Another wood to consider is Zepra Wood (AKA Zebrano). It has pale yellow and mahogany stripes about 1/8" with good figure. It complements mahogany very well. I covered the sliding doors in the front cap of my 67 with it and it complements the birtch in that trailer very well too. Birdseye maple is also very beautiful. A friend has new edge bamboo floors in her house, and I am considering that for my Excella. It is very light in color, and I have dark brown carpet. I think the zebra would look good against the white, but could be pricy.
OK, that is Zebra Wood not "Zepra" Wood. I have used it as veneer rather than boards or plywood. It can be kind of busy, but birtch cabinets with zebra doors or accents would be light and very nice.
Here's my thoughts on types of wood to use for interiors and mind you I am doing my interior cabinets over in birch.
These exoctic species of wood look great as veneers and edge banding, but not everything looks good as edge banded plywood. So you either have to live with the edgebanded ply or use a solid wood. Finding a supplier for some of these exotic species is not easy. Heck finding a good lumber yard that sells birch can be a challenge. HD and Lowes sure don't carry it.
The point I am trying to make is choose a wood that is easy to find and looks good. Choosing a species of wood for the way it looks from a catalog may not yeild the results you think.
Personally, I agree with one of other posts birds eye maple is very nice. BUT EXPENSIVE!!. Cherry, birch, maple, ash, oak, some mahoganies, and poplar are pretty nice and not as hard to find at a good lumber supply.
HTH,
D
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56' Caravanner 'The Broomstick'
If you want to be environmentally friendly, as I know we all do, you could contact a local saw mill and see wha tthey have that was "recycled" from urban trees that had to be cut down for various reasons. Often they have tree species that woodworkers love at very reasonable prices...you will have to dimension cut it and plane it; but think of the stories you could tell.
I am an urban forester that works with local mills in the STL area to take the removed logs off our hands and mill it into usable lumber. We often have sweetgum, sycamore, oak, maple, poplar, ash that must be removed for various reasons. Generally, we chip and make landscape mulch out of all tree parts 12" or less, we save all tree parts 12" or greater and cut it into 12' lengths for our local mill resource to recycle into usable lumber. They often sell it for furniture, woodturning, hobbies, etc. at very resonable prices. I'm not sure of the exact web-link, but I will post that tomorrow...the local STL mill resource I deal w/ is Logs2lumber. You could search the web for something in your area.
FWIW, Bamboo is another very environmentally friendly wood product.
In redoing the interior petitions and cabinets my wife and I are trying to choose a type of wood to use that won't be too dark but look good against the freshly painted white interior skin.
In conjunction with the walls and cabinets what color to use on the floor.
Our first choice is cherry finished natural, we think if its a dark color it will make the space feel small?
We're keeping all the tambor, painted white.
Hi LI Pets; I have wrestled with ideas for new interior since my wife does not like the dark interior of our Argosy. First and foremost concern to us, is the fact that we will not be able to regulate humidity level in the trailer all year long. This calls for Marine Quality plywood. After considering few available to us choices which are minimized by available thickness choice, I have settled on Okume, which is available from 4 MM to 3/4". Since 4 MM is the closest to the original thickness, it will fit the clips inside the moldings the best. Second reason for making such choice is the fact that OKUME is a marine ply which can withstand high levels of moisture because it is a marine ply. It can be stained into just about any shade. I will be finishing mine with Marine Epifanes varnish prior to final installation. This ply is AB rated, and it is available in two grades. One is certified by Lloyd's of London for marine construction [which is insurable performance by Lloyd's] and the second grade is made by the same plant in the same way, but the price is down to $37.00 per 4'x8' sheet in 4 MM simply because it is not certified by Lloyd's. The "A" side will be used as face while "B" side will be inside the walls and cabinets. 3/4 ply will be used on structural section of cabinetry and the counter top with Formica overlay. If anything I will be assured that I am protected from possible warping and de-laminating. The marine Epifanes is the finest marine varnish I have used. While it is bit pricey it is worth the difference. Thanks "Boatdoc"