Need a complimentary wood for walnut door

[JeffWhitmeyer]

I am making a walnut medicine chest for a friend of mine in California. Simple little 2'x2' 2 door chest. I am thinking about veneering the door with some awesome walnut veneer I've got. What would be a good comp. wood to trim the veneered panel? I've got cherry, ash, red oak, maple, and some siberian elm. I can't make up my mind. Help.

[woodhack]

I've always liked the way maple and walnut go together. Ash would be a little more complimentary since the grain pattern is usually pretty straight.

[Bobby Slack]

I am an Alder guy. Alder and Walnut, but you said you have cherry so I would go with cherry. Too much contrast in my opinion is ... too much.

Here is an article written by somebody much better than me ...

http://www.finewoodworking.com/PlansAndProjects/PlansAndProjectsPDF.aspx?id=33324

[tkremer]

Personally, I love the way Maple and Walnut look together. But realize they are very contrasting colors...I like that though. If it were me, I'd stay away from the Red Oak as I think it would clash.

I wonder how Mahogony would look with the Walnut? Much less contrast than the Maple, but would the grain look out of place? Now I'm just rambling...

[Vic]

I am making a walnut medicine chest for a friend of mine in California. Simple little 2'x2' 2 door chest. I am thinking about veneering the door with some awesome walnut veneer I've got. What would be a good comp. wood to trim the veneered panel? I've got cherry, ash, red oak, maple, and some siberian elm. I can't make up my mind. Help.

Look at the ash, maple and elm next to the walnut. I think the cherry will be to close for a good contrast in my tastes and I pretty much hate red oak (only because it's everywhere). Be sure to post pics!!

[PaulMarcel]

I like the look of Sapelé (a Mahogany) with Walnut, but I think it highly depends on the piece of both. I don't have FWW online so I can't see the article Bobby referenced, but it's likely one that appeared within the past 6 months about complimentary colors, it is definitely worth a look since you see the matches, some kinda close, and some bad ones.

Walnut and Ebony have a similar grain structure, which is why walnut is so often ebonized. Maybe consider doing that around the outside; it will definitely set it off. Go for "black but showing grain" instead of "hey, is this black plastic?"

[bois]

Garrett Hack wrote what I think is the definitive article on this topic earlier this year in FWW. For those that don't subscribe to FWW, there really is a right and wrong (or at least more right and more wrong) answer to using contrasting complementary species. You need to take into account the sizes of the pieces, level of figure, color, and how the color will change over time. The biggest message, and one I've gotten on my soap box about many times, is to not overdo it. I see far too many pieces where the designer went way overboard to contrast species and grain patters that just clash, in a poor attempt to prove the piece was hand made and not store bought. In this instance, the door panels are going to be highly figured walnut, so that needs to be the point of emphasis. Good straight grained cherry (ideally rift or quarter-sawn) would be an excellent choice here, especially as it darkens over time. Just try to avoid rails and stiles with too much figure, as it could detract from or work against the walnut figure. Maple would be the next best choice, but it would need to be colored darker to avoid having the stark contrast. I'm also intrigued by the elm, which is a species I have no experience with (thanks Dutch Elm Disease). However, I have a feeling that's likely something you want to save as a highlight, rather than a backdrop for a piece.