinets and wanted me to match what they had, I would definitly do them in Birch. Price for both sheet goods and solid lumber should be close in either species.

-- John @ http://www.thehuffordfurnituregroup.com

Thanks for the insight. I especially like the idea about simply asking if he can do them in Birch! What a novel concept!

He leaves me the impression that he is not willing to go out on a limb, and guarantee my satisfaction, so it may be a wiser option to just go ahead and stay focused on using the identical cabinets used by the builder. It may take a little longer to work out all the details, but it will be a safer bet.

Thanks for all the helpful input.

Often I have heard the phrase, “can’t see it from my house.” But this is your house and a sight you will see daily. In the end I believe that it is your happiness and satisfaction that matter most. The cabinet maker might make you a better cabinet and offer a better price and like Charlie said “The problem is the maple will be prettier :)” One scenario is that the differences might simply that you love the look and craftsmanship of the customs that you will be disappointed in the builders grade originals. Or they could be close enough that once you forget to look you will not notice so much. Just my thoughts…