One of the most exciting parts of ordering solid wood Amish furniture at O’Reilly’s is also one of the first decisions you’ll make — choosing your wood species. It’s the foundation of everything that follows. The wood you choose determines the grain pattern, the color range, the character, and ultimately the entire personality of your finished piece.
With seven solid American hardwoods available at O’Reilly’s — oak, maple, cherry, walnut, elm, hickory, and quarter-sawn white oak — the options are genuinely exciting. Each species brings something completely different to a piece of furniture, and understanding those differences makes the choice much easier and much more enjoyable. This guide walks you through everything you need to know about each species and how to find the right one for your home.
Why the wood species choice matters so much
When furniture is bench-built from solid hardwood, the wood itself is the star of the show. Unlike painted furniture or particle board with a printed wood-grain laminate, solid wood furniture showcases the natural beauty of the material — the grain pattern, the color variation, the character of the wood itself. Every plank is different, which means every piece of solid wood furniture is genuinely one of a kind.
The wood species you choose sets the tone for the entire piece — and for the room it lives in. A dining table built from dark, dramatic walnut makes a completely different statement than the same table built from clean, light maple. A bedroom set in warm cherry feels completely different from one in bold hickory. The species you choose is one of the most personal decisions in the custom furniture process — and it’s one our team at O’Reilly’s genuinely loves helping customers work through.
Oak
Oak is the most classic and versatile of all the hardwood species we carry — and for good reason. It’s been used in fine furniture for centuries because it combines exceptional durability with a pronounced, open grain pattern that takes stains beautifully across a wide range of tones. Oak furniture can look traditional and warm in a darker stain, clean and contemporary in a lighter natural finish, or anything in between.
Oak is an excellent choice for families who want furniture that handles real daily use without showing every scratch and ding — the open grain of oak is naturally forgiving and develops a beautiful patina over time. It’s also an excellent choice for customers who aren’t sure yet about their long-term décor direction, because oak’s versatility means it works beautifully in virtually any setting.
Maple
Maple is the cleanest and most uniform of all the hardwood species we offer — featuring a tight, fine grain with minimal variation that creates a smooth, consistent surface. Where oak makes a statement with its pronounced grain, maple lets the form and finish of the furniture do the talking.
Maple is particularly popular for contemporary and transitional home settings where a cleaner, more refined look is desired. It takes lighter, more natural finishes especially beautifully — a natural or lightly stained maple piece has a warmth and elegance that’s understated and genuinely stunning. Maple is also one of the hardest and most durable hardwoods available, making it an excellent choice for furniture that takes a lot of daily use.
Cherry
Cherry is the wood species that most clearly rewards patience — and it’s one of the most beloved hardwoods in American furniture history for exactly that reason. Cherry starts as a warm, light reddish-brown wood and develops a rich, deep patina over time as it’s exposed to light. A cherry dining table or bedroom set will look noticeably more beautiful in ten years than it does the day it arrives — and more beautiful still in twenty.
Cherry’s natural warmth and the elegance of its medium-fine grain make it a particularly popular choice for traditional and transitional home settings. It’s also exceptionally beautiful in bedrooms — a solid cherry bedroom set has a warmth and richness that creates a genuinely luxurious sleeping environment.
Walnut
Walnut is the bold choice — and customers who choose walnut know exactly what they want. With its dark, rich brown color and dramatic grain pattern, walnut makes a commanding statement in any room. A solid walnut dining table or executive desk has an authority and sophistication that few other materials can match.
Walnut is particularly popular for home offices, dining rooms, and statement bedroom sets where a rich, refined aesthetic is the goal. It pairs beautifully with leather upholstery and complements both traditional and contemporary settings. Walnut is also one of the most dimensionally stable hardwoods available — a practical advantage as well as an aesthetic one.
Elm
Elm is the wood species that surprises people most when they see it in person — and it’s easy to understand why. The grain of elm is unlike any other hardwood we carry — dramatic, flowing, and genuinely wild in the best possible way. No two elm pieces look exactly alike because the grain variation is so pronounced that every plank brings something completely different.
Elm is the right choice for customers who want furniture with real personality — a dining table or occasional piece that’s a genuine conversation starter. It works beautifully in both rustic and contemporary settings and is particularly striking in lighter, more natural finishes that let the grain do the talking.
Hickory
Hickory is the most dramatic of all the hardwood species we carry in terms of color variation — featuring bold contrasts between the lighter sapwood and darker heartwood within the same plank. The result is furniture with extraordinary character and a rustic, natural beauty that’s completely unique.
Hickory is also the hardest American hardwood available — making it the most durable choice for furniture that takes the most demanding daily use. A hickory dining table or bedroom set will handle everything a busy family can throw at it without flinching. Hickory is particularly beautiful in rustic, farmhouse, and natural home settings — though it can work surprisingly well in contemporary spaces when paired with the right finish.
Quarter-sawn white oak
Quarter-sawn white oak is the most distinctive and refined of all the wood species we offer — and increasingly one of the most popular. The quarter-sawing process — cutting the log at a specific angle relative to the grain — produces a distinctive ray pattern called medullary rays that runs across the surface of the wood in a way that plain-sawn oak simply doesn’t show.
The result is a wood surface with extraordinary visual depth and a refined, almost architectural quality that sets it apart from everything else. Quarter-sawn white oak has a long history in Arts and Crafts and Mission style furniture, but it works equally beautifully in contemporary and transitional settings. It’s a particularly popular choice for dining tables, home office furniture, and bedroom sets where a sophisticated, distinctive look is the goal.
How to choose
With seven beautiful options available, how do you decide? The most important thing is to see the wood samples in person — which is exactly what our team at O’Reilly’s will walk you through at our Highway 100 showroom. Seeing the grain, feeling the surface, and comparing samples side by side in natural light makes a dramatic difference compared to looking at photos online.
Bring a photo of your room, a paint chip from your walls, or a fabric swatch from your existing furniture — and our team will help you find the wood species that’s exactly right for your home, your style, and your vision.
