Oak cabinets do not change their colours by themselves. Rain, wind and sun are responsible for changing their hue. For this reason, we all must know how to tone down orange oak cabinets. Well we can’t stop the sun’s UV rays from coming in contact. But of course there are some processes and precautions that can solve our problems. Other than that, you can easily turn your cabinets into a modern and simple one.
Anyways, being mindful about the causes can reduce a lot of our tasks. Don’t worry if your cabinet has a high amount of colour on it. Because this article is going to help you to tone them down. If you are new to this concept this article is just for you. Instead of making any further delay let’s go through that topic straight.
Reasons why cabinets oaks get an orange color
The sun’s UV rays are one of the main reasons for turning the oaks into a silver hue. On the other hand, the clear products are always not completely clear and thus bring out the natural colours from the cabinets.
Accordingly, the colours change and turn into warmer or orangey shade. Along with the sun, the rain and wind play a great role in turning the colours darker. Another reason why the oaks become orange is because of water. But the key would be to use a green stain in order to get detached from the orange stains.
Toning an oak cabinet
Pairing an orange oak cabinet with some neutral colour is the best thing you can do to tone it down. But sometimes we add green colour to tone down our cabinets. This is not the right solution. In fact, the green colours bring more out of the orange colours in oak cabinets. However, there are multiple neutral laminate floor options which go perfectly fine with this alternative.
Nothing can be specified unless you go through an experiment. And it would be obvious to do it when it is about neutralizing or toning an orange hue. Simultaneously, the neutral colours work like a cherry on top sometimes. In contrast, a blend of orange colour and green colour will make the extra colours visible. Anyways, you can pair the laminate floor options seamlessly to give extra radiance as well to your cabinets.
Toning down orange oak cabinets without painting
Painting a cabinet is not necessarily needed when you want to tone it. In spite of all these, painting the oak cabinet will make them look more vivid and vibrant. However, you can also skip this part if painting seems bothersome for you. The Benjamin Moore’s Perfect Taupe is now a trendy option to make the cabinets look toned.
The green colour and brown colour also work beautifully with such floorings, especially a kitchen flooring. Sometimes, a large area rug is also responsible for reducing the colour and appearance of the flooring. Accordingly, it will help to make the room look larger and overwhelm the entire space.
How to tone down orange oak cabinets: Step by step
There is no specific process to tone down an orange oak cabinet. Different people apply different techniques and all of them work in their own way. Some people use blue paint or light blue paint, whereas some people use green or other paints.
However, the simple technique is what we prefer when it comes to toning down for the first time. Keeping that in mind I have amalgamated some easy steps to help you out.
Step 1
First thing first you need to do is, brush your orange oak wood using chalk paint or white paint. Just dip your brush into that paint and remove all the access and gently apply on your required surface.
Step 2
The second step is nowhere different from the first step. Here you just need to dry brush your surface. You have to look at those areas where there are a heavy range of tones and brush those parts specifically.
Step 3
In the third step, you will need wax to tone down your oak cabinet. Take a big brush this time and dip it into the wax. Well, you can go with the wax with light or heavy, depending on what type of shade you prefer.
That’s it. These were the simple steps that a newbie person can use to tone down their orange oak cabinets.
How to neutralise an orange oak cabinet?
Floors, trims and cabinets look beautiful and softened in appearance when adding colours together. If you see, the kitchen cabinets get a lot of orange displays as they are more prone to getting marks. At that time, blue and green paint will be suitable on the oaks.
Restraining an orange oak cabinet
Oak cabinets usually last long and remain stained with lots of interiors. If you see the oak cabinets get scratched and discoloured overtime. At that time you have to decide if you want to make your cabinet look slightly darker. A perfect solution for such requirements can be to restrain the oak cabinets. Nevertless changing the colour of a stained o cabinet is not hard but requires effort and time. Conversely, the wood pores get stinked stains which remains below the sealed topcoat of lacquer.
In the same way, you have to sand off the dark stains and replace them with another stain, which should be light in colour.
Making an orange oak look good
If your food has an accent of warm orange shade, go with a steel cool or dark grey colour on it. This type of colour is the opposite of the colour-wheel-thing. For instance, there are some stale grey colour themes that usually look moody and dark. In that case, an orange coloured wood will add more colour and richness to the space. In order to get a perfect foil on your cool dark colour, you must try out this process.
Another simple way to make an orange oak look good is to whitewash it. Whenever you want to whitewash your cabinet, take a paintbrush and dip it into the white wash. Afterwards, apply it with some smooth strokes from top to bottom. After applying the whitewash, do not forget to clean your brush with a clean soft cotton.
Making an oak look less orange
Toning down an oak cabinet with an orange undertone is not so hard. Yet a lot of colours are available that helps to neutralize this orange colour. But if you go with poor colour, that may break your aspiration. It means your orange colour may look more orangey or get a different shade which is going to be unsuitable. To make sure that such types of mistakes do not happen, choose a definite colour precisely. In essence, the neutral colours give perfect outcomes while toning the oak cabinets. But if neutralizing is your first option then going for the green undertone would be a huge mistake. Because green colour brings the most out of an orange undertone.
We know the neutral laminate floor options are available in a wide range. Just select any of them and pair it with your cabinet. Consequently, a lean grey brown will be more visible at that time. Don’t worry, a cream or a great backsplash tile can save you. Again, the herringbone and subway patterns can add an incredible texture in your cabinet
What oil should we use for cleaning oaks?
Oak surfaces usually go well with a tung oil. This not only maintains the oak’s character, but also its colour. However, tung oil is not the perfect solution for a dark Oak. A hard wax oil is an ideal alternative for the dark oak cabinets. Regardless, the Danish oil also does a great job for cleaning oaks. Or you can clean kitchen cabinets without removing finish .
Making an oak cabinet look modern
Most wood cabinets gets updated with simple neutral and classic colors instead of all that pastel colours. Such as green, blue and so on. To get a modern texture, be certain to keep your cabinet as simple as possible. You can go for copper, as it is a beautiful component with an earthy finish of rich metal.
Colors that go well with orange cabinets
Complementary colours are the best match with orange cabinets. Such as- yellow, white, grey, blue, green and silver. Many of us remain fearful thinking that a daring colour might not suit our kitchen cabinets. But this is not the case every time. If you see, the kitchen cabinets look more lively and bright after being painted with orange colour.
How to tone down orange oak cabinets of kitchen
If you don’t know, the orange colour and blue colour complement each other in a suitable way. But we don’t want our kitchen cabinets to be decorated with blue. We just need to tone down the orange shades. But adding the colour that coincides with it can help us a lot to improve the appearance. And it has been proved that the blue colour leaves no stone unturned to neutralize the orange colour when it comes to the oak cabinets.
Well, this blue colour not only tones down the orange oak cabinet but also makes the colour less orangey. Many of us use orange colour to bring out the marked shade that has been put accidentally. But this is not the perfect solution. In fact, the orange shade will get darker and may spoil the appearance. For this reason, we have done a lot of experiments and found that the blue colour is the perfect solution that makes an oak cabinet less orange. Also, it gives a vibrancy wash slightly and beautifies the outlook.
What are the colours that help to tone oak cabinets?
So far we got to know some common colours that usually people prefer for toning the cabinets. But the options do not close here. They are more colours available in the market that help to tone the oak cabinet efficiently. Let’s see what they are:
- Benjamin Moore Pale Oak
- Benjamin Moore Manchester Tan
- Benjamin Moore White Dove.
- Sherwin Williams Repose Gray
- Sherwin Williams Oyster Bar
- Benjamin Moore Salamander.
- Sherwin Williams Comfort Gray.
- Benjamin Moore Pleasant Valley.
- Benjamin Moore White Dove
Frequently Asked Questions
What colour makes an orange o cabinet look less orange
Nothing but a light blue paint is a great alternative to make an orange oak cabinet look less orange. Other than the light blue colour, there are some more colours that help in making cabinets look less orange. Such as- brown, red, beige, and black.
2. How can I make a red oak cabinet look modern?
Well some simple steps are going to help you to know how to make your red oak cabinet look modern.
In order to temper the red ones, go with a light grey or off white colour.
Navy blue or red colour are also great to turn up the heat and make the shade warm
To light up a dark tone, go for a light grey colour or antique white colour.
Do oak cabinets always turn into orange colour?
As said before, the oak cabinets turn Orange when they are wet. For instance, we use a wet cloth or water while dropping something accidentally on the cabinet. That will make your cabinet look darker and orange in shade. So, we can say that oak cabinets do not turn orange every time unless water have been put there.
4. How can I fix an orange stained wood?
Use a transparent aerosol toner with a green or blue cast for neutralizing your orange stained wood. Well, an adjustment can be done with the compatible stain if it has no coating above it. Or you can go with a dye on your existing stain. Again, a complementary colour is also great for fixing an orange stained wood.
Conclusion
Hopefully, the above concept could have given you enough idea about toning an orange oak cabinet. Besides, the question on how to tone down orange oak cabinet won’t arise as well. Hope you have understood that there are a lot of techniques to tone down a cabinet. Many folks go for simple technique, whereas some folks prefer complicated techniques to get desired results. Again, some people find the orange cabinets look more classic and make them look good in their own way.
Finally, what type of toning you want in your cabinet, completely depends on you. Just make sure that it looks as great as you want.
