This Carnelian Bay custom cabinetry project uses one material and finish almost everywhere. Oak Ridge Cabinets built European-style frameless cabinets with alder exteriors in a custom stain for the kitchen, bathrooms, and family room. The half bath is the exception, with rift white oak in a clear, natural finish.
Below is a look at the construction, the materials, and how the two finishes compare.
Project at a Glance
| Detail | This project |
|---|---|
| Location | Carnelian Bay, California |
| Cabinet construction | European-style, frameless |
| Main exterior material | Alder |
| Interior material | Prefinished maple plywood |
| Main exterior finish | Custom stain |
| Half-bath cabinetry | Rift white oak exteriors with a clear/natural finish |
| Half-bath construction | Frameless |
European-Style Frameless Construction
Frameless cabinets, often called European-style cabinets, have no face frame on the front of the cabinet box. The doors and drawer fronts mount directly to the box and cover nearly all of it, leaving only a narrow gap between neighboring fronts.
You can see this in the kitchen. The drawer and door fronts sit close together, so a run of base cabinets reads as one continuous surface of stained alder. Without a face frame in the way, the openings behind the doors are wider, which makes it easier to reach in and pull things out.
Inside, the cabinet boxes are prefinished maple plywood. Prefinished plywood arrives from the mill with its clear coat already applied, so the interiors are sealed and easy to wipe clean.
Custom-Stained Alder in the Kitchen
The kitchen uses alder exteriors in a custom stain throughout. Alder takes stain evenly, and the wood grain still shows through the color. The doors have a recessed center panel and dark pulls, and the base cabinets pair drawers with doors below.
Along one side of the kitchen, a tall wall of cabinetry holds the built-in wall appliances. Next to it, a glass-front cabinet puts dishes on display.
Bathroom Vanities in the Same Alder
The custom-stained alder continues into the bathrooms. One bathroom has a long double vanity with two sinks and a mix of drawers and open shelves below the counter. Its flat drawer fronts give it a simpler look than the recessed-panel doors in the kitchen. A vanity in another bathroom uses recessed-panel doors that match the kitchen.
Family Room Cabinetry
In the family room, a long run of the same alder cabinetry lines one wall. It has base cabinets with a sink, upper cabinets, open shelves, and tall cabinets at one end.
The Half Bath: Rift White Oak in a Natural Finish
The half bath is the one space that leaves the stained alder behind. Its vanity has rift white oak exteriors with a clear finish, so the oak keeps its own pale color instead of taking on a stain.
Rift-sawn oak is cut so the grain on the face of each board runs in fairly straight, even lines. That grain suits a plain frameless vanity like this one. The cabinet mounts to the wall, with a vessel sink on top and a separate open shelf below.
Set next to the rest of the house, the difference is easy to see. The kitchen and other bathrooms show the warm brown of the custom stain over alder’s grain. The half bath shows lighter, straight-grained oak in its natural tone.
Planning Custom Cabinets for Your Home?
Whether you’re building in Carnelian Bay or remodeling in Chico, Oak Ridge Cabinets designs, builds, and installs custom cabinetry for homeowners and contractors. We’ve been doing it since 1983, and every step happens in-house.
Bring your floor plans, inspiration photos, or a rough idea, and we’ll walk through layouts, materials, finishes, and storage with you.
Schedule your free consultation or call (530) 893-8774. You can also visit our showroom at 11128 Midway, Suite A, Chico, CA 95928.
To see more of our work, browse the cabinet gallery or read about our process from design to installation.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are frameless cabinets?
Frameless cabinets have no face frame on the front of the box. The doors and drawer fronts attach directly to the cabinet and cover almost the entire front, which gives a clean look and wider access to the inside.
What is Rift White Oak?
Rift white oak is white oak cut so the face grain runs in straight, even lines. In this Carnelian Bay half bath, it has a clear finish that keeps the wood’s natural color.
Can you mix stained and natural wood cabinets in one home?
Yes. This project uses custom-stained alder for most of the cabinetry and natural rift white oak in the half bath. Keeping the second finish to one room makes the contrast easy to read.
