Solid Wood

• The wood used for cabinetry falls into hard, soft, or exotic woods, with some of the most popular being maple, oak and cherry. Oaks has a history of being favored for cabinets, according to Udo Schmidt's book "Building Kitchen Cabinets," as it is normally readily-available, easy to work with, and has a attractive visible grain. Another attractive wood option is cherry wood, because it works well with machinery and can change to a desirable deep burgundy color with exposure to sunlight. More antique-looking kitchens usually uses cabinetry fashioned out of maple, which has visible grains and varying tones that work well with old-fashioned looks.
  
  

Veneers

• Manufactured wood, also known as veneers or plywood, is assembled by gluing together thin sheets of wood. These layers help to make veneers more durable, as they are less likely to warp, making them good for high-trafficked areas. The grade of these veneers must be in accordance with the American National Standard Institute's grading scale, which dictates the necessary quality levels of all manufactured wood in the United States. Typical plywood used for kitchen cabinets is a A-4, which means it is a top-quality veneer, approximately 1/4-inch thick.
  
  

Finishes

• One benefit of natural wood cabinets is they can be stained or painted to match the décor of the kitchen. The bare wood is sanded and primed with an alkyd or acrylic primer, before adding the desired top coat. To show off the natural characteristics of the wood, cabinets can be stained and varnished, rather than painted. Additionally, the paint color can be changed later, by stripping the wood back to its natural state and repainting it another color.
  
  Veneer cabinetry is often available finished by the manufacturer, but some models can be painted on. Sanded fir or birch hardwood veneers can be finished by lightly sanding them and applying a base and top coat. However, when it comes to changing the color, stripping down veneers can be problematic, thus there is little room for changing it down the road.
  
  

Costs

• The drawback of building kitchen cabinets solely out of solid wood is its cost. Those those looking to cut corners might use a mixture of solid wood and veneers, fashioning the face of the cabinets (visible framing, doors, draws, crown molding) out of solid wood and the cabinet's body out of cheaper plywood. For an even cheaper alternative, the entire cabinetry can be built out of high- and low-grade plywood. Thereby, the high grade plywood makes up the cabinet's face, and the lesser grades is used for the cabinet's body.