Wood Species Selection

Our focus on enabling the natural beauty of the wood showing through in each piece we make rather than bending the wood to our will. To enable this, we work with multiple wood species to meet the preferences and design esthetics of our customers while rarely staining or coloring our pieces.

 

We work primarily with locally sourced, domestic hardwoods as much as we can. We work a lot with Walnut, Cherry, Ash, Maple, and White Oak. However, we can acquire and work with most species, including less common domestics like Kentucky Coffetree and exotics including Monkeypod, purple heart, and Indian Rosewood.

 

What wood species should you select for your next piece? The one you think looks the best! We have many samples that you can come see in the shop and we are happy to make one off samples for customers as well. A wood species’ appearance can vary depending on your lighting situation, so we encourage you to barrow some samples to see how they look in your space.

Common Species We Use

  • Color: Rich dark brown with occasional purple or gray streaks. We use predominately unsteamed walnut so there are more purple hues and a range of colors. We wrote a blog post about steamed and unsteamed walnut. We wrote a blog post about steamed and unsteamed walnut.
  • Grain: Straight to wavy grain with a medium to coarse texture.
  • Characteristics: Durable and stable with a luxurious appearance. It ages gracefully, developing a deeper patina over time.
  • Fun fact: Walnut is the most common wood picked by out customers.
  • Color: Light tan to medium brown with a golden hue.
  • Grain: Straight, prominent grain with occasional swirls and rays.
  • Characteristics: White oak is highly durable and resistant to moisture, making it suitable for both indoor and outdoor furniture. Its distinctive grain pattern and strength make it a popular choice for tables with a traditional or rustic aesthetic.
  • Fun fact: Our most commonly requested wood species that is lighter in color.
  • Color: Initially reddish-brown, darkening to a deep reddish-brown with exposure to light.
  • Grain: Fine, straight grain with occasional waves or curls.
  • Characteristics: Cherry wood has a smooth texture and a warm, inviting appearance. It's known for its aging process, which enhances its color and character.
  • Fun fact: We love how cherry darkens over time with exposure to sunlight.
  • Color: Light to medium brown with pale yellow tones.
  • Grain: Bold, pronounced grain patterns with a coarse texture.
  • Characteristics: Ash is a strong and resilient wood, making it suitable for heavy use. It has a distinct grain pattern that adds visual interest to furniture pieces.
  • Fun fact: Our favorite part of working with Ash is getting to breathe new life into a species that is disappearing from the east coast and often cut down in masses to prevent further spread of the emerald ash borer.
  • Color: Pale cream to light brown with occasional reddish-brown streaks.
  • Grain: Fine, straight grain with a uniform texture.
  • Characteristics: Hard maple is exceptionally durable and resistant to wear, making it ideal for furniture that receives heavy use. Its light color and smooth finish lend a clean, contemporary look.
  • Fun fact: we love the character that can exist in Hard Maple via spalting.

Wood FAQs

Yes, there is, but with a focus on building heirloom quality pieces to last for generations, we only use hardwoods, but within the woods we use, some are harder than others. For a more scientific look into hardnesses, the wood industry uses the Janka Scale, a test that measures the hardness of wood. The test measures the force required to push a steel ball with a diameter of 11.28 millimeters (0.444 inches) into the wood to a depth of half the ball’s diameter. Here are the Janka scores for some of the woods we use most often.

 

The Janka scores for some of the woods we use most often:

  • Cherry: 950
  • Walnut: 1010
  • Ash: 1320
  • White Oak: 1350
  • Hard Maple: 1450

Between the main species we use price differences are minimal given market cost variability and the premiums for quality, sustainably, locally sources lumber. Costs can vary for lumber species we use less often, when exotic woods are used, or large slabs.

Have other questions? Contact Us