4 of Our Favorite Domestic Hardwoods for Custom Wood Furniture

As custom furniture designers and builders, we’re admittedly kind of geeks about wood species. Just like a classic car enthusiast will have his or her favorite models of classic cars to drive and work on, we have our favorite species of wood that we like to use to turn into furniture pieces for our clients (and occasionally for our own homes, as well).

In this blog post, we want to talk about our four favorite domestic hardwoods that we like to use for custom furniture. We chose to focus on domestic hardwoods because they are typically more affordable and available than imported hardwoods, and therefore more often used in our wood shop. (Maybe in a future blog post we’ll talk about some of the exotic species of wood that we love.)

Some of our customers come to us already knowing what type of wood they want used for their custom wood furniture piece. Typically, it’s because they have existing furniture pieces in their homes made from a specific type of wood and they want their new custom piece to match. But other customers have no idea what type of wood to choose for their project and ask us for advice on what we think would be best, based on the style of piece they want and the style of their home.

We are always happy to provide suggestions on wood choice to our customers, but it is also nice when a customer comes to us with some thoughts on what characteristics they want in a hardwood because it gives us a starting point. Do they want wood with more pink, brown, or yellow undertones? Do they like knots, or prefer a more “clear” wood? What about grain pattern? These are all things we will ask about to help our customers come to a decision about what kind of wood we will use in their custom wood furniture piece.

To get you started in your decision-making process, here are our four favorite domestic hardwoods for custom wood furniture, in no particular order:

Walnut

Walnut is a very popular wood choice for custom furniture because it is durable and strong. It doesn’t dent easily, so it holds up well under regular use. For these reasons, it is used frequently for pieces like dining tables and beds. The grain tends to be fine and straight, but if you like a wood grain that is more irregular, that is also an option with Walnut.

As far as color goes, most Walnut has a dark brown color, but there are variations based on the exact species you choose. It also takes stain well, so you can easily modify color to your liking. The three most common species of Walnut we tend to use are Pennsylvania Black Walnut, Midwest Black Walnut, and Claro Walnut from Northern California.

The only downside of Walnut is that it can get quite expensive because of its popularity.

White Oak

White Oak is another great hardwood to use in custom wood furniture. It is extremely “trendy” right now, and you will see it used for a variety of pieces in home décor magazines.

It is a dense wood, which makes it a good choice for structural elements, as well as for pieces that need to be durable. The grain tends to be fine and straight, but it can also be course—meaning it has some texture to it.

Although this wood has “white” in its name, it’s not named that because the wood itself is white. It’s actually the bark that is light. (It’s actually more gray in color in white, but we digress…) The wood can range in color from a creamy yellow to brown, or even a pinkish color. Slab selection is very important with White Oak!

White Oak is almost impervious to water, which is why it is a great wood to use when building bathroom vanities or kitchen cabinets (and also why it is often used for making whisky and wine barrels). However, it is great for just about any type of custom wood furniture, including dining tables, coffee tables, bedroom furniture, and more.

Like Walnut, White Oak slabs can be quite expensive due to their favorable characteristics, as well as their popularity right now.

Cherry

Cherry wood is another favorite of ours at Smith Farms. We especially like American Black Cherry, but every once in a while there will be tiny black spots in the wood. Some people like this, and think it gives the wood some character, but others prefer a “cleaner” look.

There are a lot of variations in the color of Cherry wood, but for the most part, it is medium in color with a reddish-brown hue. Regular exposure to UV light can cause the color to deepen over time. 

People tend to like Cherry because it has a fine, straight, uniform grain, without a lot of knots. The simplicity of the wood allows the design of the furniture to be the star, rather than the wood itself. As woodworkers, we also like Cherry because it is great to work with. It machines easily, sands well, and takes finish nicely.

Although not “cheap” by any means, Cherry tend to be a more affordable option than some of the more popular hardwoods used in custom wood furniture.

Knotty Alder

This last domestic hardwood we have chosen to highlight as one of our favorites for custom wood furniture is Knotty Alder. This species of wood has a very different look from the other three mentioned above, but we still love it for its unique characteristics. It is also not as hard of a wood as the other three, but is still classified as a hardwood.

Knotty Alder tends to be light in color, with yellow undertones. While you can definitely stain it, most people tend to leave it natural, with just a clear finish on top of the wood.

We find Knotty Alder to be attractive, but you have to like the “rustic-ness” of the wood, with its prevalence of knots and varying wavy grain pattern. We tend to use Knotty Alder in custom furniture pieces that will go in homes with a rustic farmhouse or cabin style of décor. We’ve also used it when building loft beds for children. It really does work well on a variety of project, but we understand that it’s not the right look for every piece or every customer.

Of the four hardwoods on our list of favorites, Knotty Alder is definitely the most affordable!

Let Smith Farms Help You Select the Perfect Hardwood for your Custom Wood Furniture Piece

The four domestic hardwoods mentioned above are far from the only options when it comes to wood species for custom furniture! If you have a special type of wood in mind, we can likely source it for you and turn it into a piece just for you and your home! Or, if you’ve seen a type of wood you like, but aren’t sure what type it was, we can likely help you identify it (or at least find you something with similar characteristics).

When you’re ready to get started, or if you have any initial questions about having custom furniture built, contact us at Smith Farms. Give us a call or contact us through our online form and we’ll get right back to you.