Designing w/ Red Oak...Pondering...

[Jason Quick]

So I'm getting ready (after innumerable delays, sidetracks, etc) to start a storage (captain's) bed in red oak for my little girl. I'm going for Craftsman style.

Now, I've got a fair amount of curly red oak solids and veneer floating about the place that I love the look of. Some of it's really amazing stuff. I'd have to buy more to actually build the entire bed out of the stuff, though.

But I've also got a ton of rift & quartered red oak (mostly rift) ialready n hand - more than enough, I'm sure, to build what I wanna build without purchasing any more lumber.

What I'm mainly wondering is...is there a way to combine the two? Say, use rift for rails & stiles, while using the figured stuff for "feature" areas, like drawer fronts, panels, etc? It sounds good, but...would it look good? I keep getting this feeling that an entire bed out of curly wood might be a little busy.

Any advice is appreciated.

Jason

[Roger Everett]

"What I'm mainly wondering is...is there a way to combine the two? Say, use rift for rails & stiles, while using the figured stuff for "feature" areas, like drawer fronts, panels, etc? "

Sounds like a plan to me.
Roger

[John Timberlake]

I think it would look better to use the combination. Too much curl can be distracting. Use the curly wood for broader surfaces that will be highly visible and the regular wood for the parts that are low to the floor, small surfaces, etc. Just my opinion.

[tod evans]

jason, i agree with roger and john, use the figured wood sparingly and it will have more impact visually...02 tod

[Phil Maddox]

I've done exactly what you propose - curly for panels and drawer fronts and qtd or rift for stiles, rails and trim - looks great! Sorry - no pics as I don't have the piece any more.

One hint - use rift for legs - it shows just about the same grain on all four sides.

Phil

[Jim Becker]

Yes, your idea is sound, IMHO. Like others, I don't like figured stock in rails and stiles all that much, so having the RS and QS material is a real plus.

[Jason Quick]

Thanks much for the input, guys! Good to know my instincts aren't totally out-of-whack... :)

[Ron Jones near Indy]

Your plan should yield a beautiful project.

[Chris Rosenberger]

I did a kitchen a few years ago out of QS & RS red oak. I used QS for the exposed ends, face frames & door rails. The door panels were RS. It looked very good.

[Jerry Olexa]

Your plan sounds good. Mix em up so its not overkill...