Why Is Oak "Dated"?

[Matt Day]

My guess is that its not the oak, its the style/finish.

Great point Matt. 99% of buyers don't care (and don't know) what the species is, they just want the color. I think some people think Espresso is a type of wood.

I agree the OP should refinish, or paint white since that is pretty universal (though as a woodworker that will be tough to do!).

[Larry Edgerton]

I have not finished a house in oak in close to 20 years. But in the Rock/Paper/Scissors vein, paint covers Oak......

Larry

[Jerry Thompson]

I have never cared for oak of any kind except maybe live oak. I do not care for QSWO. I remember my desk(s) at school were all fumed white oak and I thought it was ugly. I'm 72 and doubt I will have a mind change.

[Judson Green]

2 years ago I built rift sawn white oak cabinets in he shaker style for my kitchen.

Sounds nice to me!

[John TenEyck]

Could be the style, Julie, and it's almost certainly the color. The hot kitchen color now is black or something close to it. Corian? Oh no. Gotta be granite, stone, or concrete. Sleek is in, too. Rift sawn white oak stained espresso with a matt finish and you're tre chic.

John

[Kent A Bathurst]

Our homes have always been A+C architecture. Bungalows from the early 20's.

Period oak cabinets, or new cabinets made in the A+C style are teh only thing that looks "right" in those houses.

It is all about the context.

[Justin Ludwig]

I haven't built a set of oak cabinets in 5 years and the last set was for a rent apartment. I do have a set coming up "on deck", but they are craftsman style QSWO. The fruitwood and golden oak stains on red oak are the worst for making a home look "dated".

[Dan Clark]

It's the style and color, IMO. An old antique in a room with a bunch of other old antiques looks "old". An old antique in the proper place in a modern room can look like an art piece.

The original cabinetry in our house was golden oak. Definitely looked dated. Below are pics of our remodeled master bath. (Ignore the mirrors and the window trim. The base, door, and window trim are not finished and the mirrors are temporary.) When a realtor friend of my wife took a look at it, she said something like, "Now that's what I'm talking about!". She was very happy with the look.

Now I just need to finish off the rest of the MBR. And then the rest of the trim in the house to be compatible.

Regards,

Dan.

[Chris Padilla]

All the oak in our house, owned since '99 and built in '75, has been slowly yanked and replaced mostly with maple and some walnut. Oak is too busy according to SWMBO. Personally, I've never been a fan of oak and I like quartersawn oak even less. I guess I found the right woman.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

I want to use maple and walnut. I did make one piece of furniture out of cherry. My wife insists on oak.....

[keith micinski]

Style is some of the problem, but golden oak really is terrible in everyway. Plus, most of the crappy subdivision homes from the 80's and 90's used golden oak cabinetry and everyone knows that stuff is literally trailer park garbage so if you saw a really finely made piece of furniture out of golden oak you wouldn't be able to seperate the two from your mind. From what I have been told people from the 70's actually thought paneling was a high end finish and covered perfectly fine plaster with it. I am assuming this decades "thing" is going to be the chocolate brown or ebony cabinetry. By the way if that's it, I would much rather have that then golden oak anything.

[Ryan Baker]

Oak (in any form) is horribly dated. The only thing worse is paneled walls. It produces bad memories of an 80s hunting lodge or your grandparent's basement. Paint or heavy espresso stain helps mask the ugly but doesn't really fix the problem. Nobody wants to see those dark grain lines anymore.

Corian never did look good. These days it is as undesirable as the speckled formica in your 50s bathroom.

Just say no to oak unless it's for the smoker.

[Jim Becker]

I agree with many of the others..."style", while very subjective, does have cycles in the real estate marketplace. And that's also likely why the realtor quipped about Ikea. Despite being mass produced, knock down cabinets, they do have a modern, contemporary look and come in colors that tend to be attractive to "current market" home buyers. And the hidden message is that they are a cost effective way to update the look to help sell the property. Buyers who see attractive and modern "facilities" are more likely to buy and pay a better price than those who perceive the need to immediately renovate once they move in.

Remember, yours personal tastes don't matter when selling a home...only the buyer's perception matters.

BTW, as an aside, I did all of the customer cabinetry in our major home addition (2200 sq ft) in 2008, but I chose to use Ikea cabinets in the laundry room. They have quality Blum hardware, including metal drawers, and installed quickly and easily. And the contemporary look was just fine for that space. That allowed me to concentrate my craftsmanship time and efforts on the custom cherry cabinetry that went into the master bath, guest bath and wet bar. Sometimes we make choices that for whatever reason include alternatives to custom...

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Scott, you'll be fine with that rift white oak, etc...and its timeless contemporary look.

[Rick Potter]

Hoo boy, am I in trouble. I am just completing my red oak kitchen, which replaced a 1978 ash kitchen. Mine is a traditional raised panel oak in a semi dark red oak stain. The counters are part dark granite, part (gasp) ceramic tile, unstained natural oak floors, and the obligatory SS appliances. To further complicate the issue, there is a ceiling fan.

I guess I will never be able to sell the place. I will have to wait a generation, then the only thing I will have to upgrade is to swap out to avocado appliances, and it will sell like hotcakes.

Actually, the next owner, who will inherit the house, already lives here. Strangely, the appraiser a year or so ago, gave us a few more bucks for 'upgraded cabinetry', when it was only half done. Must have been an old guy. Like me.

Oh yeah, my rear fence is a freeway fence...16' high or more. I was really surprised when it didn't downgrade my appraisal.

[James Baker SD]

Thanks Rick. I was beginning to think I was the only person left alive who likes Oak. Guess I will have to just die in my house as it seems it would never sell.