Neander Project complete - well, half of it - and a design question

[Matthew Dworman]

Hi Guys,
There were a few electrons burned, but really just the tablesaw for ripping - everything else was done by hand.
Here is the lower half which is now complete:









All from air dried, locally cut cherry. As you can see in the pics, I tried to use QS for the rails and stiles - I think it came out nice. There was some very pretty figure. Brusso knife hinges. Getting an even reveal for the inset doors was tricky, but it came out great. For some reason, it doesn't look perfect in the photos, but it is
The finish is shelac and wax.
I french polished the top and the door exteriors. Large flat surfaces are pretty easy, but french polishing the rails and stiles was a real pain.
Here is a sketchup drawing of what the completed piece will look like:



and here is my question:

What would you guys do for the back?
If I knew how to set u a poll, I would do that -

1: Raised Panels
2: Plywood Panels
3: Ship Lap boards
4: Tongue and grooved boards
5: T&G Beaded boards?

Any other suggestions? It needs to be both stable, and attractive. Yes I know that attractive is in the eye of the beholder, but based on the style that I have already done so far...

Thanks in advance,
Matt

[Philip Berman]

raised panel or ply panel have one look, the separate boards give another, so you need to decide the overall look you want. Personally, if I were making a reproduction I'd go with frame and panel as you've drawn it, but if the piece is not a repro, use ply as it's more economical in terms of money and use of wood. Since you're using sketchup, it should be easy to take out the back you have in there now and replace it with separate boards, beaded or not, and decide how you like it.

Philip