The Wood We Use

Four hardwoods, chosen because they're the ones I'd hang in my own house.

Every frame I build starts as a rough board of one of these four woods, milled at the shop the day of the order. That's the whole material palette. No engineered wood, no veneer over particleboard, no molding pulled by the foot from a mill's stock catalog. Just lumber.

Choosing between them

The four look and feel different from each other, and each one flatters a different kind of piece. Here's how I usually think about the pairing when a customer asks.

Maple for anything where you want the wood to disappear and let the art carry the whole visual weight. Bright, light, and quiet.

Walnut for pieces that want a rich, grounded frame that holds its own. Dark chocolate tones, dramatic grain, does not go quietly.

Cherry for warmth and softness. Starts pink-brown and deepens over the years to a golden red. If you're going to frame something in one wood and live with it for thirty years, this is often the one.

White oak for architectural or graphic pieces where you want texture. Open grain, cool undertones, and the wood most likely to feel modern in a modern room.

If you tell me what you're framing, I'll tell you what I'd use. andrew@atlaswoodcompany.com.

About the four

Maple. Creamy, close grained, one of the hardest domestic hardwoods. Used in fine cabinetry, kitchen counters that get real work, and the necks of most electric guitars. Takes 30 to 50 years to grow to harvest.

Walnut. Deep brown with a lot of grain movement. Unlike most hardwoods it holds its color rather than lightening with age. It's been the wood of American heirloom furniture since the 1700s. Takes 50 to 80 years to reach maturity, which is why it's the most expensive of the four.

Cherry. Starts pinkish and darkens beautifully over the first few years of light exposure. Furniture makers call this the patina, and it's the reason cherry pieces are often more valuable at fifty years old than they were new. Takes 40 to 60 years to grow.

White oak. Distinctive grain, cool tone, and famously water resistant; it's the wood American shipbuilders used for hulls and the wood distillers still use for whiskey and wine barrels. Takes 50 to 100 years to mature.

About the grain

Real wood carries its own fingerprint. Knots, mineral streaks, and small color shifts are part of what you're paying for, not flaws to work around. Every frame is built with the grain in mind, and if I'm milling something with a particularly striking piece of figured wood, a curl, a burl, a stripe, I'll usually send you a photo before I cut it. Some people want that character front and center. Some want it quieter. Either way is the right answer.

Where it comes from

I buy rough lumber from local Pennsylvania mills independent hardwood suppliers whenever I can. Sustainably managed forests, sensible sourcing, no exotic species. The most environmentally responsible thing a piece of furniture or a frame can do is not need to be replaced, and the four woods above are all built for that.