Covering a laminate desk top with cherry veneer

When we built our house we cut costs in places that are easily replaceable.This included the laminate on the desk top knowing that in the future we could replace it fairly easily. After pricing granite and seeing how costly this would be, cherry wood veneer was the solution. We kept the existing laminate and used a 1/4" piece of cherry veneer on top then faced  the front with a solid 1/4" strip in order for it to look like a solid piece of cherry. This raised it up only 1/4" which is hardly noticeable with nice results.




Before - with laminate



After placing veneer on top



From ordinary to a notch up

While building our home, we had maple post and rails installed with a natural finish. On my constant search to bring the house up a notch, incorporating a different wood into the railing was the solution. We choose cherry wood since there was a cherry mantel in the great room just beyond. The process involved inserting 1/4" inlays into the recessed panels. Then sanding and finishing with a coat of satin polyurethane. The beauty of natural cherry is that as it ages it darkens to a deep brownish red. This was a nice contrast from the light maple. This is the before.

Before the inlays



This is the after the inlays.