Choosing Wood for Your Handmade Decor: A Buyer's Guide

A companion to our Wood Guide: Every Species We Use and Why — this guide helps you decide which wood is right for your piece.

1. Where to Start Choosing Wood For Your Handmade Decor

Every piece I make can be built in several woods, and the right choice depends on what you're buying, how you'll use it, and what look you want. This guide walks you through the decision without asking you to become a woodworker first.

If you already know you want walnut or maple or reclaimed pallet, skip ahead. If you're not sure — start here.

2. Quick Decision by Use Case

• Cutting boards, charcuterie, and anything food-contact: Hardwood only — maple, cherry, walnut, curly maple, or white oak. Never red oak (open grain that absorbs liquid) and never softwoods, which are too soft to hold up to knife use.

• Home decor, organization, trays, boxes: Any wood works. Choose by look and budget.

• Outdoor pieces (planters, garden decor): Pine or hardwood, finished with outdoor Varathane. Planters holding soil get Marine Spar inside to protect against water.

• You want a rustic, character-rich look: Reclaimed pallet, crate, or barn wood. Blemishes, nail holes, and colour variation are part of the appeal.

• You want distinctive natural pattern in a refined piece: Ambrosia maple or spalted maple — the beetle and fungal markings create striking natural figuring without the roughness of reclaimed.

• You want a consistent, clean look: Pine (stained) or a solid hardwood — maple, cherry, oak, or walnut depending on colour and budget.

• Budget is the priority: Pine, or reclaimed pallet, crate, or barn wood.

• You want a premium showpiece: Walnut, curly maple, or cherry.
  

3. Wood Options at a Glance

Wood	Price Tier	Best For	Look
Pine / Fir	Entry	Decor, boxes, organization, outdoor	Light, takes stain well
Reclaimed Pallet / Crate	Entry	Decor, rustic pieces	Rustic, varied, blemishes and nail holes
Reclaimed Barn Wood	Entry	Decor, rustic pieces	Rustic, planed cleaner than pallet
Maple	Mid	Boards, boxes, decor	Light, subtle grain, doesn't stain darkly
Cherry	Mid	Boards, decor	Warm reddish tone, deepens with age
Reclaimed Hardwood (grain industry)	Mid	Charcuterie boards, cutting boards, centrepieces, decor	Maple, white oak, red oak — clean, no holes
White Oak	Mid	Boards, decor	Strong grain, honey tone
Red Oak	Mid	Decor only (not food-contact)	Pink-red grain, open pores
Ambrosia Maple	Premium	Showcase boards, statement decor	Natural beetle streaks
Spalted Maple	Premium	Showcase boards, statement decor	Black fungal line patterns
Walnut	Premium	Boards, statement pieces	Deep dark brown, rich grain
Curly Maple	Premium	Showcase boards	Rippled 3D figure

4. Character Woods: Ambrosia and Spalted Maple

Not every hardwood looks the same. Some maple picks up character during its life in the forest — and the results are stunning.

Ambrosia maple shows grey and brown streaks left by the ambrosia beetle as it moved through the tree. The wood itself is unaffected; the marks are purely visual. Every board is different.

Spalted maple shows dark, ink-like lines caused by fungal activity in the wood before it was dried. The patterns look drawn on, but they're natural. Once kiln-dried, the wood is stable and safe to use.

Spalting can happen in other species too — birch and sycamore are also common — and ambrosia markings can appear in a range of hardwoods. Maple is what I stock because it's local, abundant in Ontario, and shows both effects beautifully.

Both are premium options for buyers who want a showpiece — a charcuterie board or serving piece where the wood itself is the design.

5. What I Won't Use — and Why

Red oak for cutting boards. The open pores of red oak wick moisture — including juices from meat — deep into the grain, where they can't be cleaned out. White oak has closed pores and is safe for food. This is why you'll see red oak in my decor pieces but never on the cutting-board side.

Softwoods (pine, fir) for cutting and charcuterie boards. Too soft. They score deeply from knife cuts, trap food in the grooves, and don't stand up to regular cleaning.

Treated lumber for anything food-related. Pressure-treated wood is fine for outdoor structural use but contains chemicals that shouldn't be near food, ever.

Non-Canadian suppliers. I only source from Canadian suppliers — it's better for the local economy, the supply chain is shorter, and I know who I'm buying from. Some of what those suppliers stock is imported, and if you request a species I don't normally carry, we'll talk about what's available and what it costs before I buy.

6. How the Wood Is Prepared

Every board that comes into my workshop still needs work before it's ready to build with — I mill each piece with a planer and jointer to bring it flat, true, and to the right thickness for the project.

Hardwoods are kiln-dried before I receive them. Kiln drying stabilizes the wood, prevents warping and cracking, and ensures the moisture content is right for indoor use. Once it's in the shop, I mill each board to size.

Reclaimed wood — pallet, crate, and barn wood — is heat-treated. This is a legal requirement across North America (the ISPM 15 standard) to prevent pest transfer, so the wood is safe and stable by the time it reaches me. I then mill it down, which removes surface weathering, old markings, and any staining while keeping the character (nail holes, colour variation, worm marks) that makes reclaimed what it is.

Reclaimed hardwood from the grain industry is heat-treated like all reclaimed wood, and because it came from a food-industry environment, once milled it's safe for food-contact charcuterie and cutting boards. I also use it in centrepieces and decor pieces where the character of the wood is part of the appeal.

7. Finishes — What Each One Is For

Different pieces need different finishes. Here's what I use and why.

• Varathane (3 coats) — my standard finish for indoor decor, organization, and tray pieces. Durable, water-resistant, easy to wipe clean. Once fully cured, it's safe around food.

• Polycrylic (3 coats) — used on the exterior of decor pieces that will directly contact food, like the outside of snack trays. Water-based, low odour, food-safe once cured.

• Walrus Oil (3 coats) — a food-safe blend of mineral oil, coconut oil, and vitamin E. This is what I use on all charcuterie, cutting, and serving boards. It penetrates the wood, protects against moisture, and lets the natural grain show through without a plastic-looking film. Re-treat with a food-safe oil or wax every 6 months or so, depending on use.

• Outdoor Varathane — for pieces that live outside. Blocks UV, resists weather, protects against rain and humidity.

• Marine Spar — used inside planters that will hold liners with soil and water. It's what boat-builders use for a reason.

• Food-safe epoxy — used on the inside of pieces like my snack tray, where food goes directly on the surface as well as inlays and decoration on my boards.
  

8. Custom Wood Requests

Every made-to-order piece lets you choose the wood from what I regularly offer for that item. If you want a piece I normally offer in pine or reclaimed done in cherry, maple, or walnut, that's a custom order — request it through the custom order form and I'll quote based on the wood you want.

If you want a species I don't normally stock, ask. I'll see what my Canadian suppliers can source, and we'll talk about what's available and what it costs before I buy.

A note on timing: custom orders can take longer than my standard turnaround. Sourcing a specific species may involve checking a few mills, and if you've asked for something I don't normally work with, I need to build that into the schedule. If you have a deadline (a gift, an event), tell me when you inquire, and I'll confirm what's realistic before you commit.

9. A Note on Wood Movement

Wood is a natural material, and every piece I make will move a little over its lifetime — no matter the species, no matter the finish. This isn't a flaw. It's what wood does.

Wood expands slightly in humid conditions and contracts in dry ones. You may notice a small gap open up along a glue line, a lid that fits perfectly in summer and a touch snug in winter, or a subtle warp on a wide surface. All of this is normal.

I build with movement in mind — allowing for expansion, orienting grain to reduce stress, and finishing all surfaces so moisture is absorbed and released evenly. But no piece is entirely static. That's part of owning something made from a living material.

To minimize movement:

• Keep pieces out of direct sunlight

• Avoid extreme dry heat (right next to a fireplace, on top of a radiator) and extreme damp (over a humidifier, in a bathroom without ventilation)

• Aim for the same conditions that keep your home comfortable — wood likes what people like
  

10. Caring for Your Piece

Care depends on the finish. In brief:

• Varathane and Polycrylic finishes: wipe with a damp cloth only. Never soak, never dishwasher.

• Walrus Oiled boards: wipe clean, re-treat with a food-safe oil or wax every 6 months (or more if used heavily).

• Outdoor pieces: no special care beyond wiping down; the outdoor finish does the work.

• All wood: keep out of direct sunlight and out of very dry or very damp environments.

Finishes continue to cure for 10–20 days after the final coat. Your piece will ship after about a week of curing, so handle it gently for the first week or two after it arrives.

More detail on each species and its characteristics is in the Wood Guide: Every Species We Use and Why.

11. Still Not Sure?

If you're stuck between two options for choosing the wood for your handmade decor piece, or you have a use in mind that doesn't fit neatly into any of the categories above, get in touch. I'd rather help you choose the right wood before you order than have a piece disappoint after it arrives.