Ebony Kitchen Cabinets

5 Important Pros and Cons of Ebony Kitchen Cabinets

Last Updated: 2022-02-16By

Modern trends in the choice of the interior are tuned to individuality. Each of us strives to make his house look unusual, comfortable, and memorable. Because of this, more and more unusual colors and materials are becoming fashionable, which were previously used only on rare occasions.

This trend has not bypassed the design of the kitchen. Unlike the usual classic light shades, dark kitchen elements began to come into fashion. Designers are increasingly proposing designs using ebony kitchen cabinets.

As with other types of material, it is worth learning more about the pros and cons of ebony kitchen cabinets before using them. Kitchen cabinets take up a significant amount of space in the kitchen, so when done in dark colors, they can completely transform the interior.

Pros

  1. Unique design
  2. The invisibility of stains and scratches
  3. Luxurious look
  4. Coziness and comfort
  5. Combination with metallic shades

Cons

  1. Popular right now
  2. The small room seems smaller
  3. The need for more lighting
  4. Demand for cleaning
  5. Difficulty in contrasting

In the modern interior of the kitchen, cabinets play a significant role. Due to the variety of kitchen designs, it is worth considering not only the size and spaciousness of kitchen cabinets but also their appearance. You can add luxury and uniqueness to the kitchen or create an incompatible design by choosing the finishing material for the cabinets. To avoid obvious mistakes, let’s take a closer look at when to use, and what pros and cons of ebony kitchen cabinets exist.

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Pros of Ebony Kitchen Cabinets

Unique Design

As we mentioned earlier, the main reason why ebony kitchen cabinets are growing in popularity is their appearance. Dark shades fit perfectly with any design. You can use these cabinets both completely dark and in a light kitchen with pastel tones of walls and floors.

Such offices can focus a person’s gaze on themselves, becoming the main element in the interior of the kitchen. They can also perform an auxiliary function, highlighting other details of the interior, using a combination of colors and design.

Using opposite color shades, as in a black and white kitchen, will allow you to create an attractive and relaxing room design, which will be equally comfortable both on weekdays and when receiving guests.

The Invisibility of Stains and Scratches

Another plus of ebony kitchen cabinets is their ability to mask dirt and light damage. Due to their color and texture, these kitchen cabinets will easily hide stains, grease, and other dirt that so often appear during cooking.

The same can be said for minor damage such as scratches and light chips. On dark-colored wood, such damage will be almost invisible. This feature can be very practical over time. For example, after five years of use, you decide to sell the house, and in any case, there will be minor scratches in the kitchen. Unlike a light kitchen, a dark kitchen will hide these imperfections and this can affect the value of the house positively for you.

Luxurious Look

When you design a room, appearance is of particular importance. If you want to create a luxurious kitchen, then you should look at the choice of ebony kitchen cabinets. The dark color and texture of the material give the kitchen luxury and uniqueness.

It is worth noting that even with the growing popularity, black kitchens are quite rare. You can almost always see the use of classic white materials and kitchens in general. Classic is a good choice, but it will make it much more difficult for you to create a unique design.

Coziness and Сomfort

We all know that bright rooms are often neutral. Because of this, it is difficult to feel comfortable in them. The dark color scheme used to add the ebony kitchen cabinets is very harmonious. These woody shades will fill your room with warmth and comfort. You will not get the feeling of sterility in light kitchens. You can enjoy the intimacy of this space while feeling its warmth.

Combination with Metallic Shades

Another nice feature of ebony kitchen cabinets is their compatibility with kitchen elements made of metal. With the use of modern technology, there are more and more such devices in the kitchen. Modern technology with steel shades will look harmonious on a black countertop, in contrast to the classic white options.

Doorknobs and other elements made in golden color can also add luxury to black cabinets. Against dark surfaces, the gold metallic color can be fully revealed and look very expensive.

Ebony Kitchen Cabinets Cons

Popular Right Now

When discussing the pros and cons of ebony kitchen cabinets, you should understand that in the popularity of styles, everything is very changeable. Undoubtedly, dark kitchen cabinets are of great interest right now. Most designers speak about their popularity and style when planning the interior of the kitchen, but no one knows what will happen in 5-10 years.

It is highly likely that, as it usually happens, what is popular now will be poorly perceived after a while. For example, there will be new trends in fashion or beautiful materials that are not currently used for kitchen cabinets at all.

All of these can affect the popularity of ebony kitchen cabinets. If it suddenly happens that they completely go out of fashion, then when you decide to sell the house, such a kitchen can, on the contrary, reduce the value of the house.

Of course, all this is not unambiguous and no one can say with confidence what will be popular in the next decade. Nevertheless, it is worthwhile to be aware of this possibility. If you plan to live in your home for many years and do not plan to sell it, then plan the kitchen design exclusively for yourself. If you like the use of dark colors in the interior, then you will be fine with it after ten years.

The Small Room Seems Smaller

Think twice about using predominantly dark shades in small rooms. Every designer will tell you that dark tones make a room look smaller. Therefore, if the kitchen in your house is very small, then the use of dark cabinets can significantly harm it.

In such a room, you may feel uncomfortable and withdrawn. Remember that a dark kitchen is better for open-plan areas. If you do decide to use ebony kitchen cabinets in a small kitchen, then you should plan everything in detail and for this, it is better to involve a professional designer.

The Need for more Lighting

We have already mentioned that a dark kitchen visually narrows the space. A low-light room can be a similar problem. When planning your kitchen in dark colors, you will undoubtedly have to deal with providing it with additional light sources.

Not every house has huge stained-glass windows in the kitchen, so you will need to provide more artificial light sources. Be sure to take care of the lighting of the work area and the eating area. It is also worth remembering that increasing the light sources may slightly increase the electricity consumption of your kitchen.

Demand for Cleaning

The invisibility of stains and scratches on the surface of the ebony kitchen cabinets is an indisputable advantage, but you should also understand that if the dirt is not visible, this does not mean that it is not there. Dark surfaces are just as dirty as light ones, and when it comes to cleaning, the process is much more difficult.

It is much easier to clean light surfaces because you can see perfectly what you have to cope with. In the case of dark surfaces, cleaning is more difficult because you have to wipe everything thoroughly, sometimes looking closely for stains.

When planning your ebony kitchen cabinets installation, just keep in mind that cleaning will take longer and need to be done all the time, not when you see the contamination.

Difficulty in Contrast Creating

Another disadvantage of using ebony kitchen cabinets is the difficulty in combining with bright colors. For example, a classic light kitchen can look like a white canvas, into which you can easily add various colors.

In the case of dark surfaces, they contrast well only with the theme of the same light or metallic shades. Therefore, when planning the style of your dark kitchen, you should give preference to either a completely dark style, or with the addition of light elements for contrast.

The Importance of Contacting a Designer

Having examined in detail the main pros and cons of ebony kitchen cabinets, we can conclude that it will be very difficult to properly plan a kitchen in this style. This is true, it will take a lot of time and experience to complete this task.

Therefore Remodel on Point recommends that you consider hiring a professional designer to do this job. Due to their experience, the designer will be able to choose the right layout and color scheme for you that will look great in your new kitchen.

In addition, it will tell you the optimal amount and location of the light. This will allow your kitchen to be the most attractive and stylish at any time of the day. At the same time, the kitchen will be very functional and cozy for its comfortable use.

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Each building has some sort of driveway or at least should have. The main reason is for vehicles to come closer without need to walk all the way. Some homes are residential with small driveway for their car to come in and park before garage or front entrance, and others can be large commercial buildings with loading docks, delivery entrances and casual parking entrances. On Point Remodeling was asked for suggestions on residential driveway for new home construction, and we decided to write detailed article for all our readers. Using this guide you can select the material for your driveway and see what works for your budget. Here are the materials for driveway we will be discussing in our guide:
  • Asphalt
  • Concrete
  • Paver Stone
  • Crushed stone
  • Brick
  • Seashell
  • Gravel
To find good contractor for your driveway, you can either ask our team by email or try to find someone local that worked with neighbors or nearby buildings.

Installation process of any material surface on your driveway

a) Demolition and Excavation – Before anything is done, your contractor will get heavy machinery and scratch off old layer of driveway. They need to go down at least 5-6 inches to insure proper layering before your final layer of material is installed. b) Material Purchase and Delivery – At this point your contract is signed and you already know how the surface will look. Contracting company purchases necessary materials and delivers them to site. Double check if material is correct and not damaged. c) Preparation of Sublevel – Whatever you place as final material, it cannot just be installed directly on top soil. Gravel is the first choice of material that goes down at this stage. Other preferred material is screen sand that can go on top of gravel and works better with stone and bricks. d) Compaction of Ground – To prevent your driveway from moving and changing shapes, all the layers from bottom up have to be properly compacted. Do not leave any spot untouched while doing this or you can get small holes and cracks in driveway after installation. E) Final Installation – This is when all the magic happens. After all preparations and dirty work the final installation is made literally within hours and you can enjoy new driveway. Stone and brick is set up by hand, while other materials require some sort of machinery with manual labor to even out surface.

1. Asphalt

Probably the most used material for road top surfaces as well as driveways is asphalt. This is a mix of gravel and sand that is mixed in and combined by asphalt cement with crude oil. Pros of Asphalt Driveway
  • Very popular and easy to find materials/contractor
  • Completed in 1 day and you can drive on it after
  • Patches and small holes can be fixed fast
Cons of Asphalt Driveway
  • Easy to damage and cracks appear in few years
  • Almost everyone else has same surface
  • Oily surface and chemicals used in mix
Prepared for asphalt driveway will cost you around $5 per square foot to finish. The contractors that take care of entire process from taking out old driveway surface, install subsurface and compact the ground with new asphalt on top, will charge on average $5500 per regular size driveway at single home property.

2. Concrete

What we call concrete is a mixture of Portland cement, aggregate as well as sand with gravel. Suggested thickness of concrete for driveway is 6 inches. The mixture needs to cure without being touched or driven on top for several days. Pros of Concrete Driveway
  • Durable material for large weights
  • Long lifespan if installed properly
  • Winter and summer friendly
Cons of Concrete Driveway
  • Has marks and stains over time
  • Hard to repair without replacement
  • Super hard to DIY
To hire contractors for concrete driveway it will cost around $7-$9 per square foot. This will include site preparation with gravel spread and new concrete installation. They will order full truck of concrete (or several for larger driveways) to pour inside forming. Smoothening and curing is required after installation.

3. Paver Stone

The most luxurious material that you can use to create driveway path with is paver stone. It is made out of natural stone with uneven rough shapes that have different line patterns. Paver stones are very heavy and are perfect for weights on top of them. Almost every city in Europe has roads and walks made out of stone that were installed centuries ago. Pros of Paver Stone Driveway
  • Creative designs can be done
  • Personal looks, can match the house
  • Can replace single stone in minutes
Cons of Paver Stone Driveway
  • Weeds growing through
  • Stone can move over time
  • Most expensive material
There is wide selection of stone that can be purchased for your driveway. On average we recommend settling with $17-$20 per square foot for stone with installation included. Working with this material is very intense labor and we recommend hiring professionals that do this type of work every day.

4. Crushed Stone

Our readers sometimes mistake crushed stone with gravel, but this is not the same material. Crushed stone material is achieved when machine is mechanically crushing larger pieces of unused stone for this specific purpose. It is larger than gravel and can have smooth finish. Crushed stone can also have a mix of colors, which is much pleasant to eyes than gravel. Pros of Crushed Stone Driveway
  • Low maintenance required
  • Fits rural area style
  • Can be reused for other purposes
Cons of Crushed Stone Driveway
  • Gets very hot during summer
  • Can be messy after many drives
  • Hard to remove snow and ice
Buying crushed stone and installing it on your driveway is as easy as it gets. Similar to other rough materials discussed in this post, only small tools like shovels, dolly and buckets are required to spread it on the road. The cost of crushed stone driveway is between $4 and $6 per square foot from professional local contractors that can finish the job in several days.

5. Brick

The same brick we see being used in wall construction can be installed as top driveway surface. Brick is manufactured by compressing clay with plastic mass. It is heated to extreme temperature and dried up to become as solid as you know it. Pros of Brick Driveway
  • Variety of selections in shapes and shades
  • Bricks are recyclable
  • Slip resistant with rough top part
Cons of Brick Driveway
  • Needs regular maintenance
  • Change color over time
  • Old fashion looking
Installing brick on driveway costs $10 per square foot, which is not too far from masonry brick laying as part of the wall. To save money you can use or purchase old brick, that was part of a wall before. Do not mix these two jobs and contact landscaping professionals instead of masonry contractors that work with bricks.

6. Seashell

This material is popular on the coast line where shells can be found near the water. Construction companies use seashells to add in other materials as well as spread them on driveway in rough condition, without adding anything else. It usually comes in white or pearl color and darkens within year because of mixing with sand and dirt. Pros of Seashell Driveway
  • Environmentally friendly
  • Has natural drainage
  • Creates worm vibe of beach house
Cons of Seashell Driveway
  • Break and crack under light weight
  • Sharp and very hard to walk on
  • Gets stuck in shoes and tires
To deliver and spread seashells on driveways costs below $4, which is only slightly more expensive than rough gravel. As you go further from coast line, cost of material increases due to delivery. This material is elegant and very soft. We recommend adding edge lines with darker color landscape material to create visual path.

7. Gravel

This material is used in other construction mixes and underlayment systems. It’s literally fragments and small crushed stones that are put on top of soil. It is easily spread out by hands and anyone can do it. Pros of Gravel Driveway
  • Cheapest of them all
  • Easy DIY Job
  • Can install another material on top
Cons of Gravel Driveway
  • Needs to be graded very often
  • Will mix with dirt and leaves
  • Washes up with heavy rains
It is rough material and can be purchased in bulk (by metric tons or cubic meters). The cost of driveway with gravel should not exceed $3 per square foot, but you can save tons of money by purchasing materials and doings installation by yourself. You do not require specific tools or heavy equipment for the job and delivery of gravel can be arranged directly to your project.

Conclusion

To properly finish any and all of these driveways requires skills and experience. There is no way you can complete any of these projects without heavy equipment and tools that regular home owner’s just store in their garages. Most of those who will read this post will prefer to install asphalt driveway, because of its popularity and low costs. We want to encourage home owners to go for personal preference and what matches your house, rather than getting the most affordable and popular items. Driveway jobs have to be completed fast; otherwise you will need to park elsewhere while the project is running. To not overpay, ask us for quotation sample on material you prefer in specific region where the work need to be done and our team can provide some numbers.

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