Choosing a Wood Species

Choosing a Wood Species

More Than Color—Discovering the Character of Your Table

One of the first questions people ask when they begin designing a custom table is, “What wood species should I choose?”

At first, that seems like a straightforward question. Should it be black walnut? White oak? Maple? Cherry? Honey locust? Hackberry? Bird's-eye maple? Quilted maple?

The truth is, I almost never answer that question immediately. If someone walks into JAH Fine Woodworking and tells me they have no idea what species they want, I usually smile and say, “You're in exactly the right place. Let's sit down and talk.”

I don't walk them to the slab rack or ask them to pick a favorite. At that point, choosing a wood species is the wrong conversation. The right conversation is discovering the people who will live with the table.

Before We Talk About Wood, We Talk About You

At JAH Fine Woodworking, we don't begin with materials we begin with people. Tell me about your home. Show me photographs. How does your family gather? What kind of architecture surrounds you every day? What spaces make you feel comfortable? Do you appreciate clean, orderly geometry or natural movement and organic character? Those answers tell me far more than asking whether you prefer walnut or maple, because the wood isn't the starting point. You are.

Please Don't Begin With Pinterest

One of my first recommendations is, “Please don't spend too much time on Pinterest—at least not yet.” Pinterest is full of extraordinary work, but it also encourages people to collect isolated ideas before discovering what truly belongs in their own home. I'd much rather discover what belongs in your home than recreate something that belonged in someone else's.

Every Species Has Its Own Personality

We eventually discuss grain movement, figure, hardness, durability, natural character, knots, checks, sapwood, heartwood, and edge treatments. Black walnut often feels warm and timeless. White oak can feel architectural and grounded. Maple feels bright and refined. Honey locust offers bold movement and character. Each species becomes part of the design vocabulary—but never the story itself.

I Want to Know What Stirs You

After decades in architecture and furniture making, I've learned that people don't remember specification sheets—they remember how something makes them feel. I want to know what stirs you. What kinds of spaces make you feel peaceful? What materials make you stop and look twice? Those answers lead us toward the species that best tells your story.

Admiring Something Isn't the Same as Living With It

There are many tables I admire that I would never place in my own home. Admiring something and living with it for the next thirty years are two very different decisions. Your table shouldn't simply impress visitors. It should quietly become part of your life and still feel right after holidays, celebrations, and countless ordinary evenings together.

The Highest Compliment

The greatest compliment I can imagine isn't, “That's expensive,” or, “I saw one like it online.” It's hearing someone say, “That table is so you.” When a table reflects the family, the home, and the life lived around it, we've accomplished what we set out to do.

Final Thoughts

Choosing a wood species isn't really about choosing wood. It's about discovering the material that best expresses everything we've learned together. At JAH Fine Woodworking, we begin with people, then the home, the architecture, the way you gather, and the life you hope to build around the table. Only then do we choose the species. Because the wood is never the story—it's the material that allows your story to become visible