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Thread: Walnut and Cherry Dresser....Thoughts?

  1. #1
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    Walnut and Cherry Dresser....Thoughts?

    Some think the two woods cannot work together, the contrast too garish. Others feel differently.

    What say you?

  2. #2
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    I think they look nice together. I often use walnut for the trim pieces on cherry banjos, and it's one of the nicest combinations in my opinion. Of course a dresser may be different because it's bigger, but I don't think that should matter.

  3. #3
    I guess the greyish, black walnut would be okay with cherry. But not the nice ,often tighter grain reddish walnut.

  4. #4
    YMMV on this opinion:

    IMHO, it's not appropriate to say they look good or bad together as a rule. They can certainly look good together if they are used tastefully. I'd be wary of taking design advice from anyone who gives you dismissive kinds of truisms (ironically, I think I am giving you one with this statement!!!)

    That being said, I tend to like a predominantly cherry piece that has slight walnut accents like pulls or drawer sides or banding rather than the other way round.

    Walnut, by virtue of its unique darkness makes for good accents in general even on other non-blonde woods

    There's a perception that because cherry darkens and walnut lightens with age that the initial contrast diminishes and becomes distasteful eventually. I do not share that distaste whatsoever. And besides, both of those effects have a huge variance from piece to piece, so it's hard to predict.
    Last edited by Prashun Patel; 11-26-2020 at 11:11 PM.

  5. #5
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    I think it works

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  6. #6
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    My attachment skills are pretty poor...

  7. #7
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    I think that they work well together - I just started a dresser with walnut legs and top, and cherry end panel and drawer fronts. I've made some smaller pieces with the 2 woods and they came out looking nice.

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    Stand for something, or you'll fall for anything.

  8. #8
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    I'm in.

    Niki CT Dresser (155).jpg . Niki CT Dresser (160).jpg

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    I think contrasting materials become an issue when they are overdone. If I had made the drawer fronts out of walnut and the carcass and pulls from cherry for example.
    Last edited by glenn bradley; 11-27-2020 at 9:51 AM.
    "A hen is only an egg's way of making another egg".


    – Samuel Butler

  9. #9
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    Works for me. I like using walnut as an accent wood. It works well with white oak as well. I'm not a fan of the maple/walnut combo that many use. Generally theres too much contrast for my eye.

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    Sharp solves all manner of problems.

  10. #10
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    Nice looking box, Rob. Great job on the miters!

  11. #11
    I think walnut and cherry go together like peanut butter and jelly. Walnut and maple, otoh, is a bridge too far for me. In the end, it doesn't matter what any of us think, it's your taste, build what you like and enjoy it.

  12. #12
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    IMHO, no. I don't like the two together. (For example, I didn't like the color aspect of any of the above photos combining the two regardless of how much I may have enjoyed the piece otherwise)

    Everyone has to find their own look though.

    I think Brown and Red can go together quite nicely (who doesn't love a blossoming cherry tree?). However, the brown of walnut and the 'red' of cherry doesn't do it for me. I tend to use nature as my color verification / selection method. I start art classes next semester at a local university. I look forward to digging into color theory.

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    Last edited by andrew whicker; 12-07-2020 at 9:31 PM. Reason: added photos

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