Good Idea or Bad Idea + Wood Choice Question

[cputnam]

We've cleared out my office room which was a hodge podge of misc. tables & furniture. Plan is to put kitchen cabs around the walls - cheapens painted ones we can get from the BORG or Lowes (it needs to be done now). My idea is to make the tops for the bases from some 5/4 or 6/4 wood. Just edge glue them until I get to the 24" or so that I need. I figure using table top clips to hold the top down will keep it from moving too much. For the actual desk portion I'll just suspend a section using cleats fastened to the cab sides. So good idea or bad idea?

Wood choice: The floor is a brand new walnut veneer engineered product - nice dark brown with sapwoody pieces scattered around. To keep costs down I was thinking of using poplar dyed to a compatible color. I will be building the shelving and cabs that go above the base units and LOML demands that it all match. Most of the shelving will need to be sturdy to hold my collection of vinyl LPs and a storage unit full of books. I also have several hundred Bd. Ft of 4/4 curly maple. I think it comes up short on the strength end and I don't think LOML will go for it.

So what sayeth the collective wisdom here?

[Gary G™]

I read what you asked twice and think you should get something Q&D off CL to use 'til you can build what you really want.
Curly maple with a walnut floor would look great.

[Alan S]

The curly maple sounds good for something you can see, such as the counter tops, but would be a waste for shelves covered with anything. The poplar sounds good for the shelves, and would look good edged with curly maple.

Having it match does not mean it looks the same as the floor. Just think about a consistent set of colors. The floor will be walnut dark. The next level will be possibly painted cabinets. Then the wood counter tops, which usually do not match the color of floor or cabinets, so make them look the way you want. You will avoid the problem of dealing with water that such tops usually encounter.

If you imagine this as a sequence of colors one above the other, making the top cabinets "match" could mean several different things, including the possibility that each segment is lighter in color than the one below. Consider a lot of possibilities, and make it look the way you want.

[Guest]

Not clear from your description, but if you're thinking of using poplar for the desk top, don't. It's too soft and will dent easily - you can't write on it without leaving an imprint. In fact, most hardwoods will retain an imprint, but poplar is particularly bad about it. For serious use as a work surface, I would suggest sheet goods with a laminate surface, edged with an appropriate hardwood. Or, at the least, a desk pad to protect the area you use for your work surface.

[Steve N]

Plywood can be edged in a number of ways to make it appear to be solid wood. It can also be finished in a number of ways to make it look like anything you want. Controlled costs, structurally superior, easier to work into usable panels/shelves/counters. What am I not seeing here?

Solid wood cabinets are called furniture. Solid wood counter tops are called trouble. There is a reason why building professionals use sheet goods for both, and it isn't all about cost.

[cputnam]

George,

Thank you! Will be going with ply for all counter tops and all shelving construction except the show surfaces.

The rest of you - thank you. LOML is now OK with curly maple for the upper works.

We're going to go with Home Depot's Shaker flat black (java) sitting on walnut floor with walnut ply counter and cur;y maple upper works.