Alder is a softer hardwood than maple, and that is both the appeal and the caveat. It takes a painted white evenly and it carries a raised panel profile cleanly, but it dents more readily than maple at the edges. The Adornus Cabinetry NJ Aspen Cabinet NJ door is alder in a raised panel, full overlay. HM Cabinetry keeps full size doors at the East Brunswick showroom.

Alder works well under paint because the grain is fine and even, so a white finish lays down smooth without the open pores you get on oak. The trade is hardness. Alder marks more easily than maple, which is worth knowing before it goes on a mudroom bench or a heavily used island end.
• Full overlay door style
• Natural pre finished 3/4 inch plywood box interior
• 3/4 inch thick sides, shelves, tops and bottom
• 5/8 inch solid plywood back
• 3/4 inch bridges to add additional strength
• Natural finish solid wood, 4 sided dovetail construction with 1/4 inch plywood bottom
• Blumotion full extension concealed drawer runners
• 3/4 inch plywood adjustable shelf, with edge banding front and back
• Blumotion soft close mechanism integrated in concealed six way adjustable hinges
• Matching interior and exterior finish
Wood choice is usually buried in the spec sheet and then explains everything that happens later. Alder is stable, it paints beautifully and it holds a raised panel profile with crisp edges, which is why it turns up on painted traditional doors. The Adornus Cabinetry NJ Aspen Cabinet NJ door uses it for exactly that reason, and HM Cabinetry will say plainly where it is the wrong choice.
Where alder earns its place is anywhere the profile matters more than the abuse. Aspen covers the full box list, including narrow fillers, 42 inch wall cabinets for a ceiling height run, drawer bases in 15, 18, 24 and 30 inch widths, and panel ready fronts for the dishwasher and refrigerator. Our team measures the room, draws it in 3D and will recommend a harder front on a bench seat or a bar side where shoes and stools make contact.
A dent in a painted alder door fills and touches up more easily than a chip in a stained one, which softens the trade considerably. HM Cabinetry handles that touch up on the Adornus Cabinetry NJ Aspen Cabinet NJ finish, adjusts the six way hinges after the first heating season, and orders replacement doors from the same run. Press a thumbnail into a sample edge before deciding where it goes.
Send a photo or a rough sketch of your kitchen and we will come back with real numbers for your own layout.