Why is cherry wood furniture so expensive? Is it worth it?
Cherry isn’t the most expensive wood you can use for furniture but it’s more expensive than many. It’s the wood used by a couple of very high-end furniture companies and in that case it’s not so much the cost of the wood but the cost of the craftsmanship that makes the furniture so expensive. Cherry is a beautiful wood that finishes nicely. It’s durable, fairly stable, and has a lot of character—the wood gradually changes color somewhat over time as it is exposed to light. I have a bunch of solid cherry furniture in my house and I love it. This Old House master carpenter Norm Abram says it’s one of his favorite woods to work with. But the bottom line is this: If you like the look of oak or walnut or any other classic furniture wood better than the look of cherry, that’s what you should buy.
