In short
- MDF takes a flat painted finish better than any solid wood — that is its real advantage.
- Plywood holds screws better and tolerates moisture better; it does not take paint as flatly.
- Melamine is the correct choice for cabinet interiors, and there is no shame in it.
- Solid wood moves with humidity. In Toronto that means seasonal movement you can see.
People often arrive at this question having read that one material is "better". None of them is. Each has a property that makes it the right answer somewhere and the wrong answer somewhere else, and a good specification usually uses three of them in the same kitchen.
| MDF | Plywood | Melamine / particleboard | Solid wood | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Takes paint | Excellent — no grain to telegraph | Good, grain may show | Not painted; surface is applied | Good, but grain and joints show |
| Screw holding | Moderate | Excellent | Moderate | Excellent |
| Moisture tolerance | Poor unless moisture-resistant grade | Good | Poor at exposed edges | Moves but recovers |
| Dimensional stability | Very stable | Very stable | Stable | Moves seasonally |
| Weight | Heavy | Moderate | Heavy | Moderate |
| Relative cost | Low to moderate | Moderate to high | Low | High |
| Best used for | Painted doors, panelling | Carcasses, shelving under load | Cabinet interiors, utility areas | Edging, feature elements, worktops |
MDF — the painted-door material
Medium-density fibreboard has no grain and no joints, so a painted MDF door is genuinely flat in a way a painted timber door is not. That is not a compromise, it is the reason it is used: a five-piece timber shaker door will eventually show a hairline at the panel joints as the wood moves, and MDF will not.
Plywood — the carcass material
Plywood holds a screw better than any sheet material, which matters at the points a cabinet is actually stressed: hinge plates, drawer runners, and wall fixings. It also tolerates a damp environment considerably better than standard MDF.
Where it is oversold is on doors. A plywood door will show its grain through paint, and its edges need banding or solid edging to look finished. For a painted kitchen, MDF doors on plywood carcasses is a better specification than plywood throughout — and usually cheaper.
Melamine — not a compromise
Melamine-faced board gets a poor reputation from its association with flat-pack furniture, and it is undeserved for the job it actually does. A white melamine cabinet interior is wipeable, bright enough that you can see the back of the cabinet, dimensionally stable and inexpensive. There is no functional argument for a more expensive material behind a solid door.
Its weakness is the edge. An unbanded or poorly banded melamine edge chips and, in a damp area, lets water into the core. Good edge banding is what separates melamine that lasts fifteen years from melamine that looks tired in three.
Solid wood and veneer
Solid timber moves with humidity, and in southern Ontario the seasonal swing between a humid August and a heated January is large enough to see. A wide solid panel will expand and contract measurably across its width, which is why traditional cabinet doors float a panel inside a frame rather than gluing it solid.
For contemporary wood cabinetry, veneered panel is usually the better answer: a thin layer of real timber on a stable core gives the appearance of solid wood without the movement. When people say "we want a walnut kitchen", veneer is almost always what they are actually looking at, and it is a better product for the application rather than a substitute for it.
What we would specify, by room
- Kitchen
- Plywood or quality particleboard carcasses, melamine interiors, painted MDF doors — or veneered panel doors where the grain is the point.
- Bathroom
- Moisture-resistant substrate throughout, every edge sealed, and cabinet bottoms kept clear of the floor.
- Laundry and mudroom
- As bathroom. These rooms see standing water more often than people expect.
- Basement
- Moisture-tolerant substrate, especially near the slab. Check for humidity before specifying anything.
- Living room built-ins
- Painted MDF and plywood is ideal — stable, flat, and takes a clean finish across a long run.
- Closets
- Melamine interiors are the sensible default. Use a better finish only where the closet is open to the room.
Craft Mill Works
Design and project coordination
Written and reviewed by the Craft Mill Works design team, based on the cabinetry and millwork projects we coordinate across North York and the Greater Toronto Area. [Add a named author and a short professional biography before launch — see README § Adding articles.]
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