Cherry Cabinets

[Steve]

I bought a home with a very small kitchen, and I just added on to it. The previous owners had natural cherry cabinets (no stain) from Kraft Maid. I ordered a few more cabinets and 2 panels that will surround the refrigerator from Home Depot. I took in a door from my cabinets (they are about 3 years old), and matched it exactly to what the sample was in HD. They arrived last week, and the cherry was much lighter then the redish ones I have. A Kraft Maid rep came to my house and said they were definately the same, but over time the light wood would change to what I have. I guess I have to take his word on it, but I won't know if what he is saying is true until they begin to turn from being exposed to light. Does anyone have any experence with cherry?

[newsreader]

I'm not sure about the Cherry used in your cabinets, but I know for a fact that Brazilian Cherry flooring darkens dramaticaly over time. I wouldn't be surprised if this was not normal for Cherry cabinetry as well.

[Larry Bud]

Absolutely true. Cherry darkens and reddens when exposed to sunlight. Might take 6-12 months or a little more or less depending on how much natural light is in your kitchen.

I do woodworking. To give you an example, compare these pics of a couple of my projects:

The first pic was taken about a year after I was done, and the cherry was exposed. The 2nd pic was taken the day I brought the project up from the basement.

These both started out the same color!

You can even see color change on boards that are lying on top of each other, with some cherry exposed.

[Edwin Pawlowski]

If you have doubt, take a piece of heavy paper and place it over a spot on the door. Put it where it gets sunlight for a few days and you will see the difference. Any wood will darken a bit, but cherry can darken quite a lot.

[Greg Pasquariello]

Cherry and Brazilian Cherry both darken with age. Whether it'll match your existing cabinets is a different story, but they will change color with time.

Regards

-Greg Pasquariello

[Chris Lewis]

According to Steve :

I have lots of experience with cherry. Let me assure you, the other posters are right. Natural cherry darkens a _lot_ when exposed to light, and much faster than most other woods.

If you want to speed things up, take the new doors off, and put them in a sunny window. In as short as a week, they'll be as dark as your existing ones.

Under normal indoor lighting conditions, cherry will continue darkening for 3-4 years.

[You can darken cherry even faster by "fuming" with ammonia, but I'd recommend against that - it probably wouldn't be very consistent considering the clear finish. The time to do the fuming trick is _before_ clearcoat.] [I've always believed that staining cherry was a sacrilege. The natural darkening is so much better.]

[Steve]

"Larry Bud" wrote in news: [e-mail]:

Thanks for the photos and everyone else's thoughts. These posts have eased my mind and I'll get those cabinets in sunlight asap.

By the way, will floresent light work?

[Edwin Pawlowski]

Not well. but it won't take much sun.

[Chris Lewis]

According to Steve :

Yes, but it'll take considerably longer than even sunlight reflected through a window.

[Larry Bud]

No, it takes UV.

[Larry Bud]

Not all wood darkens. Walnut lightens with sunlight. I've had walnut lighten to a honey color.

[Chris Lewis]

According to Larry Bud :

When freshly cut, Purpleheart is light brown. Within minutes it goes to a very bright purple. Upon prolonged exposure to sunlight, it gradually changes to a somewhat duller chocolate-purple colour.

[Steve Henderson]

We have new cherry cabinets in our rehabed kitchen. We finished about

4-5 months ago. These are Kraft Maid also. Already, there's a definite darkening of the outside of each door as compared to the inside. We expected it (EVERYONE told us it would happen when we were shopping), and, we love it. We think it's much richer look than some other wood stained to the same shade.

Steve Henderson