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Cherry is the cabinetmaker’s timber. It is fine, even and close-grained, with very little figure to fight the form, and it machines beautifully and takes a polish that looks lit from within. That combination is why it suits two things that sound like opposites: delicate period work with fine mouldings, and clean modern pieces where any figure at all would be a distraction.
Every piece in the catalogue is priced in cherry, exactly as it is in oak, mahogany and walnut. Oak is the baseline and cherry sits a little above it. Every catalogue piece shows its price in each timber, so you can see the difference before you choose.
What cherry suits
Where the shape is the point, cherry is usually the right answer. Much of our Gothic and Rowton work is specified in it, because both rely on carved and moulded detail that oak’s figure would argue with. It is also the timber to think about for a dressing table, a chest of drawers or a side table — smaller pieces seen close up, where a quiet surface flatters the work rather than competing with it.
It is worth saying what it is not. Cherry is not the timber for a piece that has to look like a farmhouse table that has been there two hundred years. That is oak, and usually character oak.
Chairs can be made in cherry to go with it. Every chair pattern is made in all four timbers, and only the Windsor frames are ash.
How cherry ages — read this part
Cherry changes more than any other timber we use, and it changes fast. It arrives a pinkish tan and darkens towards a deep reddish brown, particularly in light, with noticeable movement inside the first year.
There is a practical consequence that catches people out. If a lamp, a runner or a stack of books sits in one place on a new cherry top for the first six months, you will see the shadow of it afterwards, because the timber around it has moved and the covered part has not. Move things about for the first half year and it evens out. Nobody tells you this when you buy cherry, and it is the single most useful thing to know about it.
What we make in cherry
Anything in the catalogue, to your own dimensions — dining tables, dressers and dresser bases, beds, wardrobes, desks and bookcases, occasional furniture. The Gothic bedroom pieces in particular are most often made in it.
See it before you decide
Cherry is the hardest of the four to judge from a photograph, precisely because it changes. A sanded cherry swatch is £10, posted free and refunded against your order, and the four timbers together are £30. Put it next to your floor and leave it in the room for a week before you decide.
Is cherry more expensive than oak?
A little. Oak is the baseline and cherry sits a little above it. Every catalogue piece is priced in all four timbers, so you can compare before you choose.
How quickly does cherry darken?
Quickly, and mostly in the first year. It starts a pinkish tan and settles towards a deep reddish brown. Light drives it, so a piece by a window moves faster than one in a hall.
Why did my new cherry table end up with a pale patch?
Something sat on it while the rest of the top was darkening. It is not a fault and it is not permanent — move things around and the covered area catches up over a few months. Best avoided by not leaving anything in one position for the first six months.
Can you match new cherry to an older cherry piece?
Yes, and it is a large part of what we do. Because cherry darkens with age, a new piece is colour matched to sit slightly ahead of where it naturally starts. Send a photograph and, if you can, a small component we can match against.
Is cherry hard enough for a kitchen table?
Yes. It is not as hard as oak, so it marks a little more readily, but it is a proper furniture hardwood and a cherry table will outlast you. If the table is going to take genuine punishment, oak is the more forgiving choice.