How to Choose Wood for a Front Door From Cherry or Mahogany

If you’re in the market for a new front door and have narrowed your choices to either cherry or mahogany, you are honing in on an expert decision. Both woods share many qualities, beginning with the fact that they are hardwoods, meaning that they come from trees that lose their leaves in the winter. Strong and very durable, both cherry and mahogany will withstand the rigors that a front door is bound to encounter, from frequent physical contact to climate changes. In the end, your choice may come down to a slight difference in the grain and, perhaps, price. To do the comparison justice, visit a lumberyard or home improvement center and grab a piece of each type of wood – both unfinished and stained naturally – to make your final selection with confidence.

Instructions

- 1
  Compare the cherry piece of wood to the mahogany and see the slight color differences. Cherry varies from whitish pink to reddish brown. It usually contains brown flecks, and brown and black streaks. Mahogany ranges from yellowish to darker reddish brown.
- 2
  Determine the compass direction that your front door faces. Cherry and mahogany will darken with age and, in cherry’s case, exposure to sunlight. This quality may affect your buying decision if your front door faces east or west, as it will gain more sun exposure.
- 3
  Inspect woods like walnut and red oak; their open pores and knots serve as “stain basins,” meaning that stain collects in these areas, making them appear darker than the rest of the piece. Now look at the pieces of cherry and mahogany, which should show relatively few knots. To draw the best distinction, cherry has few knots and an intricate grain, while mahogany is virtually knot-free with a fine grain – making them fairly evenly matched in this respect, too. Both cherry and mahogany “take” stain very well.
- 4
  
  Used widely to make furniture, mahogany also is used by boat builders because it is so water-resistant and does not shrink, swell or warp.
  
  Ask about the difference in price between a cherry and mahogany front door. Cherry is widely used in cabinet and furniture making, which means it is usually in strong demand. Even though cherry trees grow extensively throughout the Midwest, this demand often makes cherry more expensive than mahogany, depending on where you live.

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