Next time you walk into a high-end kitchen showroom, take note of those perfectly smooth, beautiful painted cabinetry doors that look like a million bucks. Chances are, they’re not solid wood. They’re MDF. And there’s a reason for it.
But why? The problem is, most people think quality cabinets and automatically align with the fact that solid wood is king. That’s not a false presumption, but for certain cabinet styles and cabinet finishes, yes, wood is best. Yet for painted cabinets – and as we’ve seen, painted cabinets have taken over the world of modern interior design – MDF is better because not only does it perform better but it also saves on price.
But it’s not about saving on price. It’s about saving on the performance of the material.
Why Paint Looks Different On MDF
The first reason MDF is particularly great for painted cabinets relates to the fact that it does not have grain. Yes, that sounds obvious, but it makes more sense down the line.
When you paint over solid wood, the grain runs through the middle of it and presents itself through the paint. Even with multiple coats and prep work, painted cabinet doors made of solid wood will render somewhat textured based on the pattern of the wood grain. Under certain lighting, this starkly becomes more obvious. The opposite occurs with MDF. MDF is created with wood particles that are pressed together at high pressure with adhesive and do not contain any grain patterns. Therefore, when it’s painted, what you see is a flat-panel consistency across the door.
For contemporary or transitional styles – the ones where clean lines matter – there’s a big difference between a Shaker style door rendered in bright white or deep navy versus one produced out of solid wood. The grain gets in the way. It makes sense to put paint on something that is smooth and without interruption. Therefore, a painted door does not sit flat when compared to when it’s put on an MDF door because it’s less likely to have imperfections – unless we’re talking about character marks which we’ll discuss later.
MDF Is More Stable Than Wood
But more importantly, MDF stays more stable than wood – especially when talking about kitchens.
Wood naturally expands and contracts with humidity (and temperature). It’s wood. Therefore, when it gets wet or moves to different temperatures, it adjusts its size and position. In a kitchen – with steam from cooking, temperatures rising when people bake or when the oven heats up and moisture from sinks – wood makes a natural adjustment over time. Doors can warp ever so slightly, panels can shrink thereby exposing unpainted edges, and joints can shift over time and it’s not going to be a disaster – but it’s going to happen.
MDF does not move as much as it’s created in such a way that it holds itself in place no matter what’s going on with your humidity levels. Therefore, for painted cabinet doors where tolerances matter and finger-jointed seams require tight alignments, more companies should consider MDF over even solid wood. For example, Lovech creates personalized manufacturing options from MDF doors because there are no considerations needed that change performance from environment to application.
This means that doors will not need constant readjustment, paint will not crack at panel edges and cabinets will look the same from December through July.
Where Solid Wood Is Better
Yet if you’re staining cabinets, you obviously want to see the beautiful natural patterns of solid wood grain. Therefore, in that case, solid wood is your only option. There are other types – wood veneer – but for general purposes, solid wood needs to be employed in certain stained applications where people want cherry cabinets with clear finishes or quarter-sawn oak with medium stains.
Thus, if you’re doing paint-grade styles – MDF is your best option.
The Weight Factor
One reason why people prefer solid wood over MDF is the weight factor. Yes, MDF doors weigh more compared to their solid wood counterparts who are the same thickness; however, this is only an issue when hinges are not spec’d properly.
Quality installations recognize door weights and therefore afford buyers appropriate hinges that can handle such weights without sagging or losing adjustments. For example, European hinges – which are featured on most standard modern cabinets – do just as well on MDF-rendered doors as they do on solid wood doors without any discernible difference coming down to weight.
In fact, what’s more important than weight is how it performs after 15 years – and if an MDF door never leaves its frame due to stability but its weight differs more than it’s supposed to over time versus a solid wood one that leaves its frame every few years because of necessary adjustments – who cares if it’s slightly lighter?
Wood is more expensive than MDF but often only by a few cents except when dealing with cabinet-grade materials; then it’s higher. But where the savings occur is through labor.
MDF does not splinter nor tear out when machined easily – offering people detailed profiles and intricate cuts – therefore, fabrication costs can go down through custom doors boasting complex designs. Additionally – and considering this later – all MDF-rendered doors sanded down to proper paint proportions do not need additional pre-finishing costs.
Pre-finishing takes time and money so when you get a product straight out of the manufacturer without additional consideration but extra notes about final touches – add up throughout an entire kitchen renovation costs – and become worth it down the road – from hundreds of dollars saved over time – not per job.
Where Custom Helps
Cabinet sizes typically come in standards; thus cabinets come in standard door sizes/styles made specifically for those designs.
What if someone wants something different? What if they want a certain height? A rounded edge? Something else entirely? Custom will be required.
MDF is much easier to re-make something in custom than it is with wood. For example, if someone wants an obscure height (say 17 and 3/8″), that’s easy to create out of MDF doors as long as there isn’t an exterior need for grain direction.
Want specific widths for rails or panel reveals? MDF can be cut and shaped down to match precisely what someone wants.
Customization options make MDF easy where replacement doors come into play too. When refreshing existing cabinets that need new doors due to unique sizing options, custom doors fabricated by MDF typically render faster than trying to use wood due to grain direction considerations.
The Durability Concern
Finally, people believe that MDF isn’t as durable as solid wood – and yes – in certain situations this is true.
The edges are vulnerable if waterlogged but only when no finishing has been rendered. The edge of solid wood, however, can dent due to higher contrasts of force against it. Meaning if something gets dropped on an unfinished edge of MDF versus solid oak – MDF wins – but only after proper finishing which includes good paint application – as it’s all essentially glue bonds underneath.
Thus if they’re all painted properly – and this includes all edges refinished – there’s no issue with vulnerability and once again – this should be avoided anyway in ordinary cabinet situations where there’s no constant water exposure with doors needing to be rendered constantly wet.
Thus if there’s water damage happening to doors over prolonged exposure – yes – MDF cannot take this – but neither should solid wood damage.
Making Your Best Choice
MDF versus solid wood essentially comes down to preference – but preference based around what you’re trying to achieve.
For painted cabinets of contemporary/transitional styles – MDF produces a better end result than solid wood any day. However – for stained cabinets where visible wood grains make sense – solid wood is your only avenue.
Both materials boast positive strides within quality cabinetry makers; it’s important to understand which makes a better case for each specific situation. Most cabinet makers would recommend quality cabinetry makers without batting an eyelash – as experts know it works better from gradation standpoints – not as a pocketbook filler but as something truly standing out in magazines!
