I never let a customer tell me a color using words alone. Your "a dark/red mahogany stain or a cross between chocolate and cherry stain, that will still allow me to see the beautiful wood pattern through the stain" is too subjective to be of any use to anyone trying to hit this color.

Cherry will darken considerably. It depends upon exposure to light and to some degree, the actual finishes that you're applying. Some will darken more than others and some have their own color, from water clear to garnet color.

Attached is a photo of cherry that I made this spring. I applied a couple of coats of boiled linseed oil, set it on the patio for two days, then applied several coats of amber shellac. So I got this color in just a few weeks that in other finish and exposure schedules might take a decade to reach.

this one is veneer, but also sits in front a west-facing window.

Oil-based wiping varnish.

This post was edited by bobsmyuncle on Thu, Nov 6, 14 at 17:29

with danish oil finish

If you want dark red mahogany cabinets, why not make them out of dark red mahogany and skip the stain? Price of the wood will differ by only a small number of dollars.

It seems to me that the desire of cabinet makers to stain cherry derives from their desire to disguise sapwood and to not have to pay attention to color and grain while slapping cabinets together. As the photos above indicate the wood is lovely on its own and doesn't need or want a coat of paint to make it better.

Thanks for your help! I love how cherry gains a certain patina over time. I think we are too far in now to consider mahogany, so we will be probably have to move forward with cherry. If there is a window in the room and skylight do you think it will oxidize more rapidly?