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I've got a client who is trying to settle on some contrasting woods for a mobile island I'll be building. He is certain that he wants QSWO for the carcass, face frame, etc., but he does not know what contrasting wood he wants for the panels. I was trying to sell him on cherry and maple combo but he didn't go for it. He wants the oak. As a bit of a purist when it comes to Arts and Crafts furniture, I've never mixed anything with white oak. Does anyone have any suggestions, experiences, or examples to share? I am open to veneering the panels if that opens up any possibilities.
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(02-18-2022, 06:11 PM)mr_skittle Wrote: I've got a client who is trying to settle on some contrasting woods for a mobile island I'll be building. He is certain that he wants QSWO for the carcass, face frame, etc., but he does not know what contrasting wood he wants for the panels. I was trying to sell him on cherry and maple combo but he didn't go for it. He wants the oak. As a bit of a purist when it comes to Arts and Crafts furniture, I've never mixed anything with white oak. Does anyone have any suggestions, experiences, or examples to share? I am open to veneering the panels if that opens up any possibilities.
I would think about rift sawn white oak dyed whatever color your client likes for the panels. If it's got to be a different species altogether, I'd think about brown oak or zircote.
John
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02-18-2022, 09:30 PM
(This post was last modified: 02-18-2022, 09:33 PM by iclark.)
Has the customer expressed a color preference for the contrast?
Black walnut should contrast nicely with QSWO.
The problem with cherry or purpleheart is their color change with time. That would hold true for some other woods as well.
If the desire is for a wood that is optically contrasting in texture, you could use something like ash as a visually plain wood to accentuate the grain of the QSWO.
Edited to add: if it really is just contrast, you might be able to use rift-sawn or flat-sawn WO as long as you are selective in which boards you use.
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I made some cuttibng boards out of QSWO and used maple, walnut and bloodwood for contrasting stripes. Maybe too much color for yourt client, but the walnut and the bloodwood looked great with QSWO. Bloodwood holds it's color better than padouk or purpleheart.
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02-18-2022, 10:02 PM
(This post was last modified: 02-18-2022, 10:03 PM by Kansas City Fireslayer.)
Very much a personal preference but for me I’d attempt to match it with other colors or themes based on where it’s going.
Another option in addition to those suggested would be a black dyed semi transparent color on WO. Or even something brighter if the client would want something like that. Kind of a focal point piece.
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for contrast i use black walnut - not crazy highly figured - if the qswo is really straight and no knots then just nice smooth grain patterns on the bw.
i have apiece in the shop and i'll get a pic of it in the morning.
jc
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I like how walnut contrasts with oak, it's just tough to find a way to make it look right aside from small accents and inlays with that style.
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It just sunk in that everything except the panels are to be made out of QSWO.
How about some QS sycamore (American Lacewood) for the panels?
Also, is it the customer who wants Arts & Crafts style or only the maker?
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I think this was suggested above, but it seems like finishing the frame/carcase members in a natural oak (no stain) and then doing the panels in the classic Mission oak color (very dark) might not be too bad.
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The client is the most indecisive I've had so far. I think he recently came into some money and is new to deciding what he whats instead of settling on what's cheap. I shared a couple of pieces that had cherry and maple and he liked the light/dark contrast. The walnut/WO sounds like a nice combo but won't offer the light/dark contrast he's looking for.
The piece will be for his kitchen, but taking cues from the rest of the room isn't helpful because the kitchen is next on the list for a remodel. He hasn't made any decisions yet on what he wants to do with it though. Neither the client nor I are specifically going for A & C style. I simply mentioned it because I've used lots of white oak making furniture in that style but I've never mixed any other wood in.
Based on all these helpful suggestions, and my own mulling, I'm liking the idea of a lighter colored, riftsawn species such as sycamore or maybe ash. Green ash is in great abundance in MN these days (thank you very much Emerald Ash Borer, ugh). Sycamore would probably come at a premium and really jack up the price. He's expressed interest in curly figure too so I have thought about dying curly maple just a little bit brown. But I'm not really onboard with the idea of mixing two figured woods like that.
