Red Oak
Classic Oak Furniture – Your Complete Guide to the Best Oak Furniture
Buying oak furniture for your home is the ideal way to give your residence that blend of style and durability that only oak can provide. It’s no wonder that oak has been the furniture wood of choice for carpenters and craftsmen for hundreds of years. Imagine the charm of a Brooklyn dressing table mirror gracing your bedroom. Or some fine lounge oak tables and chairs in your living room. The fact is that both dark and light oak furniture can look wonderful in every room in your home. Here’s you complete guide to acquiring the best oak furniture.
First, let’s look at what oak is. Oak is the wood from the hardwood oak tree, a genus is native to the northern hemisphere. Oak comes in two main varieties – red and white. Both have a similar grain but white oak features longer rays. White oak is more durable that red and is, of course, lighter in colour.
Red oak wood is popular for flooring, furniture, and kitchenware among other things. It’s a carpenter’s dream being easily sanded, stained and finished.
Light oak is known for its toughness and resistance to rot and moisture. This makes is more suitable outdoor use, in patio furniture, for example. Popular light oaks include Orly, Shaker, Cambridge, Dorset, Mobel Oak Range, Hereford, Atlantis, and Timberland.
So why should you choose oak furniture for your home? The answer can be explained in the two words ‘beauty’ and ‘durability’.
The beauty of oak furniture comes from its colour and grain. Oak has a timeless, classic beauty. This means that an item such as a Brooklyn dressing table mirror looks as good in a sleek apartment at Canary Wharf as it would in a rustic cottage deep in the countryside.
When it comes to colour, oak has few peers. The colours of oak range from light golden shades to a medium brown. Oak wood is known for its unique grain, which is especially pronounced when it’s quarter sawn. And oak is a porous hardwood which means that it stains well.
As for durability, oak’s hardness protects it from the knocks of everyday life. Oak also has tannin acid present in its grain which makes it resistant to insects, mold and fungus. In fact, most damage to oak results from hot, corrosive or dirty objects placed on the surface of the wood. Oak’s durability makes it perfect for homes with active children – it’s very impervious to blows and scratches.
When it comes to buying oak furniture, your two main options are solid oak and veneer. In the latter, a layer of solid oak is glued to a less valuable wood such as pine, plywood or particleboard. Oak veneers can look very nice and are often strong and durable through being made by overlapping pieces. However, low quality veneers can peel, warp or bubble up and this is difficult to repair.
If you’re buying solid oak furniture your choices are dark or light oak. Your decision will depend on such factors as the size of your rooms and the colours of your walls, floors and existing furniture.
Dark oaks look heavier so might not be suitable in a small room. Light oaks create an ambiance of light and space. Light oak furniture also has a more chic and modern look.
Whatever type of home you live in, you’re sure to find the perfect oak furniture to blend in and enhance your lifestyle. Perhaps you’d choose a stylish lounge oak coffee table in your living room or a classic dining table for marvelous meals in your dining room.
You’ll be pleased to know, too, that oak furniture is very easy to look after. Clean up spills immediately and just rub down the oak surface about once a month.
Oak furnishings are a major purchase but you should look on them as an investment. Buying quality oak furniture for your home will bring you decades of use and pleasure and you’ll be joining a tradition that dates back centuries.
When looking to buy oak furniture, you can find an array of online retailers that offer full details of their products including high resolution images on their websites. Look for an established retailer with a wide range of products with detailed descriptions and a long history of customer recommendations.
About the Author
Michiel Van Kets writes articles for Oak Furniture Solutions, UK’s leading supplier of oak furniture providing a vast range of quality yet affordable oak furniture for your home and office. The company is continually looking for new furniture ranges for the customers that are made from timber from sustainable sources or reclaimed wood. View information on products such as light oak furnituree, lounge oak and dressing table mirrors.
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