I'm building my wife a craft table out of soft maple, and I'm trying to decide how to make the apron where two small through-drawers will go.
The table is approximately 60x30 inches wide, and the top apron on this is 3.75" tall and 1.75" deep (so roughly a 2x4).
Anyway, on the long sides are where I want to put the drawers. Now, I've though of several ways of doing this; I can just cut out the openings for the drawer fronts with a coping saw, or I can rip the top rail, bottom rail, and the spacers/dividers. If I cut all the parts out individually, well, that leaves the issue of grain directions. I'd prefer to keep the grain all going the same way so that I really don't have to worry about expansion, but then I start thinking that I would have end grain showing on the dividers.
To cut to the chase, I'm more worried about aesthetics than the joinery or function. Has anyone flush-face drawers with the facade of the cabinet grain all going the same way? Does it really look as minutely annoying as my brain is making it seem, or does it actually look decent?
[edit]I forgot to mention, the drawers will slide on hickory runners so that she can open them from either side of the table to get needed equipment (scissors, ribbon, whatever).