Painting the cabinets in kitchens can be a fun DIY project, essentially refinishing your kitchen cabinets to make the space feel brand new again. You'll often see woods like hard maple, soft maple, and red oak being used for these painting projects.
However, what's actually the best wood for painting kitchen cabinets?
Not all woods were made equally – some absorb the paint better than others, while some are naturally stronger and more durable than others. The best wood for painted cabinets needs to have multiple qualities of strength, smooth grain, and paint adherence to make it suitable for the job.
Here's our list of the best wood for painted cabinets.
Let's go!
The Best Wood for Painted Cabinets
Different cabinet doors require different types of wood depending on their style and the aesthetic you're going for with your kitchen overall.
While there's no single “best type of wood for painting cabinets“, there are many contenders that have their own pros and cons to consider:
MDF
MDF (medium-density fiberboard) is endlessly popular in kitchen designs because it's cheap, stable, and relatively durable if you take care of it. MDF is also pretty easy to sand and repaint if you want to freshen up your kitchen's look further down the line.
MDF is also one of the most common wood species used for laminate cabinet styles, so it's a good choice if you're going for that glossy, contemporary style. MDF is a popular choice for painted cabinets due to its affordability, smoothness, and resistance to warping. Hard maple and soft maple, on the other hand, offer better durability and a distinct grain pattern.
Hard Maple and Soft Maple
Despite the names, both hard maple and soft maple are technically classed as hardwoods, making them strong and ideal for cabinet kitchen paint jobs.
Hard maple and soft maple, when evaluated, are both very strong and durable, withstanding a lot of everyday kitchen wear and tear.
If you're thinking about renovating further down the line, hard maple and soft maple are great choices because they're very easy to strip and repaint at a later date.
If you want long-lasting wood cabinet doors that keep your painting options open, look into hard and soft maple woods. When compared to paint-grade poplar, maple has a harder texture and a more consistent grain pattern, making it a more popular choice for high-end cabinetry.
Paint-grade Poplar
Paint-grade poplar is usually the cheapest paintable wood you can find.
While it won't last as long as harder wood, this cheap wood is still a good option for painting your kitchen cabinets if you don't need them to last for decades. Paint-grade poplar is a low-cost, lightweight wood that is easy to paint and has a fine, even grain pattern. Hickory, on the other hand, is a dense and heavy hardwood with a prominent grain pattern that can add a rustic touch to your kitchen.
Hickory
Hickory is a strong, hard, and durable wood that will last for years if treated correctly. Primed and painted the right way, this wood can look stunning on your cabinets.
Hickory wood comes with either a reddish-brown or white grain, both of which can look at home as the cabinet doors of traditional kitchens. Compared to other options we tested, it is more expensive than some other woods, but it is also highly durable and long-lasting.
Cherry
Cherry wood is very heavy, hard, and strong. If you're going to use this wood species that we tried out for your cabinetry, make sure that your hinges and framework are very strong to hold up this heavy wood!
The natural finish of cherry wood is beautiful – it's perfect for smooth sanding and rustic dark stains. The color of this wood species is naturally pretty, so it's a good wood to just stain and let the finish speak for itself.
Mahogany
An all-around decent hardwood, mahogany varies slightly in color from reddish-brown to medium red.
The wood has a medium-coarse texture with straight interlocked grain which can be sanded down well if you know what you're doing.
It can also be painted or stained beautifully.
Beech
Heavy and pale in color, this medium-hard wood is a good middle-ground option in terms of your budget. If you want to give your kitchen a traditional or transitional look without breaking the bank, beech could be a good option.
The light color of beech wood makes it naturally great for paint or stains, especially if you want to use lighter colors which might have a hard time on darker wood species.
Douglas Fir
Another pale wood species we tested, this light rosy-colored wood tends to redden over time.
Tight-knotted and close-grained, Douglas fir wood can be used well for cabinet door panels if you're an experienced craftsperson who knows what they're doing.
How to Choose the Best Wood for Painted Cabinets
As you choose between the best types of wood for painted cabinets, keep the following factors in mind:
Durability
Wood should be strong enough to endure wear and tear over time.
Smoothness
The wood's surface should be free of knots and other flaws that could be visible through the paint.
Absorbency
The wood needs to be able to equally absorb paint and keep the paint without peeling or breaking.
Grain Pattern
The natural grain pattern of the wood may be a key factor, depending on the desired aesthetic of the cabinets.
Cost
Since some types of wood may be more expensive than others, the price of the wood should be considered.
Sustainability
Take into account selecting a wood species that is responsibly sourced and has little effect on the environment.
Availability
The availability of wood should also be taken into account because some types of wood might not be widely accessible everywhere.
Style
The design of the cabinets should also be taken into account, as some types of wood may go better with particular types of designs or design aesthetics.
| Type of Wood | Durability | Smoothness | Absorbency | Grain Pattern | Cost | Sustainability | Availability | Style |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MDF | 3/5 | 5/5 | 4/5 | N/A | 4/5 | 2/5 | 5/5 | 4/5 |
| Hard Maple and Soft Maple | 4/5 | 4/5 | 4/5 | 4/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 4/5 | 4/5 |
| Paint-Grade Poplar | 3/5 | 3/5 | 4/5 | 3/5 | 5/5 | 3/5 | 5/5 | 3/5 |
| Hickory | 5/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 5/5 | 3/5 | 2/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 |
| Cherry | 3/5 | 4/5 | 3/5 | 4/5 | 3/5 | 2/5 | 3/5 | 4/5 |
| Mahogany | 4/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 5/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 4/5 |
| Beech | 3/5 | 4/5 | 4/5 | 4/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 |
| Douglas Fir | 3/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 2/5 |
FAQs on The Best Wood For Painted Cabinets
What's the worst type of wood to paint?
Though all woods have their pros and cons, you generally want to stay away from “open grain wood species” when painting cabinet doors for your kitchen.
This is because open-grain woods like Red Oak, White Oak, and Ash have rough wood-grain textures that show through most paints, giving you a rough-looking finish.
However, some people like to use Red Oak purely because of the rough, rustic finish.
With enough sanding, you might be able to use these open-grain woods, but they're not a walk in the park by any means.
Generally speaking, you should stick to “closed grain” wood species like maple and birch because their textures are a lot easier to paint over and they tend to be well-covered with color after painting.
What kind of plywood do you use to paint cabinets?
Plywood is a great budget-friendly option if you're looking to paint your cabinetry without spending a fortune. Lots of kitchens feature plywood cabinetry, and most of the time it can be painted just like any other wood.
Any good-condition plywood should be fine.
When painting plywood cabinet doors, make sure that you sand them, prime them, paint them with high-quality cabinet paints, and then use any topcoats or polyurethane layers as necessary.
Of course, if they're dented, rotted, or falling apart, you need to get some new wood.
What wood is the cheapest for cabinets?
When it comes to cheap woods for your kitchen cabinet doors, it all depends on the style you're going for.
For example, more traditional-style kitchens will often use Red Oak wood because it's cheap, strong, and gives a rustic look. However, as mentioned earlier, this is an “open grain” wood species which means that it has a rough finish and it's difficult to paint over.
It works for that rustic, rough finish.
On the other hand, more modern kitchen designs usually use MDF as a cheap wood type for cabinetry. MDF is strong enough to last for many years if you care for it properly, and it's also incredibly easy to sand and paint. You'll also find that laminate cabinets are often made with MDF cores, so it's perfect if you're looking for a modern, high-gloss cabinet on the cheap.
Ultimately, it all comes down to the finish you need and how durable you need them to be!
What paint do cabinet makers use?
As you may have guessed, cabinet makers use many different paints depending on what they're doing.
However, in general, you're going to find high-quality oil-based or latex-based wood paints that are best suited to the type of wood being used for the project.
Water-based paints tend to be less commonly used by contractors.
Cabinet makers will also use reputable primers, topcoats, polyurethane coats, and lacquers wherever necessary, ensuring that the face frames and cabinet doors look their best. Here are 4 paint finishes compared for your reference.
If the cabinet set is going to be put in a kitchen, then the paints used usually have a soft satin finish or a semi-gloss finish. Unless you're going for an ultra-modern aesthetic, these half-shiny paints tend to look the best without being difficult to clean.
Cabinet makers are going for a soft, homely look most of the time!
The Bottom Line: The Best Wood for Painted Cabinets
There are many different types of wood used for painted cabinetry, whether it's soft maple, hard maple, MDF, cherry, or anything in between. As long as the wood you're working with is tough, closed-grain, and has the right base color, then you should be fine.
If in doubt about the best type of wood for your face frames or cabinet doors, consider speaking to a designer or tradesperson to see what would work best.
Personally, we love painted maple, but each to its own.
Whatever wood species you use for your painted cabinets, remember to follow the instructions, prepare the wood properly, and keep it sturdy. Have fun!
