Wood Types
Poplar
Light cream to yellowish brown color, with occasional streaks of gray or green. Poplar is one of the most common utility hardwoods in the United States. Seldom used for its appearance.
Ash
Light brown color, though darker shades can also be seen. Ash has fairly good strength properties for its weight, and is also shock resistant.
Basswood
Pale white to cream color, with only subtle growth rings. The color is mostly uniform throughout the surface of the wood. Basswood is both very light and very soft: perhaps among the softest of wood species that is still considered a hardwood.
Cherry
Reddish brown when freshly cut, darkening to a deeper golden brown with time and upon exposure to light. Cherry has a decent strength-to-weight ratio, though it's not as hard as some other denser domestic hardwoods.
Mahogany
Color can vary a fair amount, from a pale pinkish brown, to a darker reddish brown. Color tends to darken with age. Mahogany's easy workability, combined with its beauty and phenomenal stability have made this lumber an enduring favorite.
Maple
Color ranges from nearly white, to an off-white cream color, sometimes with a reddish or golden hue. Maple is stronger, stiffer, harder, and denser than most other hardwoods.
Oak
Light to medium brown, though there can be a fair amount of variation in color. Oak is a commonly used domestic lumber species.
Walnut
Range from a lighter pale brown to a dark chocolate brown with darker brown streaks. Color can sometimes have a grey, purple, or reddish cast. Walnut is one of only a few domestic woods that has a naturally dark color.
Pecan
Heartwood tends to be light to medium brown, with a reddish hue; sapwood is a paler yellowish brown.
Purple Heart
When freshly cut the heartwood of Purple Heart is a dull grayish/purplish brown. Upon exposure the wood becomes a deeper eggplant purple. With further age and exposure to UV light, the wood becomes a dark brown with a hint of purple.
Aromatic Cedar
Heartwood tends to be a reddish or violet-brown. Sapwood is a pale yellow color, and can be appear throughout the heartwood as streaks and stripes.