6 Reasons Your Wood Cabinets Look Outdated

WHAT’S NOT IN-STYLE WITH WOOD KITCHEN CABINETS?

While some wood kitchen cabinets are timeless, others are ticking timebombs. But what makes wood cabinets look updated vs. outdated? Which ones are worth keeping stained, and which ones need a few coats of paint (or more)? And more importantly, WHY?

We’re going to find out. But, before we dive into the deep end (we’re skinny dippin’ today, folks), let me add a little disclaimer…

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I love wood cabinets. I often talk clients OUT OF painting or replacing their wood cabinets. And besides, if you love your home, aren’t moving, and don’t care about trends – WHO CARES! What I’m saying is, ‘don’t kill the cute, well-intentioned little Ginger messenger who’s just trying to help those who want it‘. 

Before we get into the 6 potentially dating features, consider these 4 questions…

WHAT’S YOUR PERSONAL OPINION?

If you think your wood cabinets are gorgeous and nothing can sway you, then they’re gorgeous, right? (A face only a mother can love—something like that? Wink, wink.) Seriously, personal opinion carries a lot of weight when it comes to living in your home; heck, you gotta love the home you live in.

However, if resale is a consideration, your personal opinion could cost you a lot of money if your tastes don’t align with public opinion. 

I think these cabinets are gorgeous. With an updated countertop/backsplash, I’d be one happy lil’ Ginger. But who agrees with me?

WHAT’S THE ‘GENERAL PUBLIC’S’ OPINION

If you’re not selling your home and don’t care about trends, don’t worry about public opinion -in fact, you shouldn’t even be reading this blog post! 

Why?

While I’m happy to cater to all of your deepest desires via my Online Color Consulting (well, maybe not THOSE desires; you’ll find that service on my ‘other’ blog – just joking, Mom), this blog post is for those who are wondering if and how they should update their wood kitchen cabinets. 

But to know whether your cabinets make the cut, and which finishes suit them, you need to know…

WHAT’S CURRENTLY IN STYLE?

You might be surprised to hear that some older wood cabinets can look reasonably updated based on today’s trends. That’s right, just because your cabinets are 10, 20, or 30 years old doesn’t mean they look that way, especially if you’ve properly updated some of the surrounding finishes.

Many kitchens from the early 2000s and 1990s can rock a new, white quartz countertop. Others look amazeballs with a new subway tile backsplash. 

In fact, some older wood kitchen cabinets are BEGGING for trendy friends to associate with. 

But others aren’t ready. 

What makes them not ready? Hooooo boy. There are SO many different situations, finishes, styles, etc. that I could never cover them all, but I’ll hit some of them shortly. 

And lastly, before we hit the 6 reasons your wood cabinets might look outdated…

WHAT ACTUALLY SUITS YOUR KITCHEN?

Just because you want to update your kitchen with a certain trend (e.g., paint, gold hardware, quartzite, white subway tile), doesn’t mean it SUITS your kitchen, its wood cabinets, and remaining finishes. 

Wood kitchen cabinets, especially those from the previous 30 years or so, are often surrounded by older finishes, including countertops, backsplashes, flooring, and fixtures.

These older finishes don’t always suit today’s trends – you might be ready, but they aren’t. 

Wood cabinets need surrounding finishes that visually support them. Sometimes these finishes can be easily updated; other times, it’s best to keep them as-is until you can afford some larger-scale changes. 

Today’s trends don’t always get along with yesterday’s. 

And now that we’ve got to this point, let’s get this party started…

6 THINGS THAT (MIGHT) MAKE YOUR WOOD CABINETS LOOK OUTDATED, NOT UPDATED

Now it’s time for me to give you what you came for. No, not my charm and wit. It’s time to look at what features can make a kitchen look updated, if you’re lucky, or outdated if not. 

Take these 6 points and consider the previously mentioned topics. Think about how they relate to: Personal opinion, public opinion, what’s in style, and what potentially suits your home. 

1. STAIN

If your wood cabinets have a strong stain, this can distract from their other beautiful features, like full-height installation, natural grain, and shaker-style doors. 

These cabinets are NOT messin’ around with their cherry red stain! 

Of course, if you think strong red, pink, yellow, or orange stains are all that and a bag of chips, then pick your dip, tater chip. However, most people find these stain colors overwhelming when wanting a more ‘updated’ look for their kitchen. 

The above stain-inspired challenge can be more noticeable in a home with other updated finishes that weren’t very carefully chosen to coordinate with the existing stain—some modern finishes can easily make a point of those that aren’t so modern.

This goes back to the question of ‘you might be ready for a change, but is your home?’

All can seem good when all of your finishes are from a similar era. 

If the stain color of your cabinets is holding your kitchen, or even your whole home, hostage, it might be time for a few coats of paint. Need help choosing your best color? You know where to find me. 

Are Wood Trims Outdated or In Style?

2. GRAIN

Your cabinets might have a muted stain and a great door style/profile, but if they have a heavy grain, they can look super dated (usually 1980s/1990s). 

How to Update a 1990s Home

In this next kitchen, the stain of the wood is livable, and the shaker door is a modern choice, but that GRAAAAIN…

READ THIS to see how I might update this kitchen while keeping the wood!

Wood cabinets with a strong grain can overpower a space in their busyness and take away from the beauty of the wood itself.

These next cabinets are also oak, but have a much calmer grain…

3. STYLE

The style of some wood kitchen cabinets (i.e., cathedral top), combined with a slightly overpowering stain or grain, can make them look less than updated.

This next kitchen had an updated backsplash, countertop, and flooring, but the cabinets no longer fit in…

With a few coats of paint via my Online Color Consulting, this kitchen has a WHOLE NEW lease on life…

While I might’ve chosen knobs on the doors/pulls on the drawers, it all really looks great. 

Do the cathedral-style doors and exposed hinges (above) give them away as 1980s/1990s? Sure, but the overall design is more updated, adding visual and ACTUAL value.

Check out my SEARCH function! Type in words like ‘countertop, backsplash, wood cabinets, etc.‘ and find hundreds of blog post to get update ideas and inspiration from! 

4. YOU HAVE TOO MUCH WOOD

If you have TOO MUCH wood (ooooh the innuendos), it’s not always good, as one can easily dull the beauty of another.

This is most definitely where many people get butt-hurt about their glorious wood. 

I love wood as much as the next gal or guy, but I don’t like it everywhere, as it can date a home (with exceptions, but don’t assume your home is one of them).

This is no way to enhance your wood; trim it back, Bob. 

In this next kitchen, even though the stain color is super strong, the cabinets and wood flooring are beautiful. However, they take away from each other, not just with their INTENSITY, but they blend too much…

They don’t play with each other as well as they could. 

With all that’s going on, there’s too much wood, and neither finish is being shown at its best.

However, couldn’t the same be said for this next wood-on-wood kitchen? Nope. 

I’d have a ton of fun updating this kitchen while keeping the stained cabinets intact.

What’s the difference between these two kitchens? STAIN.

The bottom kitchen has a far less bossy stain color on the cabinets and floor (more of a standard golden oak), whereas the other has some strong red-orange hues. So, while the cabinets, flooring, and trims in the last kitchen also blend, the overall look is more muted, rather than overwhelming.

5. YOUR NEW WOOD FLOOR CLASHES WITH YOUR WOOD CABINETS

Many people update their wood floors without considering their wood cabinets’ undertones, grain, and specific needs—they’re only focused on installing a more modern-looking floor.

This is often done because they don’t LIKE the stain color or undertone of their cabinets. 

However, like not washing your armpits, avoiding something often makes it worse. 

In the kitchen below, there’s nothing really wrong with either wood finish, other than the fact that they clash with each other…

Backsplashes & Countertops to Update DARK Wood Cabinets & Trims

In this situation, my client was replacing the flooring with something more muted. She wanted to paint the cabinets to coordinate with the granite countertops, subway tile backsplash, and new flooring…

BTW, the modern choice for cabinet hardware is to have knobs on the doors, pulls on the drawers

Funny enough, the new flooring is a better partner to the original stain color as it picks up some of the purple undertones! While the new white/gray-wash wood floor makes me nervous, the overall look adds to the resale value and updates the space.

As shown in this next kitchen, my Online Color Consulting clients chose a muted LVP floor that clashes with the original golden oak cabinets (which were fab, btw, if not for their surroundings)…

• The busy pattern of the floor competes with the grain of the cabinets.
• A graywash or whitewash floor won’t suit any stained wood cabinets (unless they’re also gray/whitewash). 
• While they planned on painting the cabinets anyway, this is a great example of the type of mismatch I see ALL…THE…TIME in my daily consulting. 

The Best Colors to Update Gray Flooring, Countertops, etc.

Here’s how this kitchen looks now…

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It took a few years for my clients to get to this point (we’re all on different decorative journeys!).

Here’s a large-scale before and after…

Not only did they update everything (including the flooring and cabinet fronts), they also straightened out the island…

Obviously, this is way more than a ‘simple, budget-friendly kitchen update‘, but they saved their shekels and got just the look they wanted along with a little KLC. 

While I advise MANY clients to paint their outdated oak cabinets, there have been JUST AS MANY that I’ve advised to keep their oak or stained wood cabinets and update other finishes instead (whether they listen to me is a whole ‘nother story – but hey, it’s their home!)

Thank goodness these bad boys didn’t get painted…

GRAIN, GOOD STAIN, GOOD STYLE.

The 15 Best Paint Colors to Update LIGHT Wood Cabinets & Trims

6. YOUR CABINETS HAVE OUTDATED FRIENDS

As mentioned earlier, your cabinets might be amazeballs, but if their surroundings are outdated, they can BACKdate your kitchen rather than UPdate it. 

Now, I think this next kitchen is super pretty. It’s well-coordinated and has a warm, homey vibe…

The Best Paint Colors to ACCENT Red-Stained Woods

Is it UPDATED?

No, but in many cases (e.g., they’re never selling their home), my Online Color Consulting clients aren’t looking for an update—they just want to love the home they’re livin’ in. 

Is the above kitchen a good contender for an update, keeping the cabinets stained, not painted?

Nope, and I’ll tell you why. 

• They could install a modern, warm-toned quartz countertop (which they don’t need to, as the granite they have is pretty).
• They could choose a new subway tile backsplash in a color pulled from the countertop.

While the subway tile would be a welcome update (I’d do it), the RED STAIN of the cabinets will hold this kitchen back from looking fully updated. 

But you know what? I still love this kitchen for the people living in it. 

A kitchen doesn’t need to be perfectly updated to be perfectly beautiful. 

Check out this next kitchen…

Update Wood Cabinets Without a Drop of Paint

Sure, in the ideal world, the cabinets would have a square profile, not an arched one. However, the granite countertop and tile floor don’t agree on a cabinet color —these cabinets have to stay stained for now. 

If the foundation isn’t solid, there isn’t always one simple thing that will update a space. 

In this case, rather than painting the cabinets and having them clash with one surface or the other, we changed the wall color to a subtle, light shade of taupe…

If they really want to update their kitchen with painted cabinets, they’ll need to…

• Save up for new flooring and/or trendy quartz or quartzite countertop, too. This is how they’ll create a NEW, well-coordinated palette that makes sense.
• Investing in new door fronts that a) have a square profile and b) go to the ceiling. 

Long story long, some kitchens are easier to update than others. 

Changing the paint color on the walls can be a great happy medium when a kitchen’s finishes aren’t ready for a bigger shift. 

Wait…I have one more reason your cabinets might look dated (Math was never my strong suit)…

7. YOU HAVE EXPOSED HINGES

Whether your kitchen has partial exposure or has been busted with full exposure, hinges are almost always meant to be hidden in an updated kitchen. 

Sometimes, you have to stop and think, ‘If I were designing my new kitchen today, would I make this same choice based on what’s timeless or currently in style?‘ Not many people would say ‘yes’ to exposed hinges. 

This gorgeous kitchen below has a ton of timeless elements…and no exposed hinges…

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This next 1990s oak kitchen also doesn’t have exposed hinges, making for a much easier update. However, it is feelin’ a little nekkid without its hardware and backsplash (hopefully those are coming soon!)…

Oak or Wood Cabinet Updates: 4 PART SERIES

However, one interesting thing that a kitchen with exposed cabinet hinges has going for it is that these cabinets OFTEN look best stained vs painted white. 

Hinges blend in more with stained cabinets, whereas they contrast against white cabinets.

Also, there is one reasonable exception. If you have a home with a more country-style or traditional cabinet door style, the exposed edge of a trim can be well-suited and quite beautiful…

However, this often comes along with other update challenges (like cream painted cabinets, which can be hard to modernize). 

Before we finish, let’s revisit a kitchen we touched on earlier…

How to Update Golden Oak Cabinets & Trims

There’s nothing wrong with these golden oak cabinets. However, the slate tile backsplash and narrow door trim, COMBINED with the cabinets and furnishings, make the space look outdated.

It’s not always one thing that dates a space. Sometimes it’s the combination of finishes that makes a kitchen look outdated. 

How might they update the above kitchen without painting the cabinets?

• Because this granite countertop is easier to update than some others, they could choose a more timeless subway tile in a warm (non-yellow) off-white color.
• I’d also paint out the narrow wood door trim to match the wall color – I’d rather see it disappear as it seems out of place.
• Along with some new furnishings, a fresh wall color, and updated cabinet hardware, this kitchen could have a whole new lease on life.

Paint Colors to Go With Golden Oak Cabinets & Trims

PHEW, we did it – and then some! 

READ MORE

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Need help?

Check out my Online Paint Color Consulting!