Sunny Window and Wood

Maple has my vote.

Just don't try dyeing it. Dyes will fade in sunlight, linseed oil will yellow -- tung oil or other finishes are probably your best bet.

What about something like cherry? Sunlight darkens cherry rather than making it lighter. If it's a coffee table type thing, some sort of varnish would probably be a good finish. You'd want something alcohol resistant anyway.

If you have newer windows, the sun may not be a big a problem as you think. Many windows have a LoE coating which, simply put, is a coating of silver which filters out much of the uv rays. More recently, some windows are even coated with 2 layers of silver (LoE2) which blocks almost all the uv rays. Check the glass and see if it is marked anywhere in little letters, or maybe the manufacturer could tell you more. -dave

Hey, looks like I'm in luck. Mine do have the UV filters!

Thanks fro thsi suggestion. Alos thanks to the other responses.

Paint is excellent UV protection. I'd build the stand out of pine or poplar and save the expensive woods for other furniture.

Phisherman, you are soooo correct but I can't bring myself to covering up beautiful wood grain. Although I could only paint the top.

Some other ideas are emerging. In Colorado we have a rock called flagstone. It's very flat and you can get it in inch thick very flat pieces. The rock "stores" will cut it for you.

Another idea is tile. I have some left over from a room I finished in my basement. I would have some wood trim to hold it but it would minimize the amount of wood exposed to sun.

As I noted above, I have UV filters in my windows so it's not as great a worry as I originally thought.

Thanks for the reply.