If you have cherry wood cabinets, count yourself fortunate indeed. Cherry is a perfect wood for cabinetry, but you will also want your flooring to go well with it so your room looks and feels complete. If you’re going with carpet, you’ll have no issue finding a great match. But often times cabinets are in the kitchen where carpet is rarely used. In that case, hardwood flooring is an excellent option but also leaves the question, “What color hardwood goes with cherry cabinets?” We have some great suggestions.
The Joy of Cherry Cabinets
Cherry wood hails from the American Black Cherry fruit tree, typically. is a delightful smooth-grained hard wood that is ideal for cabinets. It is also perfect for furniture, flooring, and a myriad of other uses. Cherry wood has a closed grain, smooth, pattern, that is very similar to maple wood. The natural wood grain is unique with loads of character which is embraced as it typically consists of several contrasting patterns within the grain due to the growth of the tree it was derived from.
The color of cherry wood is gorgeous. It starts out as a light pink by gets darker and richer as time goes on, ending up with a lustrous patina. Cherry wood has been used for cabinetry for decades because of its classic look, durability, and longevity.
Although the coloring and character combined are amazing, pairing it with flooring, especially hardwood flooring, can be a challenge.
Some of the hardwood that works well with cherry wood cabinets include:
Red Oak
While you may not think you’d couple red oak with a reddish-brown wood (cherry), most find the union heavenly. Red oak and cherry wood both sport red undertones but aren’t pure red which makes them tie together incredibly.
Red oak has a tendency to put of an orange cast or undertone when used alone but when it is paired with cherry wood, it gives off more of a red cast. Using cherry wood for the cabinets and red oak for flooring makes the room flow beautifully.
White Oak
White oak is a strong and durable wood that is appreciated for being modern and sleek. It’s been used for centuries but has become even more popular in recent years. More people than ever are using it as a flooring option.
White oak works magnificently with cherry wood, especially when you are wanting to emphasize your cabinets because it creates a nice contrast with the light flooring and darker cabinets.
Ash
Another wood flooring that works well to accentuate cherry cabinets is ash. Ash comes from a variety of sources including green ash wood, black ash wood, and white ash wood. Ash is a member of the olive tree family. It is a light-colored, smooth-grained hardwood.
Ash is a wood that has a lovely natural glow to it that tends to make a room appear light and airy. It will draw attention to darker cabinets such as cherry wood cabinets which is nice because even the most basic cherry cabinets are awesome.
One of our favorite things about ash hardwood is that it is timeless. You could install this flooring in your kitchen, and it will never go out of fashion.
Ash flooring is very traditional, but that isn’t a bad thing. Modern kitchens aren’t for everyone, and ash is the perfect hardwood if you want your kitchen to look chic but classic. You can put a spin on it to make it work with rustic, farmhouse, or antique but it isn’t naturally rustic so it will take a little effort to pull off.
Maple
Maple is akin to white oak and ash but appeals to some that don’t find exactly what they are looking for in oak or ash. Maple come from the maple tree and is light in color – a happy medium between ask and white oak. It has the light look but isn’t as big on the ultra-modern feel as it tends to put out more of a homey vibe.
Maple is classic and will never be out of style which is reassuring if you ever plan to put your home on the market. Maple is a multi-tasker as it goes with many decorating schemes and color themes. It is known as a chameleon of sorts in the decorating world. From minimalistic to the farmhouse look, maple can fit with most anything.
Walnut
Walnut is another favorite that magically pairs with cherry cabinets. Unlike most of the previous suggestions for coupling, walnut is a darker wood. Walnut is derived from the walnut tree. There are over twenty types of walnut trees of which eleven can be found growing in North America.
Walnut is used for furniture, cabinets, and is a popular choice for wood flooring. It is timeless and will never go out of style. Be sure you love it before you choose it though because it will practically last forever. It seems as if the longer you have it, the better looking it gets. It does well for a rustic appeal but can be sanded and glossed to be more modern when desired too.
Walnut wood is dense and tight-grained, making it durable and strong. Walnut tends to hold up to all you can dish out, ideal for floors with heavy traffic or households with pets and children. It is wonderful to work with when decorating because it gives a warm and inviting air and is awesome when going traditional but can fit right into a rustic or even modern appeal.
Summing It All Up
Cherry wood is an excellent choice for cabinetry. In the past, however, homeowners have sometimes shied away from it because they were afraid it wouldn’t go with wood flooring. The fact is though that cherry wood cabinets and the wood floorings mentioned above and like matches made in heaven. The only problem, it seems, is that you’ll need to choose just one – white or red oak, maple, ash, or walnut.
