Birth of the Blue Missile

First I do want to say I would like to be telling you about all the progress Im making on the Missile but it aint happenin just yet.
So lets talk about makin sawdust!
The wood arrived and looks better in person.Would love some input here. The question is should I put the curly (striped) part of the piece at the top or bottom? I also have access to gold trim rings instead of the cream one, thoughts?