Are multi species furniture pieces a fad or here to stay?

[Ron Citerone]

I am getting ready to glue up my jelly cabinet. The last thing before finish is the doors (2 doors with panels 10" x 29") I have a piece of walnut that is wide enough and clear enough for both panels, nice but not really figured. I had an idea that I would look for a nice figured or crotch piece of walnut,perhaps book match...............then I had an idea that I could actually go with birds eye maple panels but not sure if I would be happy in the long run. I see a lot of multi species stuff on the forums and magazines, but it seems kind of faddish? What do you guys think?

Ron

[Robert Chapman]

Unless you are building for a customer - I think that the kind of wood you use and how you combine species is entirely up to you. Do what pleases you and or your family. That is one of the really fun things about woodworking as a hobby - you make what you or the people important to you like, in the size and style that you want. Most of the furniture in my house that I have designed and built is made of a combination of birdseye and curly maple - both species are grown where I live.

[Jim Becker]

Design was, is and always will be a very subjective thing when it comes to appearance for sure. And I believe there will always be appreciation for tasteful combinations of species that provide a complimentary feel to a particular piece of furniture or art. If you like how the combination looks...go for it!

[Neil Gaskin]

I've always really liked Nixon species. At least walnut with cherry or maple. I've mixed qswo with cherry accents and as the cherry ages it looks better. At first it was hard to tell much difference.

[Jim Morgan]

Ancient surviving furniture pieces often (always?) have multiple show species - if it's a fad, it's a very long running one.

[Jim Becker]

I've always really liked Nixon species. At least walnut with cherry or maple. I've mixed qswo with cherry accents and as the cherry ages it looks better. At first it was hard to tell much difference.

I've enjoyed mixing cherry with QSWO panels myself in my tack trunk commissions. Interestingly, I noticed the other day that the mirror in our guest bath, which is cherry and walnut, pretty much is all the same color now. Cherry darkens and walnut lightens over time...so the much heavier contrast is gone. And that's in what is essentially a dark room, too. LOL

[Tim Bueler]

I recently built a kitchen island for my DW. I asked what she wanted and she said cherry with a maple inset panel. In this case it didn't matter if mixed species is a fad or not cause if Momma ain't happy, nobody's happy.;)

[Bob Grier]

To Neil, Jim and others who have mixed Cherry and Walnut.

For drawer faces or cabinet doors and even something like a panel passage door like for a double swing door on a clothes closet, do you use walnut or the cherry for the panels and accent?

How about for a desk or table top with accent inlay, maybe a narrow strip parallel to the circumference or even a panel inlay for a writing area or just decoration. Which of the two do you use for the accent?

I do not have ability to imagine what something will look like but I generally can look at something and say - That looks nice or that doesn't look so good.

Thank you,

Bob

[andy bessette]

... I see a lot of multi species stuff on the forums and magazines, but it seems kind of faddish? What do you guys think?...

Mixing species in an individual piece often results in a DIY amateur look, like a patchwork quilt made from scraps and leftovers too small to build an entire unit. Exceptions are many, but include decorative inlays, etc.

[Jim Becker]

To Neil, Jim and others who have mixed Cherry and Walnut.

For drawer faces or cabinet doors and even something like a panel passage door like for a double swing door on a clothes closet, do you use walnut or the cherry for the panels and accent?

How about for a desk or table top with accent inlay, maybe a narrow strip parallel to the circumference or even a panel inlay for a writing area or just decoration. Which of the two do you use for the accent?

I do not have ability to imagine what something will look like but I generally can look at something and say - That looks nice or that doesn't look so good.

Thank you,

Bob

Bob, I've mixed cherry and walnut a few times and while the contrast was great initially, as I mentioned above, over time the contrast can almost disappear. (assuming there's no artificial coloration going on) Cherry darkens over time. Walnut lightens over time to an almost "dark honey" color. You can still differentiate them, but I personally have started to avoid that combinations at this point due to this experience from earlier pieces. Now the maple top on our kitchen island with the walnut inlay is great. And the walnut Shaker style clock with birds-eye maple panel is grand. My personal preference for mixing darker species like cherry, mahogany, etc., is to embrace contrast with a lighter species or to shoot for a similar tonal effect with figure differentiating things, such as rift for rail and stile with figured for a panel.

[Wade Lippman]

I have a beautiful cherry bedroom set with walnut panels. It came with the house... I wish I had made it myself; the workmanship is excellent, and the two woods mix well.

I combine walnut and butternut frequently. They just go so well together.

[Neil Gaskin]

I've mixed both ways with cherry and walnut.

[Derek Cohen]

I would not say that furniture built with different timbers is a fad. I have a dining table that is 200 years old with a light top and dark legs.

Most of the furniture I build is a single species. However, the last piece I made was this sofa table ...

https://s19.postimg.org/9wh8zka77/28a.jpg

Some will like it, others not.

I am in the process of building counter stools for the kitchen. These will be based on the design of Wharton Escherick. He typically made them with walnut seats and maple legs ....

https://s19.postimg.org/e7oanolwz/WEstool14.jpg

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Jim Becker]

Derek, if you ever get to travel to this area on the other side of the world from you, the Escherick museum near Valley Forge is a 'must visit'. Incredibly interesting for "normal" people and even more so for those of us who are woodworkers. Same for the Nakashima studios which are near my home.

[Ron Citerone]

Derek, if you ever get to travel to this area on the other side of the world from you, the Escherick museum near Valley Forge is a 'must visit'. Incredibly interesting for "normal" people and even more so for those of us who are woodworkers. Same for the Nakashima studios which are near my home.

I'll second the Escherick Museum...........a must see for any woodworker that comes by this way.

[Bill Dufour]

Well mixed wood use has been around since the time of the pharaohs, roughly 4,000 years, so I have to say it is not just a passing fad.

" Inlaying with ivory and woods of different colors is known from the tomb of an official of the I Dynasty. Ven

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Bill D






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[Derek Cohen]

Derek, if you ever get to travel to this area on the other side of the world from you, the Escherick museum near Valley Forge is a 'must visit'. Incredibly interesting for "normal" people and even more so for those of us who are woodworkers. Same for the Nakashima studios which are near my home.

Thanks Jim. Escherick is an interesting fellow, with interesting designs. He is one of a few whom we can say brought something new to design. I'd love to see some of his pieces first hand. So expect me next week for the guided tour ... :)

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Brian Holcombe]

If you come out this way, do stop into the Brian Holcombe Woodworker studio as well :).

[Derek Cohen]

I would not miss a visit with you as well, Brian. Looking forward to it! :)

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Marshall Harrison]

There are some beautiful pieces made with multiple woods. I like it if done for accenting and done with some forethought. But I don't like it when it comes out looking like a kaleidoscope of colors. But then again, I am partial to the Gustav Stickley style of furniture and the Greene brothers is about as far out as I go.

Derek, those are beautiful and the different woods compliment each other nicely. Well done sir.

[Keith Hankins]

I recently built a kitchen island for my DW. I asked what she wanted and she said cherry with a maple inset panel. In this case it didn't matter if mixed species is a fad or not cause if Momma ain't happy, nobody's happy.;)

going on 33 years for me, and you ain't just whistlin dixie.

[Sam Murdoch]

Not a fad by any means but too often done injudiciously leading to what I call SHOP 101 Design. Can look very nice and well executed when used as in the examples above - a table top or stool seat of one species and the base of another - but can go downhill on the slippery design slope real fast when, for example, a door panel is one wood and the frame is another or mixing multiple species in a table top. To my eye, this is often a bad call. I would rather mix textures than wood color. My 2 ¢, not worth even that to some. :rolleyes:

[Bryan Cramer]

I agree with most everyone but here’s how I look at it. Most of my work involves multiple species of woods so I try to choose wood that complement each other (taking into account aging) not contrast. Stark contrasts are for accents and inlays or pulls. Done right it’s a great design element. That’s what it is a design element. I stick with three main elements and two woods would be an example of one. Here’s a blanket chest I did with cherry and quarter sawn curly ash.

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My three design elements were the two woods, the flowing curved rails and the curly grain figure of the ash. That’s it. Anymore would be a distraction and make it too busy.

Done right, two different woods look great.