Some questions regarding House of Staunton Luxury boards

I probably would have gone MTM russian maker to save money, but with the hefty shipping to the USA, the savings is not quite so great as it first appears, and I like some of the wood choices better at HoS.

Three questions.

1.  Seems with some patience, a 20 percent coupon code will pop up.  Can you use such codes on custom order luxury boards?

2.  I seem really drawn to the maple burl, there's just so much character, interest and richness in every white square!  Can't decide between these two: 

and 

My straight up preference is for the purpleheart version, as it seems a bit richer/royal looking.  But I don't have any big issues with the 2nd one either, and it's 200 dollars cheaper, which makes it a harder decision, as I can tell I'd be happy with either one of them.

3.  Based on what board you think I should pick, suggest a "black pieces" type of wood or color tone that would best contrast with the board.

I would go with the 2nd one.  There are long term issues with Purpleheart in that the purple color fades over time.  I have several HOS luxury boards and are very happy with them.  I'm pretty sure you can use any coupon with the boards, but you should ask to make sure.

For me, equally, and perhaps more, important to the contrast between the dark squares and the light squares is the contrast between the squares and the pieces.  Particularly the dark squares vs the dark pieces.  When visualizing the positions of the pieces during play one must be able to easily process the relationship of the pieces and the squares.  For example, black pieces on black squares exhibit no contrast, and as a result the relationship of the black pieces vs the board are difficult to visually "process", as the black squares tend to "camoflage" the black pieces.  It is much easier to visually process relationships of the pieces and the squares when there is a high degree of contrast between each of these vs the other.

On this basis, I would go with the first, purpleheart board, as there is greater contrast between the pieces and (the dark squares of) the board.

True, and I do favor that board if prices were equal.  However, if I use a lighter golden brown or lighter reddish brown as my "black" pieces, I think they would be a lot lighter than those dark square and would stand out.  The picture is showing some very dark pieces but it's just an example.

You may want to check out these makers of custom wood chessboards.  They seem to have very reasonable prices.

I recently ordered a board from Brad Borkowski (aka Colorado Wood Worker).  I should be receiving it in about a week. 

The board I ordered was the Brazilian cherry/Maple/Walnut board with 2.25 inch squares for $130 + $30 shipping.

https://www.etsy.com/shop/ColoradoWoodWorker

Here is another boardmaker, Bill Nelson, using the same web host...

https://www.etsy.com/shop/BillsWoodPile?ref=l2-shopheader-name

Both of these "woodworkers" have been recommended in the chess.com forums.

purpleheart. no contest

Maybe it's there but I couldn't find his email on the etsy page.  Was gonna ask if he can get burled maple and do a board similar to the HoS board.

 I have one of their purple heart boards. I love it, but do keep in mind that it will darken as time passes. It will still be beautiful, but the brightness of the purple goes away. Ill look for a pic.

Dizzo - you have one of whose boards?  House of Staunton?

Also, in my opinion, a darker purpleheart looks even better....your board looks great...!

yes, this board was purchased from house of staunton.

Thanks for the compliment

On the right side of the web page just under the little photo of Brad is a clickable "contact" link which you can use to send him a message on the contact web page that opens up.  Basically all communication is done via the etsy web site...

Thanks Dizzo...yes, it is very nice!  The pieces look good too!  For curiosity, what are they?

The pieces are the Paul Morphy set from Official Staunton. Great set.

I thought it might be those. Love that set, using it right now for my study. 

And on that board of your it looks beautiful.

(jealous drooling over keyboard.)

Nice!

Those pieces appear very similar to the "Fierce Knight" set that I purchased from The Chess Store....wouldn't be surprised if they were made by the same carver in India....

https://thechessstore.com/fierce-knight-staunton-chess-set-in-ebonized-boxwood-3-5-king/

https://thechessstore.com/fierce-knight-staunton-chess-pieces/

 I almost bought the fierce knight instead, but os had a great sale. I think they were less than $100 after shipping! I am very pleased with them. I think the carving is nicer than my hos fischer/spassky set.

The price war right!  You made a good choice!