I only know what I've read about Lyptus. It was on my short list of materials I am interested in for my kitchen cabinets. It's reddish in color, grainier then maple, BEAUTIFUL, and a renewable resource. I've attached a link to a forum I found by googling and they discuss lyptus. And here....

http://www.crystalcabinets.com/PhotoGallery/WoodFinishes/Lyptus/Lyptus.htm
I tried to imbed the pics from this link from crystal cabinets but it didn't work.
Googling also brought up a discussion on the woodworking forum.
HTH!

Here is a link that might be useful: Lyptus discussion

Here's a link to a butcher block company that has photos and descriptions of many kinds of woods, including Lyptus and African Ribbon Mahogany.

Here is a link that might be useful: Lyptus and African Mahogany

Thanks for the links! They look like some beautiful woods.

I'd love to see somebody's kitchen cabinets made up in one of these. Surely someone on this site must have their kitchen done with the Lyptus, as I think that may be more well known than the African Ribbon Mahogany.

Would someone please post some pictures if they have either of these? Thanks.

I totally fell in love with a lyptus display kitchen at one of the showrooms when we were shopping for cabinets. Unfortunately, that semi-custom brand didn't have the pieces we needed for some of the awkward spots in our kitchen. I found one lyptus kitchen in the Crystal gallery (Crystal linked above by remodelfla, pictures I found linked below).

We ended up with natural cherry cabinets, if that helps for context... To me, both lyptus and cherry have beautiful grain, fairly pronounced.

Here is a link that might be useful: Lyptus kitchen

My cab shop offers Showplace Cabs...I think that Lyptus is very cool, not to mention green! It is the same cost as maple. So not too expensive...the shipping to Maui has got to be pricey though!

Good luck,

Shannon

Here is a link that might be useful: Showplace Lyptus

Thanks for the tip, Shannon. I checked out the website you provided and the Lyptus does look very nice! What color stain do you find most people put on it--dark or light? I'm also glad to know that the price is comparable to maple.

Do you have any experience with the African Ribbon Mahogany?

This may be helpful for the sake of googling, but ribbon mahogany is also known as "sapele". My bed is made of it; it is a nice wood, medium-heavy. Your grandmother's mahogany piano was likely a ribbon mahogany veneer.
IMO design-wise, the very regular stripes of this wood if rendered in slab doors would be very art-deco.
If done in panel/frame doors, well, I could think of a more homogeneous look- I think the striping running in all directions may not have a restful aspect.
I think plainsawn mahogany frames with sapele plywood panels would look really cool.
This china hutch that I built exhibits some ribbon-y mahogany grain patterns:
{{!gwi}}

Casey

I'm not familiar with African Ribbon mahogany, but I have seen lyptus and I'd encourage you to see it in person before making any decisions. We were seriously considering lyptus based on pictures we'd seen on the internet. Then DH and I saw some actual samples of lyptus by Crystal Cabinetry and decided that it wasn't nearly as attractive in real life as it was in pictures. Of course, it depends on the color of stain you're interested in. If you want to go very dark, it's a nice wood to use because it has a very pronounced grain that will be visible even through the dark stain. In lighter (medium-toned) colors, though, we weren't terribly fond of the way the wood seemed to take the stain or of the large variations in color and grain pattern that emerged on some doors. Of course, this could be simply the way the lyptus cabinets by Crystal Cabinets look. Someone on GW posted pictures of her GORGEOUS lyptus kitchen a while back (sorry -- I can't seem to recall whose kitchen it was). Her cabinets had been custom built by a local cabinet maker, I believe.

Here are pics of Honeyb2's lyptus kitchen from the FKB.

Scherr's offers cabinets in lyptus. Alternatively, you could use Ikea boxes and get lyptus doors from Scherr's. You can order one sample door from Sherr's at reasonable cost (approx. $25, I think) to see if you like it.

Here is a link that might be useful: Honeyb2's lyptus kitchen

My kitchen island is made of Lyptus. The cabinet manufacturer is Pacific Crest. I *LOVE* the color and the graining. The cost is in line with cherry but the wood is much harder. The cabinets have been in place for 3 years and they have held up very well.

More and more manufacturers are making Lyptus available. I highly recommend it.

morton5: thanks for posting the link to Honeyb2's kitchen. That was precisely the gorgeous lyptus kitchen I was talking about. If I could find someone in my area who sold cabinets like that, I'd opt for them in a minute. They Crystal brand ones in that color don't look like that. I'm not sure why. Indeed, the Crystal reps we spoke to (at 2 different shops) said that they recommended lyptus only if one wanted a very dark stain.

Generally speaking, lyptus should be a great choice, though. It is harder than maple, but supposedly takes stain much better than maple, and is environmentally friendly because the trees regrow very fast.

sombreuil_mongrel: The china cabinet you built is gorgeous!

I second that opinion on the beautiful china cabinet--wow, that is really nice, sombreuil_mongrel! You are very talented!

I found a cabinet company that offers the ribbon or plain sawn, whatever that means, on the African Mahogany. Does anyone know what the two different types would look like?

Both the Lyptus and the African Mahogany are fabulous looking from what I have seen so far. I could go either way. I'd love to see a few more postings of each.

Honeyb2's kitchen is stunning! I would love it if my kitchen cabinets turned out as lovely. Does anyone know the stain? I think it may be natural--sure does look beautiful. She also has the granite I was thinking of using--the Verde Butterfly. Does anyone know if her link/photos can be emailed? I would like to email the pics to my cabinetmaker. Please let me know if you can help with this. Thanks!

I did figure out how to send the link of Honeyb2's kitchen to a cabinetmaker. Would love to send some in a kitchen done in the African Mahogany. I understand the African Mahogany is popular on HI.

Can anyone else post some pix for us to see??

I have custom African mahogany in my kitchen and WOW, we LOVE it. Not familiar with the ribbon term, but some of the cabinets do have a linear look and others have different grain in the wood, but the combo is fantastic.

I do not have pictures yet. I have a kitchen's worth collection of cabinets in my garage waiting for installation (should begin in two or three days). I have Showplace brand cabinets made from lytus. On their website, 90% of the cabinets were stained with "truffle". I ordered a chestnut stain with ebony glazing and I think they are beautiful. They do remind me of mahogany -- even when I set them next to an antique mahogany dining room table. When I researched the "hardness" list, their number was about twice as high as maple.

Sueju, I hope you will post some pictures for us as soon as you are able. There just aren't as many kitchens done in the Lyptus or African Mahogany and I personally would like to see as many as possible. They look like very beautiful woods from what I have seen so far, but they don't seem to be as well known. It's nice to see something different from what is typically used, especially if it is affordable as well as beautiful.

Can't wait to see the pics, suej! They sound lovely.

BTW, I just found another maker of lyptus cabinets: DuraSupreme. I haven't seen any cabinets in person yet, but the wood looks very pretty on their web site.

We have a ribbon cut sapele top on a tiger maple hutch with a copper bar sink in our new kitchen. It's great with tiger maple - has a similar sort of shimmery, stripey quality to it, but darker. We chose the sapele because it looks beautiful with the tiger maple and it's very water resistant. I've been waiting to take photos until the granite is installed for the rest of the tops.

I think the "ribbon" name comes from the ribbon cut which looks like quartersawn to me. The plain sawn is very nice too, a lot like a nice quality mahogany. Our cabinetmaker commented that the sapele is very hard and splintery. He is currently working on a whole kitchen from ribbon cut sapele in a pool house. I don't know if you can get sapele from any of the semi-custom cabinet manufacturers.

Here is a link to photos of my butler's pantry and kitchen island (in various states of completion). They are both lyptus and are stained "nutmeg." Pacific Crest Cabinetry was the manufacturer.

Hope this helps!

Here is a link that might be useful: Lyptus cabinets

Very nice, clean freak! Thanks for posting your pix!

I have been considering using lyptus for my countertop and cabinets. Some time ago I had my carpenter/cabinet maker get me a sample board of lyptus. I wanted to see how it would look with different finishes. On one end I put about four coats of Waterlox on it. Right next to it I put a water based urethane. I was really surprised at the difference the products made. They each had their own look. I didn't stain it because I want the natural reddish look. My carpenter said it was similar in looks to a Red Oak. I think it looks like cherry.

I love my lyptus butcherblock... just a mineral oil/beeswax mix finish, no stain

{{!gwi}}

We did lyptus in one of our flips:

I would totally use it again - it's breathtaking wood! This kitchen was custom by a local craftsman. (And seen on TLC's Flip That House if you ever watch that show...)

Beautiful cabinets. I wonder why they didn't make a bigger cabinet to surround the fridge so it didn't stick out like that.