Buying Guide for Dining and Bedroom Furniture

Wood is at the heart of most pieces of furniture. But only in cabinet furniture is its true beauty uncovered.

Every tree species has different characteristics in colour, grain and durability. Like a fingerprint, each tree is unique and this principle applies to your cabinet furniture. If you buy two or more items from the same range, they will be made in a specific style, but have variations in colour and grain. This is part of the unique charm of wooden furniture and only enhances the natural beauty of each item.

Generally, two types of wood are used in cabinet making:

• Softwood from quick growing conifers such as pine. These woods are more susceptible to bruising and marking than hard woods.
• Hardwood from slow growing deciduous trees including oak, ash, maple and teak. These timbers are much denser and have superb grains and lines when made into furniture.

There are a number of species which don’t fall into either group, such as beech which is described as a medium hardwood. Its flexibility means it is often used in the production of chairs.

Acacia: a durable hard wood from fast growning trees from the Far East and South America. The thin grain, the flame design and varied colour shades give furniture made from it a warm appearance.

Ash: With a strong grain, this durable hardwood is usually light in weight and colour. It has good flexibility for making tables and chairs.

Beech: A cabinet maker’s favourite for making chairs, its benign grain makes it easy to stain or paint. The colour of this medium hardwood ranges from very pale brown to a dark reddish brown.

Birch: With a close grain that varies from straight lines to swirls, this durable hardwood is flexible and often used to imitate other timbers in restorations.

Cedar: An unusual timber to be used in furniture. Technically a softwood, but more durable than pine, this timber lends itself to darker or wenge finishes.

Cherry: A durable hardwood often used as a veneer because it is expensive to produce. Its characteristic red colour often deepens to a richer shade in time. The grain may be enhanced by dark speckles of sap.

Oak: A classic wood, usually with a tight grain. There are two main groups; red oak and white oak. White oak is considered superior as its grain has a finer texture. All oak lends itself to the French polisher’s art, accepting a huge spectrum of stains, finishes and colours. Previously used mainly in traditional farmhouse style furniture, many designers are now using oak in cutting edge furniture designs.

Mahogany: Sir Walter Raleigh imported this wood to England, having used it to repair the decks of his ship. During an on board visit Queen Elizabeth I remarked on its beauty. Raleigh immediately ordered the deck to be removed and made into a table for her. Later admirers included Sheraton, Chippendale and Hepplewhite.

A tropical hardwood found across the globe, mahogany has a reddish patina and elaborate grain.

Maple: Mainly used as a veneer, maple is a hardwood with a light swirling grain. Sometimes ‘sugaring’, an accumulation of sap in the tree’s fibres, creates darker lines. The highly decorative bird’s-eye maple is produced when grown buds form on the tree’s bark but do not penetrate it. When sawn, this produces a grain that resembles ‘watered silk’. This is also used as a veneer.

Pine: Several varieties of this fast growing softwood, including Scots pine, Douglas fir and Norway spruce, supply the furniture industry. The trees’ sources of origin will dictate rich variation of colours from pale cream through to a red brown. Pine has a close grain caused by the short growing seasons high in the northern hemisphere, and will feature knots, marking the point on a tree trunk where a branch or side shoot once grew

America also produces pine timber from their native species. Called pitch pine, it has a more open grain than its European counterpart.

Sheesham: A particularly durable foliage wood which has long been desirable in our interiors. In particular, the thin grain, the flame design and the varied colour shades provide furniture with a sound and warm appearance.

Teak: This dense tropical hardwood is found mainly in the Far East and tends to be used in outdoor furniture. It ranges from golden yellow to dark brown in colour.

Walnut: Grown across the world, the wood from each producing country has its own peculiarities. American walnut has a distinctive black grain and is often known as ‘black walnut’. Wood from Italy is similar. English walnut has strong dark streaks; it is extremely rare and usually only found in antique furniture. French and Turkish walnuts have highly figured grains and are commonly used as veneers.

‘Burl’ describes wood cut from an overgrown knot or outgrowth from the tree’s trunk. This striking effect is mainly used as a decorative veneer.