Mahogany mixed with other woods

[Brian Kent]

I am also making bookshelves for my daughter. I started with a beautiful piece of "Philippine Mahogany". She want the shelves & dividers to be mixed woods. I have a good source of lumber but want to avoid the more expensive exotics.

She wants to lean towards medium to dark "rich looking" woods rather than "light and bright" woods. I am not getting any ideas on my own that give me confidence.

My only thought so far is some black walnut for some of the shelves and maybe some small maple dividers for contrast. Another thought was some birch chosen for the darker heartwood.

Suggestions? Experience? Help?

My daughter is interesting, earthy, and loves her dad, so I have some room to experiment.

[Don Baer]

I love the contrast between Walnut and Maple. I thinks they go well together. Maybe Ash ?

[Brian Kent]

I spent some time at the lumber store today and found some beautiful varieties in the rack of mahogany and the same in the birch. I limited myself to two species of wood and went for the wide variety of grain. I think my daughter will be happy with it.