Whether you are a traditionalist or have an eye for modern design, natural wood is a great choice for home furnishings. With its versatility and aesthetic good looks, natural wood furniture never goes out of style.
Solid wood furniture can stand the test of time and is often handed down through the generations. Choose natural wood for its robust performance, strength, and utility. Hardwood is a sustainable choice too with lumber grown right here in the Mid-West.
At North Castle Hardwoods, we know wood, and what it can do.
What is Natural Wood Grain Furniture?
Natural wood grain furniture is made from sections of solid lumber, machined, and sometimes finished by hand. The nature of wood means that no two pieces will be identical, as the way it was grown, or cut, will produce differences in the lumber.
Some species are used for their regularity. Maple is a bright-grained wood that has a uniform appearance and is popular in modern industrial furniture design.
Oak and cherry, on the other hand, are renowned for their individual character and are widely used for feature tabletops, and other traditional furniture projects.
Eight Reasons to Use Natural Wood for Furniture
Only eight, you say? Well, eight is plenty, but the main reason for us comes top of the list.
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It's Beautiful
Top of the list is the unarguably definitive reason that real wood is beautiful. It has a depth of color, and reflective texture that exudes warmth and quality. The wide variety of grain colors, from the pale yellow of maple to the deepest cherry red, to rich dark chocolate walnut and oak tones, is remarkable.
Finished with proprietary waxes, or oils, the beauty of the wood grain becomes almost three-dimensional, infused with the light of many summers growth. Some lumber, like oak, has a complex grain that delivers gloriously repeating patterns.
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It's Long-Lasting
Natural wood furniture is not just robust and long-lasting, but, unlike some of us, it gets better looking as the years roll by. Colors deepen, and a patina of age can make the wood grain seem richer.
If a piece of solid wood furniture has been badly finished with varnish or paint, it doesn’t take much to get it looking amazing once again. With a little effort with sandpaper and a finishing product, it can be back to looking good as new in no time.
I have a table that was made by my uncle just after WWII. He and my aunt dined at it every day of their long marriage, and now it sits in our home. We also own an oak side table that his grandmother used. Both are in excellent condition. The side table was rescued from a paint shop, cleaned, sanded, and waxed!
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It's Unique
No two pieces of wood are exactly alike. Hardwood and softwood grains each have different qualities that make them suited to different jobs. Even mass-produced pieces of wooden furniture that have to aspire to a uniform aesthetic, and attain common quality standards, will each be unique.
A pair of bedside tables might match, in that they are made to the same design, but look closely at the door front, at the drawer, and at the top. They will each differ to some degree depending upon the regularity of the grain.
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Brings Nature Inside
The benefits of the natural world with regard to our mental health and general well-being have long been documented. However, we aren’t all lucky enough to be able to go for walks in the forest every day.
Real wood can help us to feel that same connection to the forest that we experience when we get out into a national park or sports field. The natural forms framed by a piece of solid wood furniture, the colors of the grain, and the way it flows within the structural necessity of furniture.
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Offers Easy Maintenance
Solid wood is easy to look after too. Keep it dry, dust it, and perhaps give it the occasional polish to keep it looking great. If a piece of wooden furniture is damaged it can be easily repaired. A scratch can be sanded out, stains polished away, and broken parts renewed.
Once a plastic laminate surface has been chipped, or marked, that’s it. It will never look like new ever again. Real wood, on the other hand, can be burned, painted, or otherwise mistreated, and still be revived to its former glory with a little time and care.
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Retains Value
A well-made piece of natural wood furniture will keep its value for years. Mid-century furniture has recently had something of a revival. If you have a chair, side tables, or a cabinet in the back of the garage that belonged to your parents, or grandparents, it might be worth something today.
The same goes for any investment in solid wood furniture you make right now, whether purchased from a local store or workshop or made at home, in your own shop. Real wood furniture is usually very well made and will hold its value over the decades.
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It Matches Any Interior Style
Do you have eclectic taste, enjoying a mix-and-match approach to home décor? Or are you someone who likes to live with a theme? Whatever your style, traditional, modern, or avant-garde, real wood is versatile enough to take on all your fancies.
The thing with natural wood furniture is that it is quality, and quality my friend, never goes out of style. I have a utility-style table in the great room that we use for hobbies, made from pink and yellow piranha pine. It doesn’t match anything else in the house, but it looks perfect where it is.
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It's Sustainable
Wood is one of the best-managed, most sustainable resources on the planet. As it grows it captures carbon while providing a habitat for wildlife. Cherry trees also provide food for birds, and people, every summer.
Oak grows particularly slowly, but as a resource is carefully stewarded by professional foresters ensuring that future generations can also benefit from using quality lumber. The fast-growing American black cherry tree is used to rehabilitate land that has suffered from mining or other industrial use.
By filling your home with natural wood furniture, you become part of this sustainable cycle, whether purchasing new, or upcycled pieces or making your own custom creations.
Tips for Using Natural Wood
Working with wood is one of the joys of being on planet Earth. It really is an amazing material, which you can bend, cut, and fashion to whatever you want. The versatility of lumber means that you can use it to make almost every functional piece of furniture you need.
The five top tips I have for using natural wood are these:
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Always make sure your tools are clean and sharp.
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Always have more than one tape measure, they disappear at will.
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Always keep your pencil point keen, and mark gently.
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Always stack and store your lumber carefully so you can see what you have.
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Always take time to enjoy what you are doing.
We Sell Natural Hardwood!
At North Castle Hardwood, one of the best parts is picking out the lumber for a project. You are always welcome to come down to our depot and spend time looking through our selection of top-quality natural wood.
We have been supplying hardwood locally for more than three decades, to furniture workshops here in the Mid-West, and beyond, to the master furniture makers of Japan.
Do we send them the best stuff? Of course we do, but not all of it. We have a huge range of fantastic North American-grown lumber for you to choose from.
If you can’t make it to our depot, call us. We can dispatch hand-picked pieces direct to your door.
