Fade in Color
It is an unfortunate fact that natural wood tone cabinets fade in color much faster than their stained or painted counterparts. The cabinets will fade in relation to how much UV exposure they get. This can be a problem if some cabinets get more light than others. Rendering them two different hues.
Can be Difficult to Clean
For obvious reasons, unfinished wood is not as slick as stained or painted wood. This more coarse texture can turn what would be a simple wipe on a finished cabinet into an ordeal to clean.
Spills May Stain the Wood
When contaminants such as pasta sauce, oil, or coffee is left on the cabinet it immediately begins to penetrate the layers of exposed wood. If the contaminant is left on the cabinet for more than a few moments, it may be absorbed to the point beyond what a simple cleaning can fix. In this case, you may have to sand down the cabinet to get rid of the stained layers.
Sanding Can Create A Project
When sanding a cabinet that has been in place for a while, you may take away layers of wood that have been slightly discolored by the sun. When you sand off those layers, you will likely uncover a spot of not weathered wood, which will be a different color than other parts of the cabinets. The only real fix for this is to sand the entirety of the cabinets, which can be a rather daunting project to take on.
Less Moisture Resistant
The porous nature of unfinished wood comes with another set of challenges. Moisture from boiling water, rice cookers, showers, or even humid summers will have more of an impact. This can lead to a
Periodic Oiling
You can protect your unfinished cabinets by periodically using wood oil on them. This will help seal them thus they will be less likely to have stains that are not removable. The main downside of the oil is that it must be re-applied every few months, and can be a messy affair. Furthermore it takes some time for the wood to soak it up, meaning you cannot touch your cabinets until they dry.
Conclusion
All things considered, Natural Wood is beautiful in a lot of applications. Unfortunately it comes with a lot of less than ideal consequences in a kitchen or bathroom. Some of these include spills being more likely to stain, lack of moisture resistance, and the periodic chore of oiling your cabinets.
