Excellent point and matches my own thinking -- but I'm trying to match
a desk. Still I think with water it looked pretty close to my desk.
My wife thought it was a little light, though. This office is
beautifully made -- mostly solid mahogany, although in some places 3/4"
mahogany plywood was used. The shelves are an actual 2" thick mahogany
planks.

Next question: How do I get the dye and lacquer from those hard to get
to places -- any special sanding tools or are there chemicals?