How to update oak trim

The answer is – no! The oak trim and oak flooring finish (the golden color known in the industry as “honey”) will never come back in style. Today, there are many beautiful versions of stained oak on the market that allow it to appear more contemporary and aesthetically pleasing.

Clear finishes with no gloss and color will leave your wood with its natural color and look. Painting your oak trim white is a great option too. The trim will absorb some light, brighten up your space and make your room appear bigger, even if it’s not.

Using unified decor with a consistent colour palette can really help update a kitchen or bathroom with oak cabinets. The more colours and metal finishes you add, the more cluttered it can make the room look. Neutrals and simple classic colours are a great way to update wood cabinets.

For 2019, you will probably see a return to oak wood for kitchen cabinets as vintage becomes derigueur, and homeowners go back to the real wood of time past. Oak has the texture and look of subtle elegance with its neutral color and design versatility.

Are oak cabinets coming back in style? It’s said that all styles come back around eventually.

White Cabinets

The timeless white on kitchen cabinets is on its way out in 2020. Instead, deep blues and greens are a hot choice for creating a great warm mood.

Select Neutral Colors

When selecting more permanent options for your kitchens, such as paint colors, cabinets, and countertops, opt for neutral colors. Neutral colors will never go out of style.

Subway tile is the most enduring choice for a backsplash. Avoid bold, trendy colors, and instead look for white or neutrals. Keep it simple, and bring in color elsewhere in the kitchen, with more easily replaced items, such as dish towels, art, bowls of fruit and rugs.

Honey Oak Cabinets

A staple in kitchens of the 1980s and ’90s, these golden-toned wood cabinets have fallen out of favor as white and gray cabinets have risen in popularity. If you don’t like your light-stained cabinets, but they’re in good shape, consider refinishing or painting what’s there.

Nowadays oak cabinets are making a comeback in the kitchen. In some cases, homeowners are refacing their old honey oak cabinets to give them fresh new life. They’re replacing dated cabinet doors with new Shaker style cabinet doors.

Sand your dried golden oak cabinets with 220-grit sandpaper to smooth the surface of the wood and prepare it for stain. Sand in the direction of the wood grain, because moving across or against the grain creates scratches that will be noticeable after staining. Wipe the sanded wood with a tack cloth to remove dust.

Sometimes the “colors” in the wood just aren’t right. For your best bets, check out light maple, light cherry, cypress, beech, or potentially even a whitewashed pine. These are all especially suitable when your cabinets are honey oak, which is quite popular among oak cabinet choices.

Since oak is a medium-dark wood, medium-dark flooring would complement your cabinetry nicely. Medium-dark colors don’t dominate the room or overpower your oak cabinet’s appearance. As a bonus, the dark color hides stains and debris, so darker floors are usually easier to maintain.

If you have honey oak cabinets installed in your kitchen, there are several great granite color choices. You will probably want to stay within warm tones and can select from a variety of earthy shades. The best colors of granite to choose with honey oak are ivory, white, gray, or warm beige.

Greige paint colors are shades that are a mix of beige and gray. Mindful Gray leans more towards gray, making it a good shade to pair with oak cabinets if you want to accent the color of the wood. While it is a warm shade with purple undertones, it has enough gray in it that it won’t blend with the cabinets.

Add a Backsplash

A white subway tile backsplash with dark grout can really make your cabinets pop. Blues and teals go very well with oak because they add bright colors to what may be a dim looking kitchen. Greige (a mix of beige and gray) will also work well as a backsplash color.