If you have oak kitchen cabinets and you want them refinished in a solid colour, then your options are a little more limited than they would be with other, smooth grained styles. This is because oak has a particularly deep and porous grain pattern.

Oak does not refinish well in light colours, so if you had an older set of oak kitchen cabinets, and you wanted to keep your existing doors, then you have a couple of different options:

Option 1: Refinish in black, dark brown, or another very dark colour.

Where a white or other light colour would permit the black pores to telegraph through the colour, dark solid colours work on oak cabinets because they hide the black pores.

While too bold for some, black actually looks very stylish on oak - this is because the grain pattern will still show through the finish, giving the doors a very unique look. Of course, the door style and their current condition will make a big imact on the final appearance, so it's good to have a nice looking door style to begin with.

Option 2: Refinish in white or another light colour, and glaze with black or dark brown.

This is a unique look for oak, and works because the dark glaze sits in the pores and hides them. This type of finish isn't for everyone, but if you want your oak cabinets a light colour, then this is the way to go. This finish has an antique kind of look and would work better with certain frame styles.

Option 3: Refinish in a dark colour, and glaze in a dark colour.

This again is a unique kind of look, and gives depth to dark solid colour finishes. For example, you could refinish your cabinets in a dark blue, and glaze in a dark brown (or vice versa). That would certainly give your cabinets a very distinct personality!

Other options

The one thing that will work on oak if you want them white is to use latex house paint and a brush and go to town.The reason it will work is because you can get a thick film with latex and work it into the grain. It won't look professionally done, the grain won't look right, and the paint will chip and peel sooner than later, but for a quick fix on a tight budget it will work. This isn't something we'll do, and we don't recommend doing it, but for do-it-yourselfers who want white oak cabinets, that's how you can do it.

If you do decide to paint your own cabinets, we recommend this product for the DIY as the best latex paint option we are aware of. (But don't say we didn't warn you).

The bottom line

If you want a light coloured kitchen but have oak cabinets, then you really should consider getting new doors and having your boxes veneered with a smooth veneer - it will take an old, out-of-date kitchen and make it look as though it just came off the showroom floor. While it is going to be more expensive than refinishing, at the end of the day it's proabably a choice you'll be happy you made.

On the other hand, if you have an oak kitchen and like the oak look but just want to change your stain colour, then getting new oak doors and having your boxes veneered with oak veneer is the only way to make that happen.

Do you have questions? Please feel free to call Alec at (250) 864-3900, or to discuss your cabinet refinishing options.