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How to Select The Right Wood

We offer a variety of solid wood options to fit any style and budget.  Each has a different personality and grain pattern, but all are sustainably sourced in America and look beautiful in any color stain. 

Maple Family

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Hard Maple Natural

Hard maple: Provides the most consistent tone and subtle grain, choose this if you want a perfectly smooth and even finish or are going for a more formal look. 

The Stella Desk in Hard Maple with Indigo Stain
Spectrum-Hard-Maple-Natural
Brown Maple Natural

Brown maple: Includes some brown/mineral streaks for color and there is slightly more variation in how each piece of wood takes the stain. This is one of our most popular choices because it is very cost-efficient without sacrificing aesthetic quality.

The Royal Library in Brown Maple in Acres Stain with Onyx Columns
Natural
Wormy Maple Natural

Wormy maple: A unique wood that is naturally distressed by the Ambrosia beetle with small holes, mineral streaks, and color variations.

The Harrison Bed in Wormy Maple Natural

Oak Family

Oak: Oak is one of our most popular woods. Its strong and sturdy and known for its durability. Its unique, grain pattern gives it a beautiful textured finish. Oak is also known as Red Oak for its pinkish hue, and is our most cost efficient option.

 

Oak - Natural
Oak Natural
Allister Dresser in Oak with Natural Stain

Quarter Sawn White Oak: QSWO has been favored for generations by traditional Amish crafters. It’s a hard oak, which is created using a long-practiced woodworking technique where logs are rip-cut into quarters, resulting in a decorative rippled effect. 

QSWO Natural
Quarter Sawn White Oak Natural
Concord Table top made from QSWO with Michael's Cherry Stain

Cherry Family

Natural
Cherry Natural
Spectrum-Finishing-PCL-Sap-Cherry-Natural
Sap Cherry Natural

Cherry:  A classic choice for wood furniture. It has a beautiful red/pink hue and a noticeable yet consistent grain that compliments any stain without overpowering it. Lighter stains are a great option to show off the color of cherry, allowing it to shine through the stain.

Rustic/Sap Cherry: The pieces of cherry that have additional character (color variations, knots, sap spots) are separated and offered as Rustic or Sap cherry. This provides are more cost-effective choice while keeping most of the benefits of premium cherry. 

Armstrong Table in Cherry with BelAir Stain
Oasis Dresser and Bookshelf in Cherry Natural with linseed oil finish
Harrison Bed Sap Cherry wood with Michael's Cherry stain.

Walnut Family

Natural
Premium Walnut Natural
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Rustic Walnut

Premium Walnut: For a truly premium design, consider upgrading your furniture to walnut,  a substantial wood with a gorgeous chocolate hue and a rich, bold grain. Walnut very dense and heavy, any piece created from this hard wood will stand the test of time.  A light or natural stain is recommended so the grain can be fully appreciated.

Rustic Walnut: Rustic walnut offers the same premium quality as the standard walnut but with mineral, sap, and knots for added character. 

The Architec in premium walnut with a Lite Asbury stain.
The Emerson Table in Rustic Walnut with Natural Stain
Walnut Creek Side Board with Rustic Walnut Top in Natural

Elm

For the customer with a more bold design aesthetic, elm wood’s dramatic grain pattern will make any piece of furniture stand out. This eye-catching wood takes on a wide variety of colors, depending on stain selection.

The Architect with an elmwood top in Michael's Cherry
The Architect with an elmwood top in Michael's Cherry
Westin Table in Elm Wood with Michael's Cherry Stain
  • Janka Hardness Test: A measure of the hardness of wood, produced by a variation of the Brinell Hardness Test. 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 (the diameter was chosen to produce a circle with an area of 100 square millimeters).
  • Nothing with a rating of less than 800 lb. of force is used to make Amish furniture, so all wood types are viable choices for heirloom quality furniture and everyday use.
  • While these numbers imply an academic understanding of hardness, they should not imply a sense of imperviousness of the wood. Dropping a 2 lb object on a table with a corner or edge, will dent a table because the pressure (pounds per square inch is high). Just like walking in heels on a wood floor will create small impressions on it.