Wood Accent Cabinets

Grain is the reason to buy a wood accent cabinet over a painted one, because grain moves when the light does and paint does not. Gathered here are the wood designs among our accent storage cabinets, in walnut, oak, mahogany, mango, acacia, elm and bamboo, some solid wood and some wood with veneer.

Judging a wood accent cabinet in the light you live in

In daylight walnut reads brown and oak reads pale. Under a warm lamp, walnut deepens, oak and caramelized bamboo go golden, and the grain takes over. A daytime photo shows only half of the finish, so judge any finish under the same kind of bulb you use at night, not by a window at noon.

Solid wood accent cabinet or wood and veneer

Many pieces here state solid construction outright, and a solid wood accent cabinet in this group might be mahogany, oak, mango, acacia or bamboo. Others pair walnut or mahogany with veneer, which lets a matched figure run across a wide front. Solid wood shows its grain on the edges as well as the face, while veneer can lay a pattern no single plank could, so neither is a lesser choice. Check the details on each piece, because not every cabinet on this page is solid wood.

A wooden accent cabinet against the floor

A wooden accent cabinet a shade off the floor color looks like a failed match. Go clearly darker or clearly lighter: a walnut or mahogany case over pale oak, or natural oak or bamboo over a dark floor. If you want drawers, our accent chest designs carry many of the same woods in a lower form.

Wood accent cabinets by species and finish

Walnut and mahogany for depth

The darker woods here are often hand rubbed or stained dark walnut, and many are carved, ribbed or faceted so the figure throws shadow. Door front versions, including glass front hutches, sit among our door front accent cabinets.

Oak and elm for lighter grain

Natural oak keeps the grain open and the color pale, and it shows up in arched glass display cabinets. Black oak shows that a dark stain need not hide wood, since the grain presses through it. Elm appears in chest form, its grain carried across the drawer faces.

Mango, acacia and bamboo for warmth

Mango brings warmth and sometimes pairs with iron. Acacia arrives with butterfly joinery and, in a few pieces, live edges. Solid bamboo is the quiet one, with unbroken grain, dovetailed drawers and soft close glides, in stains from wheat and amber to caramelized and black walnut. Many of the bamboo chests are narrow enough to sit among our small accent cabinet styles.

Same finish, different board

Two cabinets in the same named finish can look different side by side, because each board takes stain its own way and the grain changes from piece to piece. That variation is why a wood cabinet does not look printed, and why it rewards being placed where you can see it up close.

Living with a wooden accent cabinet

Wood takes daily use well. Drawers opened every morning, a top that holds a stack of books, a door that swings all week: the surface takes the handling and settles in. Keep strong direct sun off it, and put it where hands actually reach it, since wood is meant to be handled.