Going Blond: How to use light-toned wood in your home

(NewsUSA) – They say blonds have more fun, but there are non-frivolous reasons for choosing pale or light-finish hardwoods for floors, cabinetry, paneling, and millwork in your home. “Many species of Real American Hardwood®—white oak, maple, birch, ash, poplar, beech, and sycamore among them—are naturally blond,” notes Linda Jovanovich of the American Hardwood Information Center. “These pale-tone woods can help create bright and airy residential spaces that readily adapt to the homeowner’s preferred style of décor, from the comfortably traditional to the boldly contemporary.” More than just a collection of pretty faces, they all share hardwood’s well-known durability, flexibility, and sustainability—qualities that make it an ideal material for use in today’s most Instagram-ready interiors. Here are six examples of how it’s done.& In remodeling this Chicago kitchen, designers Rebekah Zaveloff and Kat Andrejevic of KitchenLab Interiors (@kitchenlabinteriors) achieved an invitingly informal feel by choosing white oak for the massive island and chunky open shelves, the gorgeous honey-toned wood adding warmth but no visual bulk to the sizeable elements. Refinished light-stained hardwood floors, the island’s single-slab marble top, dark-green custom cabinets, and white subway-tile walls complete the crisp but welcoming look. Photo by Michael Alan Kaskel Subtlety is the name of...