2021/02/22 17:29:32
Wood Furniture Trends 2021: Choosing the Best Woods for Furniture
Wood serves people in many ways and has been doing that for as long as human civilization has been around. Humans have evolved from using wood as weapons to using it for constructing their own homes to making shipping and land vessels, to making furniture and other necessary items around the house. It is simply the ultimate raw material known to man.
The furniture industry has undergone a lot of changes in the time it has been around, but the one constant thing is the general preference for using wood to make furniture pieces. The reasons behind this are many; we will be looking at these reasons in detail, the wood types used for making furniture, the things you have to keep in mind when selecting them as well as the strengths and weaknesses of each wood type.
Types of Wood Furniture
The wood used for furniture is a little different from the one used in other things like construction. Furniture is not as big as houses, and this allows for the special types to be utilized. Although there is increased pressure for developing sustainable alternatives to wood, the world is far from completely switching over to that. The following are some of the best types of woods that furniture manufacturers tend to turn to for their production processes.
Oak Furniture
Oak wood is hardwood and one of the most sought-after raw materials in the furniture industry. It has high resistance that boosts the durability of the furniture that’s crafted out of it. It is not easily affected by water; it is heavy enough to support huge weights and has a very refined look. It has a unique grain pattern and texture that feels good to the hand, the naturalness and the warmth can transform any home or office into a lively place depending on your color choices.
It is also a very versatile type of wood that can go with almost any kind of furniture style you may want since it is easily malleable despite being hardwood. In the hands of an expert craftsman, there are no limitations to how many types of furniture can be created out of oak wood. There’s also the reduced need for maintenance, but that should not give you the license to get rough with it as it is not immune to physical damage.
But if you are the type that knows to preserve everything around you, you could go a lifetime with one seat of oak wood furniture, and you’ll never get the need to do repairs, let alone buy new sets. The color usually ranges from light brown to dark brown and has a medium to rough texture in its natural state. They can be used to make any type of furniture ranging from oak bedroom furniture, sofas to wardrobes and kitchen cabinets.
Mahogany Furniture
Mahogany wood is synonymous with furniture and is a more traditional choice that comes in a slightly dark color. It is a quality hardwood that is also light at the same time, one of the main reasons why it is used to make big furniture pieces like beds and sofa sets. However, it doesn't come cheap, anyone who has ever bought mahogany products will attest to how expensive their prices are, but they make all that up with a refined and classy appearance and high longevity.
The wood is solid, well-textured, and highly resilient. Despite its hardwood properties, the wood is malleable and can be tactfully bent to create all manners of artistic furniture pieces that are sure to transform any interior space. The solid wood furniture also has a high resistance to water, especially when it is coated with waterproof paints and other coating products. Mahogany is also wear-resistant; you’ll have to be deliberately rough with it for it to sustain any damage; with good furniture maintenance, you are looking at a whole lifetime of using pieces made from this wood type.
The color ranges from medium to dark brown, with some types bordering close to a deep red. It is the type of wood you use to create the traditional furniture style, and it can be used to make beds, seats, wardrobes, dressers, among many other furniture pieces commonly used around homes.
Maple Furniture
As far as appearances go, maple wood takes the crown for the most beautiful type of wood that you can ever have for your furniture. It also holds the distinguished record of being one of the hardest woods in the market, and that should give you a hint on where their prices range, not cheap at all. The most attractive feature of maple wood is the appearance; a good number of maple species range between light and medium brown, and they look so good on their one that you won’t even need to add any form of coating or extra color on them; they simply look stunning in their natural state.
The grain pattern is also another redeeming feature that makes maple wood the ideal raw materials for all kinds of furniture around the house, especially furniture pieces like dinner sets that are made entirely of wood without any type of cushioning added. The most common uses of maple wood include kitchen and bedroom cabinets, wardrobes, seats, and tables, as well as beds and dressers.
It is a hardy wood that has high resilience. It can take a beating and is resistant to water and other forms of liquids that may often come into contact with it. Maple wood would make the best option for those looking to have rustic furniture sets in their homes.
Walnut Furniture
Walnut wood is a popular exotic hardwood that is mostly associated with the construction of musical instruments owing to its great sound quality. When it comes to furniture, walnut is loved due to its high durability, strength, vibrance, and adaptability. It is the kind of wood you use to recreate the mid-century Victorian era furniture because it has a rich brown to dark-red color that gives it a traditional and classy look that was common in the late 1800s.
It has an excellent wood grain that gives furniture a unique look, especially when the wood is used to create wide furniture pieces like tables, benches, and dinner set chairs. Depending on the part of the tree where the wood is taken from, walnut furniture displays varying degrees of hues that range from light brown to a rich hue of deep red that can stand on its own without any need of adding extra colors to the surface. The only addition would be a transparent varnish coat that further reinforces the wood’s ability to keep water from seeping in.
Walnut wood doesn’t come cheap, and furniture crafted from it is regarded to be a high-end product. They do very well as executive chairs in office settings but can also transform the house if you choose to go with the mid-century look. You can always import ready-made walnut furniture from overseas if your locality doesn’t have them in stock.
Cherry Wood Furniture
Cherry wood is another hardwood type that has a brilliant color that ranges from light pink to a rich reddish brown. It ranks highly among the most popular furniture woods in the market, and products made from it are simply stunning, to say the least. Another unique feature of the wood is its aging process. When new, the color is usually bright pink, but as time progresses and the furniture gets used more and more, it gradually transforms to reddish-brown with a touch of lustrous patina. This is the reason why they have a huge resale value; the more they age, the more valuable they become.
The grain pattern is smooth and a little more uniform compared to other types of furniture woods, and it can be used to make all kinds of furniture pieces like a cherry wood desk, beds, cabinets, wardrobes, seats, dinner chairs, among many others. If you are a fan of vintage furniture looks, then cherry wood is what you should be looking for.
It is a dense type of wood with great resistance to water and physical damage. It is heavy and will work great for those huge cherry wood furniture pieces that act as centerpieces at home and at the office. You can be assured of great longevity when using furniture made from cherry wood, unless you deliberately choose to mishandle it.
Ash Wood Furniture
This is light-colored and smooth-grained solid wood furniture that almost resembles maple wood in many ways, only that it is a little lighter and cheaper. It is a very durable type of wood that works very well for all kinds of furniture around the house ranging from cabinets, dinner sets, beds, and sofas, to bedroom wardrobes and dressers.
One of the unique characteristics that make ash wood a popular choice is how light they are despite their hardwood nature. To some extent, they have a bouncy nature that grants the wood some impressive shock-absorption properties that protect it from physical damage.
The color ranges from beige to light brown, and it makes the best wood for rustic and minimalist furniture styles. You can choose to use the wood in its natural state by simply applying a varnish coat for protection since the natural colors work very well around the house and the office. Applying another darker color on ash wood furniture also works as it doesn’t affect the other properties that make the wood a good choice.
It has a good grain with very beautiful variations of patterns that can either be straight lines or circular rings depending on the part of the tree from which a particular piece of wood was extracted from. In terms of pricing, it is much cheaper compared to most of the other types on this list.
Spruce Furniture
Spruce wood is derived from coniferous trees and is among the most widely available types of wood, with massive plantations across North American and Europe growing them for industrial purposes. It is also among the fastest-growing trees, and this works in favor of consumers as their prices are not that high.
In terms of density, it is not as concentrated as mahogany or other harder woods like maple, but that doesn’t mean it cannot hold on its own. It is actually a very supple but sturdy wood type that works well for the kind of furniture that requires bending and curving. The color ranges from light brown to medium brown, owing to how straight the trees usually grow; the grain patterns are very uniform, making spruce the ideal type of wood for making long types of furniture like office desks that run from one end to the other to accommodate a large number of people.
You can choose to use the wood in its natural color, and that can work very well in a room that has a dark theme going on as this creates contrast. The wood can be used to make chairs, tables, beds, wardrobes, and kitchen cabinets at home with very amazing results. They are durable, and if taken care of the right way, one can get a good number of years out of them before they start thinking of getting new furniture.
Pine Furniture
Pine wood is one of the most widespread tree types in the world, with a huge penetration of them in North America. They have some high level of stiffness which works in their favor as they are resistant to shock and physical damage. The wood has been in use for ages in the furniture industry and works surprisingly well for rustic types of furniture styles that come in handy in homes and the office setting.
Pine is light in color, with some coming in a creamy white color that makes for unique looking furniture that doesn’t require any addition of paint or coat. What you will need to make sure that pine wood furniture stays for long and avoids being damaged with water would be the application of a slight clear coat and use it in its natural state.
Factors to Consider When Choosing Wood Furniture
When hunting for the right wood for your furniture, there are certain things that you have to keep in mind in order to get the right fit for all your needs. The following are some of the factors that you have to consider beforehand.
Price
The best woods for furniture are hardwoods, and those cost a lot of money, and this high price is transferred to the furniture forcing the consumers to bear that cost. But there is a good reason for that. Hardwoods take too long to grow, and there are many restrictions surrounding their usage; this creates a demand with an insufficient supply, and the ricing gets affected. Make sure you have enough money if you choose to go for hardwood like mahogany and maple.
Durability
Furniture is not something you buy every day; it is a one-time investment that will last you years with the right maintenance and usage. For this reason, go for wood that is durable and strong enough to bear the brunt of daily use without breaking down. Ideally, hardwoods like maple and mahogany are very strong, and you can end up using furniture made from these two types of wood for over two decades.
Softwood vs. Hardwood
Both types of woods can be used to make any kind of furniture, but there will be differences. For starters, most softwood materials are lightweight compared to hardwoods; this makes them susceptible to damage and if mishandled, and for that reason, they cannot last for very long. But on the other hand, they are easy to curve and abend, and this increases the artistic possibilities that one can go for. Hardwood may be durable, but they are heavy, and unless you are the type that doesn’t move often, they could be a pain when it comes to relocating or even re-arranging the room.
Color
Wood comes in varying colors and hues. Some are so beautiful to the point where adding another color on top only serves to diminish their true essence. Some furniture styles like rustic and vintage make use of wood in their natural state, and they look stunning in that regard. If you are the type that loves things natural, then you should go for light-colored woods like maple, spruce, and oaks as they make the best looking sets of furniture that would transform your house.
Water Resistance
Water is the leading cause of wood damage in many cases, and using furniture that absorbs moisture around it is not a good idea. There are types of wood that are compact with natural resistance to water, this way; they can be used in their natural state without the need to add the extra water-resistant coating. Unfortunately, these kinds of woods are not cheap. Many softwood types are vulnerable to moisture damage but can be given a water-resistant coat that can keep them durable for a little longer.
Conclusion
Wood will never go out of fashion, and despite the emergence of new sustainable options like plywood, people still prefer to have their furniture made with high-quality wood material like mahogany, maple, oak, among many others. Furniture prices will continue going up as time progresses as forests continue to shrink.
If you are looking for furniture for your home or office and don’t know where to begin looking, check out our website and go through the many furniture designs we have on offer. At the same time, you can access information on furniture fairs and exhibitions slated for this year that you may wish to attend.
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