: Contrasting wood strips can make all the difference in deck design. Some of
: the nicest decks on this sight used contrasting strips and followed the
: standard basic strip filling progression. My first stripper (Wee Lassie
: II) used standard contour stripes and came out looking good. My second
: stripper (Wee Lassie) is stapleless, has an fancy design and is stripped
: in African Mahogany. I'm so glad I didn't attempt this my first time
: around.

: In art school the instructors always emphasized to us the KISS rule. Keep It
: Simple Stu... Complex isn't bad either

: Best of luck (and elbow grease) to you on your fancy design. Isn't it quite
: the charracter builder?

: Roger Nuffer

It seems to me that the designs that would cause the most trouble are the ones that cross the shear line. I can't imagine the frustration of trying to keep them lined up unless you strip across and cut the shear line later. Even then, there is a chance that they won't ever line back up perfectly, then your eye would be drawn to the misalignment not to the contrasting color. I'll leave this to the pro's.

Like Roger said, alternating colors but still following the standard strip plan is no harder than reaching for a different color strip at the right time and can still look cool.

Ben Staley