Since 1976 — Wooden kitchens

Ash, Chestnut, Cherry or Fir Kitchen: Which Wood to Choose

WOOD · STEEL · MARBLE · STONEWARE

In short

Dark lacquered wooden kitchen with veined travertine island with bar table and induction — photograph of a Michelessi project.

The block — a Michelessi vision

From the block,
blow after blow

01 A raw block of Calacatta Viola waits under the spotlight, in the dark kitchen with brass profiles. Mallet and chisel are already on the floor: the island is still all inside the stone.

02 Blow after blow the faces are squared, chips fly, white dust rises into the light. The chisel scores the drawers, opens the recess for the hob, carves the sink: the shape of the island comes out of the block slowly, without haste.

03 Then the stone is honed and polished: the purple vein catches the light, brass edges close the drawers, the black hob sinks into its recess, the gold tap finds its place. The island remains, and a veil of dust on the floor.

Keep scrolling — the scene follows you

Which wood to choose for a kitchen: ash, chestnut, cherry, fir or larch

Ash is the hardest and has a pale tone, chestnut has a warm, rustic character, cherry is the classic wood that darkens in the light, while fir is a soft wood and larch is of medium hardness, both for the mountain style. Three things decide it: hardness, meaning how easily the wood marks; the colour and how it changes over time; and the style of the house. A solid wood kitchen is one whose doors and units are made of the declared species throughout their thickness, not of a thin veneer (the difference is explained on the page real wood or wood-effect kitchen).

Who builds it: Michelessi SRL, in Aprilia, on the Pontina road between Rome and Latina, with installation throughout Italy. We have worked stone since 1976 and have built modular kitchens since 2022: we design and build them to measure, complete, with solid wood doors and worktops in marble, granite, quartzite or sintered stone. For oak and walnut there are the pages oak kitchen and walnut kitchen; the overview is on made-to-measure wooden kitchens and solid wood kitchen.

Stoneware-clad kitchen with island, integrated sink, induction hob, hood and oven

The island presents itself in its pale stone-effect stoneware dress, crossed by slender inserts that mark out its drawers; above, the top integrates sink and induction hob in a single working surface, served by burnished taps. Behind, a marble-effect stoneware wall rises beyond the cooking zone, while powder-blue columns — with black ovens recessed — add the colour that gentles the whole scene. Dark bell lamps, stools at the counter, tall windows of a stately apartment: the ensemble has an urban, serene elegance. A wooden structure clad in stoneware is a sound formula: the constructive warmth of wood, the resistance of ceramic at the surface. With hood and oven completing the equipment, it is an indoor kitchen ready for real life: Michelessi builds it to measure, attending to joints, recesses and tonal pairings with an artisan's care. The powder blue, then, is the touch that lingers in the eye.

Central quartzite island with spectacular veining, wooden counter and black stools

The island is a fire made stone: quartzite with amber and black veining blazes along the flanks in its impetuous figuring, polished until it mirrors the room; above, a solid wood counter lays down its warm board and gathers black swivel stools. The sink sits flush in the top; behind, walnut boiserie conceals and reveals — black ovens, backlit vitrines of bottles, a recessed television. A pale floor leaves the whole stage to the material. This is the project for those who want a collector's stone at the heart of the home: quartzite, with its unrepeatable figure, is not chosen from a catalogue — it is encountered, slab by slab. Bespoke stonework orchestrates its veining across top and flanks, with cuts and joints that honour the natural movement. This is the art of Michelessi: craftsmanship that knows when a stone deserves the stage, and builds one around it.

Kitchen with island clad in grey porcelain stoneware with golden profiles and marble wall

Arched windows and a wall of veined marble effect give the room the breath of a palazzo; at the centre, the island clad in stone-grey porcelain dresses itself in golden profiles — fine lines running along the volumes like threads of light — and carries the integrated sink with its gold tapware. Stools with gilded details complete the register, together with dark columns housing the built-in ovens. Fully equipped, this is a kitchen that plays the luxury card openly: technical materials treated like jewels, measured reflections, a curated scenography. The porcelain stoneware bears the practical side with its tireless surface; the gold does its own work, which is to shine. Made-to-measure holds it all in balance: proportions, alignments, cut-outs. This is the glamorous face of Michelessi indoor kitchens: artisan craftsmanship that knows how to be sober when needed — and magnificent when the project asks. The gold here is not ostentation: it is a line of light drawn with a ruler.

Classic grey kitchen with veined travertine top, oven, sink and yellow stools

The lines are elegant and the colour knows it: uniform grey doors, crossed by golden profiles that draw the handles and frames, meet a veined travertine counter — pale stone with a moving figure that also clads the wall behind the burners, as one single mineral gesture. Twin ovens sit in their column, the sink works beneath a suspended brass bulb, and yellow stools light the counter with their note of sun. Complete with oven, sink and range, this is a classic kitchen of contemporary proportions: few elements, all of them right. Veined travertine is the silent protagonist: Roman stone, warm and luminous, worked to measure in counters and cladding with the care its history deserves. This is the Michelessi métier: craftsmanship that sets gold against stone without ever sliding into excess — because true elegance is known by its restraint. The yellow stools confirm it: elegance, now and then, also knows how to smile.

Dark lacquered wooden kitchen with veined travertine island with bar table and induction

It is the hour when the city lights up, and the kitchen answers with its veined travertine island: pale stone, crossed by grey veining, falls in a waterfall along the flanks and carries the integrated induction hob, extending into a bar table where dark stools wait. Around it, surfaces of dark lacquered wood absorb the spotlight; a fitted wall with its LED strip lights the worktop, and doors keep everything in its place. Complete with sink and oven, this is a kitchen of metropolitan charm: sharp contrasts, noble materials, a penthouse atmosphere. The veined travertine is the luminous heart of the dark: working it in a waterfall demands exact joints and orchestrated veining — the bespoke stonework Michelessi practises with the artisan craftsmanship of always. The result is an island that seems lit from within: stone that gives light, while everything around it chooses shadow. Elegant darkness plays the backdrop: the pale stone takes, deservedly, the stage.

Veined travertine island with leather stools, grey kitchen with sink, induction and oven

The island falls in a waterfall of pale veined stone: the travertine top continues down the flanks without breaking its figure, and three cognac leather stools draw up with their club-room elegance. Behind, the dark grey kitchen works with the sink beneath a suspended wooden shelf, the induction hob, the oven and well-ordered doors; a pale veined wall amplifies the light, and flowers on the counter complete the grace of the whole. A brown timber floor anchors the composition. This is warm contemporary style played on the right materials: stone that ennobles, leather that ages well, grey as the backdrop. The travertine waterfall — mitred joints at forty-five degrees, veining aligned — is the detail that marks serious work: Michelessi work, Italian craftsmanship in stone for made-to-measure indoor kitchens. The cognac of the stools does the rest: it invites you to stay.

Polished solid wood kitchen with oval table, island with sink and brass details

The scene has the depth of a formal interior: dark volumes in polished solid wood, low shelves with chosen objects, a fitted wall housing the ovens — and at the centre the oval table in blond wood, carried by its sculptural base, standing beside the island with its sink. Articulated lamps descend from the ceiling on industrial joints; upholstered stools complete the invitation. Complete with appliances, this is a kitchen for houses that live by night: deep materials, calibrated light, conviviality drawn into the design. Polished solid wood demands impeccable finishing — every reflection is an examination — and the joinery delivers it. This is the high register of Michelessi indoor kitchens: bespoke work from master hands, and an oval table that gathers people the way only edgeless forms can: naturally. Around that blond wood, even the simplest evenings take on the slow pace of special occasions.

Classic white kitchen with framed doors and white marble floor with grey veining

Classic Candour on Veined Marble Floors

Seen slightly from above, the kitchen unfolds like a well-written page: white framed doors, orderly deep drawers, the pale worktop with its black induction hob, wood-effect panelling warming the wall. But it is the floor that steals the scene: great slabs with the look of white marble, crossed by grey veins running free from one side of the room to the other, like rivers seen from the sky. Such is the power of marble — true protagonist of the Italian tradition — to ennoble everything that rests upon it. Michelessi indoor kitchens are born inside this culture: the company has always worked marble to measure and knows how to set it beside modular finishes with balance, from worktop to floor. White, here, is not the absence of colour: it is a light that welcomes — the same light the marble workshops have pursued for generations, slab after slab. A floor like this is not crossed absent-mindedly: it is inhabited, with the gratitude owed to beautiful things.

Comparing the woods: hardness, colour and stability

In short: ash is the hardest, fir the softest, chestnut the most durable and cherry the most sensitive to light. Hardness is given on the Janka scale, the force needed to push an 11.28 mm steel ball halfway into the wood: the higher the number, the less the wood marks. Volumetric shrinkage tells you how much the wood moves when humidity changes: the higher it is, the more the wood works.

Wood	Colour and grain	Janka hardness	Shrinkage	In the kitchen
Ash (Fraxinus excelsior)	Pale to medium brown, beige sapwood; grain almost always straight	6,580 N (1,480 lbf)	15.3%	The hardest and the most mobile; lends itself to bleaching
Chestnut (Castanea sativa)	Pale to medium brown, turning reddish with time	3,010 N (680 lbf)	12.6%	Rustic; the most durable; tannin reacts with iron
Cherry (Prunus avium)	Pinkish brown, then golden brown in the light; fine grain	5,120 N (1,150 lbf)	13.8%	The classic; darkens in the light
Fir: silver (Abies alba) and Norway spruce (Picea abies)	From creamy white to reddish brown; straight or fine grain	1,420 N (320 lbf) silver fir; 1,680 N (380 lbf) spruce	12.9% (spruce)	Soft, it marks; mountain and country style
Larch (Larix decidua)	Heartwood yellow to reddish brown, sapwood almost white	3,290 N (740 lbf)	12.5%	Resinous, of medium hardness; mountain style

Source: The Wood Database (Janka hardness on the side, wood at 12% moisture; volumetric shrinkage from green to dry). For comparison, European oak is 4,980 N and English walnut 5,410 N. For chestnut and larch other tables give different values: read them as an order of magnitude.

Hard does not mean stable: ash is the hardest but moves the most with humidity, which is why the construction of the door matters. Soft does not mean flawed: fir and, to a lesser degree, larch mark, and in a mountain kitchen that is part of the style.

Ash kitchen: pale, hard, straight-grained

Ash is a pale to medium brown wood, with wide beige sapwood, an almost always straight grain and a texture similar to oak. It is the choice for those who want a pale tone and a wood that stands up to use: at about 6,580 N it is the hardest of the woods on this page. The drawback is its 15.3% shrinkage: in an ash kitchen the construction of the door (frame and panel help to control the movements of the wood), the finish and protection from leaks near the sink all count. Untreated, it is an indoor wood: its natural durability is low.

The pale colour suits the modern kitchen, linear or with an island. With white marble (Calacatta, Carrara) it gives a luminous effect, with beige or cream marbles such as Botticino and travertine a warm one.

Bleached, pale or white ash kitchen: what changes

Pale, bleached and white ash are three different requests.

Pale: the natural wood, already light in itself, with the grain on show.
Bleached: a treatment that lightens the tone, from almost pure white to natural shades. Bleached, limed, grey, smoked and heat-treated are different processes: in the design you choose the process, not just the name.
White: usually a pigmented or lacquered finish. A pigmented stain makes the colour more even, but a deep scratch shows the colour underneath; with open-pore lacquer the grain and knots can still be seen and felt, with closed-pore lacquer they cannot.

Knots are an aesthetic choice too: with knots ash is more rustic, without it is cleaner. For pairings with white, black, beige and green see the page light or dark wood kitchen.

Chestnut kitchen: natural, solid or bleached

Chestnut is a pale to medium brown wood that turns reddish with time, with a straight, spiral or interlocked grain and a coarse texture. It is the wood of the rustic and country kitchen; a solid chestnut kitchen has doors and units in chestnut throughout, not veneered. At about 3,010 N it is of medium hardness, softer than ash, cherry, oak and walnut. Its natural durability is class 2 of the EN 350 standard (from 1, very durable, to 5, not durable): the best of the woods on this page.

Its particular feature is tannin: on damp wood, iron leaves dark stains and fixings corrode. In the kitchen that means no steel wool and no standing water or rusty iron on the wood, especially near the sink.

A natural chestnut kitchen shows the warm tone of the wood; a bleached chestnut one starts from a paler tone, with the caveat of any pigmented stain. Chestnut goes with exposed stone: a rustic stone splashback is the focal point of the modern rustic kitchen. The styles are on the page country and rustic wooden kitchen; for the structure in the masonry style, built in refractory stone, see rustic, country and classic kitchen.

Cherry wood kitchen: the classic that warms in the light

Cherry is a pinkish-brown wood when fresh, which turns golden brown in the light; the grain is fine, straight or wavy. At about 5,120 N it is slightly harder than oak and less hard than ash. It darkens in the light: doors exposed to it change tone, and the colour of the newly fitted kitchen is not the colour it will have in a few years.

It is the wood of classic doors, panelled or framed, and it sits well with pink marble or pink onyx. When you read "cherry" on a quote, ask for the species: American cherry (Prunus serotina) is a different species, softer than the European one. Like ash, untreated it is an indoor wood.

Fir and pine wood kitchen, larch kitchen: the mountain style

Silver fir and Norway spruce are two different species: pale woods, with a straight or fine grain, and soft. At 1,420 and 1,680 N they are the softest in the table and mark more than hard woods such as oak, walnut and ash. In the mountain and country style a mark on the worktop or door is part of the character; in a modern kitchen with perfect surfaces a hard wood is the better choice. Fir is class 4 of the EN 350 standard: an indoor wood.

Those who search for a pine wood kitchen are generally looking for the same character: pine too is a conifer of mountain and country furnishing, and the same caveat applies. Olive and beech are considered on request: for them too the exact species is decided in the design.

Larch has yellow to reddish-brown heartwood and almost white sapwood; it is resinous and slightly "greasy" to the touch. At about 3,290 N it is of medium hardness, and its durability is class 3-4: outdoors it lasts little without treatment, while in an indoor kitchen the limit does not arise. Bleached, it pairs with grey-veined marbles.

Wood and marble or stone: what to put with each species

Marble is cold and glossy, wood warm and matt: the contrast is the basis of the pairing. A typical solution is the island with a marble top and wooden base units; the theme is covered in marble and wood kitchen and in wood and marble, stone and steel.

Wood	Marble or stone	Effect
Pale ash	Carrara, Calacatta	Luminous, Nordic
Pale ash	Botticino, travertine, beige or cream marbles	Warm
Bleached larch	Grey-veined marbles	Fresh, modern mountain
Cherry	Pink marble or onyx	Classic, delicate
Chestnut and fir	Exposed natural stone, steel	Rustic, country

Marble withstands moderate heat and fears acids, such as lemon and vinegar. Those who want a worktop that is less sensitive to heavy use choose granite, quartzite or a sintered stone such as Dekton or Laminam.

Light or dark wood kitchen: where these species sit

Fir and ash are the palest woods. Chestnut and cherry start from a medium tone and warm with time, the first towards red, the second towards gold. Larch goes from yellow to reddish brown. For a truly dark wood the routes are walnut, dark oak or a stain. White with pale wood lightens small spaces; a dark wood worktop hides scratches and stains better.

How to clean and care for an ash, chestnut or cherry kitchen

The finish matters more than the species: a soft, barely damp cloth, no abrasives, liquids blotted and moisture wiped away at once; oiled wood is refreshed with oil or wax, varnished wood needs mild detergents. Two cautions specific to these woods: on chestnut, no steel wool, because of the tannin; with ash, which moves a great deal, leaks near the sink are fixed at once. Oil, grease and renewal are on the page solid wood kitchen.

Are these woods suitable for an outdoor wooden kitchen?

Only in part. An uncovered kitchen is in use class 3.2, exposed to rain. Of the woods on this page, chestnut, in class 2, is the most suitable, with care over the tannin; larch is class 3-4 and fir class 4; untreated ash and cherry are not suitable, while heat-treated ash rises to class 2. More durable still are teak, in class 1, and iroko, in class 1-2. Michelessi outdoor kitchens have a structure in dry-laid refractory stone, steel or treated wood (outdoor kitchens); wood outdoors is covered on the page outdoor wooden kitchen.

What determines the price of a made-to-measure solid wood kitchen

The species is one item among many: what counts is the construction (solid wood, blockboard or veneer), the selection, the finish, the door, the measurements, the stone worktop and the hardware. We do not publish price lists: the factors are explained on the page how much does a made-to-measure wooden kitchen cost; the quote and the 3D design are free.

From choosing the wood to installation

The path is the same as for every Michelessi kitchen: a free site survey in Rome, Latina and Lazio (outside Lazio we start from your measurements and photographs, with a guided remote survey; the slabs can also be viewed by video call), a free 3D design everywhere, installation by our own team throughout Italy. The steps, one by one, are on the page made-to-measure wooden kitchens.

Whichever wood you choose, have the botanical species written on the quote and ask for the construction section of the door. Other questions are collected on the page wooden kitchens: questions and answers; complete kitchens, in every material, are on made-to-measure kitchens.

The quote is free: request it here.

More from the wooden kitchens department

Frequently asked questions

Which wood is best for a kitchen?

It depends on what matters most. Among ash, chestnut, cherry, fir and larch, ash is the hardest and marks least; chestnut gives a rustic character and is the most durable; cherry is the classic and darkens in the light; fir is soft and larch of medium hardness, both suited to the mountain style. Michelessi, in Aprilia, builds complete made-to-measure kitchens with solid wood doors.

Is an ash kitchen hard-wearing?

Ash is harder than chestnut, cherry, fir and larch (about 6,580 N on the Janka scale according to The Wood Database), so it marks less. It is also the one that moves most with humidity: the construction of the door and protection from leaks near the sink matter. Untreated, it is an indoor wood.

What is a bleached ash kitchen?

It is an ash kitchen whose finish lightens the tone, from almost pure white to natural shades. Bleached, limed and pigmented are different processes: a pigmented stain makes the colour more even, but a deep scratch shows the colour underneath. Because ash is hard, it helps to reduce the marks of daily use.

Is chestnut suitable for a kitchen?

Yes, especially in rustic and country styles. Chestnut has a pale to medium brown tone that turns reddish with time, and natural durability in class 2 of the EN 350 standard. It is rich in tannin: on damp wood, iron leaves dark stains, so steel wool and rusty iron must be kept away, especially near the sink.

Does cherry wood change colour over time?

Yes. Cherry starts as a pinkish brown when fresh and turns golden brown in the light, darkening: doors exposed to it change tone, so the colour of a new kitchen is not its final colour. It sits well with classic doors, panelled or framed, and with pink marble or onyx. Untreated, it is an indoor wood.

Is fir too soft for a kitchen?

It depends on the style. Fir, silver or spruce, is a soft wood (1,420 to 1,680 N on the Janka scale) and marks more than oak, walnut or ash. In mountain and country kitchens the marks of use are part of the character; in a modern kitchen with perfect surfaces a hard wood is better. The same generally applies to pine.

Is larch used for kitchens?

Yes, in mountain kitchens and living areas. Larch has yellow to reddish-brown heartwood and almost white sapwood, is resinous and slightly "greasy" to the touch. Outdoors it lasts little without treatment (class 3-4 of the EN 350 standard), while in an indoor kitchen the limit does not arise. Bleached, it pairs with grey-veined marbles.

Which marble with ash, chestnut or cherry?

Pale ash sits well with white marbles (Carrara, Calacatta), for a luminous effect, and with beige or cream ones such as Botticino and travertine, for a warm effect. Cherry, the classic, goes with pink marble or onyx. Chestnut, rustic, prefers exposed stone and granite; bleached larch goes with grey-veined marbles. Marble fears acids and withstands only moderate heat.

Can chestnut, larch, fir, ash and cherry be used outdoors?

Chestnut is the most suitable: natural durability in class 2 of the EN 350 standard, although tannin with iron stains and corrodes fixings. Larch is class 3-4 and fir class 4; untreated ash and cherry are not suitable outdoors, while heat-treated ash rises to class 2. Michelessi outdoor kitchens have a structure in dry-laid refractory stone, steel or treated wood.

How do you clean a chestnut or ash kitchen?

Like any wooden kitchen: a soft, barely damp cloth, no abrasives, drying at once; liquids are blotted. Chestnut is rich in tannin: on damp wood, iron leaves dark stains, so no steel wool or rusty iron, especially near the sink. Ash moves a great deal with humidity: hidden leaks must be fixed at once. Oiled wood is refreshed with oil, varnished wood needs mild detergents.

How can you tell that the doors are really solid wood, and which species?

Look at the edges, where a door that is not solid wood shows a thin line, and at the back, which should have the same grain as the face. The surest check is documentary: ask for the construction section of the door and have the botanical species written on the quote, for example Fraxinus excelsior for ash. A continuous grain alone proves nothing.

How much does an ash, chestnut or cherry kitchen cost?

There is no price that applies to everyone: the species is one item next to the construction (solid wood, blockboard, veneer), the finish, the type of door, the linear metres, the marble or stone worktop and the hardware. Michelessi does not publish price lists: the quote is free, so is the 3D design, and the site survey is free in Rome, Latina and Lazio.