I've been thinking about this question, as I do.
There is a divide of coloured timber, the Yes's & the No's. But the question I asked myself is where you you put the divide for coloured timber.
You fume Oak, Ash, Walnut, Black locust and other tannic woods with Ammonia to darkens it. Rub them with a vinegar/rust mix and they go glossy black.
Some of us have shown pieces of bleached timber with hydrogen peroxide, which lightens the wood.
People who do marquetry dip their veneers in hot sand to cause darker areas, Tonbridgeware is all coloured timbers and another Scottish type of work (sorry I can't remember the name) is similar.
Cabinet makers used woods of all colours (admittedly natural colours) to add stringing or other designs to their work. They also used a wide variety to chemicals to create false timber effects (make one timber look like another). Go down the DiY shed (or your own workshop) to look at the different wood colour stains available.
So is the use of modern dyes so much different to what those that have gone before us have done, and would probably have done if they had had them available.
Yes, sometimes a piece of timber has such wonderful figure or colour it would be a crime to hide or change it...
...but adding just enough colour to pop the grain or stronger colours to a piece of bland sycamore, field maple and other plain uninteresting timbers, to make them something more, make them interesting, eye-catching, and a decorative piece. It's just another technique to learn, one that has been used to great effect for many years. One that has it's place, at the right time.
