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Since 1976 — Wooden kitchens

Solid Wood Kitchen: Species, Finishes and Price

WOOD · STEEL · MARBLE · STONEWARE

In short

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

Solid wood kitchen made to measure: what it is and who builds it

A solid wood kitchen is a kitchen whose doors, sides and visible frames are real wood through their whole thickness, not a thin covering glued onto a panel. Who builds it: Michelessi SRL, marble and stone masons in Aprilia since 1976, who design and build it to measure and fit it with their own team throughout Italy.

The head office, workshop and showroom are on the Via Pontina, at km 45.350, between Rome and Latina. We have worked stone since 1976 and have produced modular kitchens since 2022: a solid wood kitchen is born together with its worktops in marble, stone or porcelain stoneware, in a single 3D design. We supply the whole kitchen, indoor and outdoor, in marble, stone, solid wood, steel and porcelain stoneware.

The overview of the department is on made-to-measure wooden kitchens; the most requested species: oak, walnut and chestnut, ash, cherry and fir.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

Carrara marble kitchen with large island, fast-lunch section and dark wood columns

White Carrara Kitchen

A stone-effect wall forms the neutral backdrop, and track spotlights rain pointed light onto the protagonist: the great Carrara marble island, with its integrated sink and the fast-lunch section where three black stools line up in good order. The stone descends along the sides and draws a compact, luminous volume, crossed by discreet veins; behind, dark wood columns create the contrast that gives the whole scene its depth, while a potted tree brings a note of living green. It is the formula of the well-tempered contemporary: white and dark, stone and wood, technical light and ancient matter. Carrara marble, cut to measure, holds the centre of the composition with the ease of a champion. Michelessi attends to every step — slab selection, cuts, recesses, finish — with the rigour of Italian craftsmanship: because an island like this is the heart of the home, and the heart admits no approximation.

Rustic kitchen in sandblasted brick with travertine top, barbecue and chestnut doors

The Michelle Kitchen

Michelle lives in the open air: beneath a roof of wooden beams, between dry-stone walls, the rustic kitchen in sandblasted brick spreads its warm volumes, crowned by a travertine top that binds barbecue, burners and work zone into a single surface of stone. The barbecue fireplace is the heart of the project — the promise of grilled feasts and warm bread — flanked by the oven; chestnut doors close the compartments with the most honest wood of the Italian forests. Terracotta underfoot completes the palette of true materials. This is the kitchen of long summers, of lunches that end at sundown: built in masonry, made to withstand seasons and years. Bespoke travertine work — counters, edges, recesses — gives Michelle her elegant solidity: Italian craftsmanship applied to conviviality, which has always been its oldest vocation. Because cooking outdoors, after all, is the most festive way of being together.

How to tell whether a kitchen is really solid wood

Solid wood is wood of the declared species through the whole thickness, even when made of several glued pieces of the same species. Blockboard has a core of strips covered with sheets of wood; veneer is a thin sheet of real wood on a base; wood-effect laminate is a print on resin.

ConstructionWhat it isWorth knowing
Solid woodSame species through the whole thicknessCan be sanded and refinished; not necessarily more stable
Edge-glued laminated timberStrips of solid wood glued end to end and side by sideUniform, stable panels, typical of worktops
BlockboardCore of strips covered with sheets of woodAllows curved elements; not solid wood in every part
VeneeredA sheet of real wood (0.5 to 3.5 mm) on a baseHarder to repair; sanded only within the covering
Wood-effect laminatePrinted paper impregnated with resinConstant colour; it cannot be sanded

Three checks before you sign

  • Edges and back: a thin line along the edges shows that the door is not solid wood; the grain on the front and the back should match.
  • Grain alone is not enough: well-matched veneer looks like a single board.
  • The paperwork: ask for the construction section of the door and have the botanical species written on the quote: "oak" may mean the species, the veneer or only the colour.

In the trade "solid wood" is stretched: some call a 4 mm layer of fine wood over aluminium profiles "lightweight solid wood", and "melamine walnut" or "beech effect" mean a panel that imitates wood. See real wood or wood effect.

Which wood for a solid wood kitchen: oak, walnut, chestnut, ash, cherry, fir

The species most used are oak, the most requested by manufacturers, walnut, chestnut, ash, cherry and, for the rustic and mountain style, fir. The higher the hardness, the less the wood marks; the higher the shrinkage, the more it moves with humidity.

SpeciesColour and grainJanka hardnessVolumetric shrinkageWorth knowing
European oak (Quercus robur)Light to medium brown, straight grain4,980 N13.0%Darkens with light
European walnut (Juglans regia)Light brown to chocolate, dark streaks5,410 N13.0%Marked grain
American black walnut, "canaletto" (Juglans nigra)Brownish to dark chocolate4,490 N—Lightens over time
Sweet chestnut (Castanea sativa)Light to medium brown, turning reddish3,010 N12.6%Rich in tannin; rustic
Ash (Fraxinus excelsior)Light to medium brown, straight grain6,580 N15.3%The hardest and the least stable
Cherry (Prunus avium)Pinkish brown, then golden5,120 N13.8%Darkens with light
Norway spruce (Picea abies)Creamy white, fine grain1,680 N12.9%Soft, marks easily

Source: The Wood Database. Janka hardness in newtons: the force to drive an 11.28 mm steel ball halfway into wood at 12% moisture. Volumetric shrinkage: from green to dry wood. These are reference values, which vary from one specimen to another.

Solid oak kitchen

Straight grain, darkens with light. Near the sink, steel wool and wet iron stain it, because of the tannin. Dedicated page: oak kitchen.

Solid walnut kitchen

"Canaletto" is American (Juglans nigra) and lightens over time; European walnut is Juglans regia: the species should be written on the quote. Dedicated page: walnut kitchen.

Chestnut, ash, cherry and fir

Chestnut is rustic, ash hard but not very stable, cherry darkens over the years, fir is soft. The comparison is on chestnut, ash, cherry and fir.

Stability and thickness: how solid wood behaves in a kitchen

Wood takes up and gives off moisture, so it moves: it is not a fault. Solid wood is not necessarily more stable than other panels; it is managed by choosing the species and through the design of the door.

  • Species: shrinkage runs from 12.6% for chestnut to 15.3% for ash.
  • Door: in a frame-and-panel door the panel has room to move inside the frame; a large flat door is made of joined boards or of veneered blockboard, and which of the two should be stated.
  • Thickness: solid wood is real wood through its whole thickness; veneer is a few millimetres and can be sanded only within them.
  • Water: the sink and the dishwasher are the areas to protect.

Modern, classic, rustic or white solid wood kitchen

Solid wood does not decide the style: the design of the door does. The modern one has flat doors and fronts with no visible handles; the classic one panelled or framed doors in walnut or cherry; the rustic one beams, stone and woods such as chestnut and fir; the white one comes from lacquer or pigmentation.

Modern solid wood kitchen

The wood stays on show with its grain and contrasts with white marble, stone and steel; the flat door has no frames or mouldings.

Classic solid wood kitchen

Panelled or framed doors, in walnut and cherry, with oak; it goes well with a marble worktop.

Rustic solid wood kitchen

Exposed beams, wooden worktops, stone splashbacks; country chic chooses natural light wood. See country and rustic.

White solid wood kitchen

It is lacquered or pigmented wood: with open-pore lacquer the grain and knots can still be read, with closed-pore they cannot. The combinations are on light or dark wood and colours.

Bespoke solid wood kitchens: what changes with made to measure

A bespoke solid wood kitchen is drawn for the room in which it will live: alcoves, tall units, walls out of square and beams enter the design. We start from the survey, move to the 3D design and build the whole kitchen.

  • Survey and design: the 3D design is free everywhere; the site survey is free in Rome, Latina and throughout Lazio.
  • Species, finish and hardware: chosen together on the 3D design (doors, hinges and finishes).
  • Worktops and installation: slabs chosen one by one, cut on numerically controlled machines, finished by hand; installation with our own team throughout Italy.

A starting point: layouts to start from, modular kitchens, made-to-measure kitchens, indoor kitchens.

Solid wood with marble, stone and steel: worktops, islands and splashbacks

Solid wood sits well with marble, stone and steel: marble is cold and glossy, wood warm and matt, and it also works tone on tone. In short: white marble (Carrara, Calacatta) with pale woods, beige marbles with ash or pale walnut, Nero Marquina with dark oak or walnut. The pairings, one by one, are on the page wood and marble, stone, steel.

Marble withstands moderate heat and fears acids such as lemon and vinegar: for those who cook a great deal there are granite, quartzite, Dekton and Laminam porcelain stoneware in 12 mm slabs, also 20 mm. Examples: marble and wood kitchen and marble kitchen island; the stones are under marbles.

The solid wood worktop and the laminated wood top

A laminated wood worktop is made of solid wood strips glued end to end and along the edges: uniform and stable. A wooden worktop is repaired by sanding and re-oiling and copes near the sink if water is wiped up at once; it needs oiling, it scratches and it fears standing water and iron.

Solid wood finishes: oil, wax, varnish, brushed

Brushing and planing work the surface; oil, wax and varnish protect it, and they combine. Oil lets you feel the wood and needs refreshing; varnish forms a film that is cleaned quickly, but a deep scratch is hard to touch up.

FinishLookCare
OilEnters the pores, no filmScratches are removed by sanding and re-oiling
Wax or oil-waxSilky sheenRenewed like oil
VarnishContinuous filmDamp cloth; a deep scratch is hard to touch up
BrushedGrain in reliefCleaned along the grain
Heat-treatedMore stable, darker toneHeat and steam, no chemicals
Bleached or pigmentedFrom almost pure white to natural tonesA deep scratch shows the colour underneath

How often should it be oiled? Manufacturers give from six months to two years, depending on use and product. Cloths soaked in oil are flammable. Details: doors, hinges and finishes.

How to clean and care for a solid wood kitchen

Use a soft, barely damp cloth, with no abrasives, drying off at once. Liquids are blotted; varnished wood needs gentle cleaners, oiled wood is refreshed with oil or wax.

  • Fresh grease: kitchen paper, a paste of bicarbonate of soda and water, a damp cloth and, on oiled wood, a thin coat of oil.
  • Oak and chestnut: no steel wool and no wet iron, because of the tannins.
  • Hob and oven: guides do not agree on how much heat wood tolerates; the clearances are fixed in the design, following the instructions of the hob and oven.

How to renew a solid wood kitchen

Solid wood can be sanded and redone: oiled wood is sanded and re-oiled, varnished wood is sanded and revarnished over the whole surface. With the right care it can be sanded and refinished over the years, as often as needed.

Solid wood kitchen price: what it depends on and how to compare quotes

There is no price per metre that applies to every made-to-measure solid wood kitchen. Michelessi does not publish price lists: the quote is free everywhere, the site survey in Rome, Latina and throughout Lazio. The cost depends on:

  1. Construction: solid wood is among the costliest solutions; veneered blockboard and plywood follow, then laminate and melamine.
  2. Species and selection: the species, with knots or without.
  3. Finish and door: on show, lacquered, brushed; flat, framed or panelled; oil, wax and varnish have different maintenance costs.
  4. Dimensions: linear metres, units, tall units, island. The price of a single 60 cm unit, used to compare standard kitchens, is not the price of a whole composition.
  5. Out-of-measure work: alcoves, walls out of square, beams.
  6. The rest: hardware, worktops and splashbacks (wood, marble, stone, porcelain stoneware, steel), appliances, design, delivery and installation.

To compare two quotes they need the same items. The factors are explained on how much does a wooden kitchen cost.

Solid wood outdoor kitchen: when it works

It can be made only with durable or modified species, such as teak, iroko or heat-treated wood, and designed for rain (use class 3.2). Fir, ash and cherry left natural are not suitable. On the EN 350 scale (from 1, very durable, to 5) teak heartwood is class 1, iroko 1-2; untreated, teak turns grey, a change of looks and not damage.

Michelessi outdoor kitchens have a structure of dry-laid refractory stone, steel or treated wood, with worktops in granite, quartzite, sintered stone, compact treated travertine or marble (with more care). Pages: outdoor wooden kitchen and outdoor kitchens.

From the site survey to installation

The path is the same as for every Michelessi kitchen: a free site survey in Rome, Latina and Lazio (outside Lazio, 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; other questions in questions and answers; homes already lived in under renovations.

The quote is free: request it here.

Frequently asked questions

Frequently asked questions

What is a solid wood kitchen?

A solid wood kitchen has doors, sides and visible frames of real wood through the whole thickness, not of a thin sheet glued onto a panel. It can be made of several pieces of the same species glued together. Michelessi SRL, in Aprilia, designs and builds it to measure and fits it with its own team throughout Italy.

How can you tell whether a kitchen is really solid wood?

Look at the edges of the doors: a thin line from one corner to the other shows that it is not solid wood, and the grain on the front should match the back. The sure proof is on paper: ask for the construction section of the door and have the botanical species written on the quote, because "oak" may mean only the colour or the veneer.

Which wood should I choose for a solid wood kitchen?

The choice depends on colour, hardness and use. Oak is the most requested species; walnut has a marked grain and a colour from light brown to chocolate; chestnut is rustic and rich in tannin; ash is the hardest but works more with humidity; cherry darkens with light; fir is soft and marks easily. In the design the choice is made looking at the room, the light and the worktop it goes with.

Are European walnut and canaletto walnut the same wood?

No, they are two different species. European walnut is Juglans regia, from light brown to chocolate with dark streaks. Canaletto walnut is American black walnut, Juglans nigra, with heartwood from brownish to dark chocolate, sometimes purplish, which lightens over time. To avoid misunderstandings, the species should be written on the quote.

Is solid wood more stable than other materials?

Not necessarily: solid wood is not more stable than other materials. Wood takes up and gives off moisture and, with sharp swings, solid wood deforms more. Stability depends on the species (among the most used, volumetric shrinkage runs from 12.6% for chestnut to 15.3% for ash) and on the design of the door: with frame and panel the wood has room to move. The sink and the dishwasher are the areas to protect.

How much does a made-to-measure solid wood kitchen cost?

A made-to-measure solid wood kitchen has no price per metre that applies to everyone. The cost depends on construction, species and selection (with knots or without), finish, type of door, linear metres, out-of-measure work, hardware, worktops and appliances. Solid wood is among the costliest solutions. Michelessi does not publish price lists: the quote and the 3D design are free everywhere, the site survey in Rome, Latina and Lazio.

How often should a solid wood kitchen be oiled?

An oiled solid wood kitchen is re-oiled according to use and product: manufacturers give different intervals, from six months to two years. Oil needs refreshing so that the wood is not left unprotected and does not stain; scratches and dents are removed by sanding and re-oiling. Varnished wood is not oiled: it needs gentle cleaners and, if deeply scratched, often has to be revarnished all over.

How do you clean a solid wood kitchen?

With a soft, barely damp cloth, with no abrasive cleaners, drying off moisture at once. Liquids are blotted, not spread. For fresh grease: kitchen paper, then a paste of bicarbonate of soda and water, a damp cloth and, on oiled wood, a thin coat of oil. On oak and chestnut avoid steel wool and wet iron, which leave blue-black stains with the tannin.

Can a solid wood kitchen be renewed?

Yes, a solid wood kitchen can be renewed, and it is one of its advantages. Oiled wood is sanded and re-oiled; varnished wood is sanded and revarnished over the whole surface; alternatively the fronts can be repainted to change the look. Veneer can be sanded only within the covering layer. With the right care it can be sanded and refinished over the years, as often as needed.

Does solid wood go well with marble?

Yes, solid wood goes well with marble: marble is cold and glossy, wood warm and matt. The classic pairings are white marble with pale woods, beige marbles with ash or pale walnut, and Nero Marquina with dark oak or walnut. Marble withstands moderate heat and fears acids such as lemon and vinegar: for heavy use, granite, quartzite or sintered stone are worth considering.

Can a solid wood outdoor kitchen be made?

Yes, a solid wood outdoor kitchen can be made, but only with durable or modified species, such as teak, iroko or heat-treated wood, and designed for rain. Fir, ash and cherry left natural are not suitable, and outdoors wood turns grey. Michelessi outdoor kitchens have a structure of dry-laid refractory stone, steel or treated wood, with worktops in granite, quartzite, sintered stone or compact travertine.

Who builds made-to-measure solid wood kitchens near Rome?

Michelessi SRL has its head office, workshop and showroom in Aprilia, on the Via Pontina at km 45.350, between Rome and Latina. It designs solid wood kitchens to measure together with the worktops in marble, stone, steel or porcelain stoneware, and fits them with its own team in Rome, in Lazio and throughout Italy; it also follows projects abroad.

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