Your Guide To Hardwoods

Looking to buy hardwood furniture? There is much in the way of Amish handcrafted furniture that one can choose from. And since Amish furniture always boasts the best hardwood raw material you can ever hope to find, it makes sense to acquaint yourself with your options as regards the different kinds of hardwoods available:

Quarter Sawn White Oak - This kind of wood is among the most sought after - this wood's special grain pattern is achieved by a special sawing technique, at a 90 degree angle to the rings. This is a lighter and cooler color of wood.

Red Oak - For furniture with that typical warm look, read oak is an excellent choice. This strong and durable wood type has an attractive and visible grain which is its typical characteristic.

Cherry and Rustic Cherry- The special characteristic of this wood is that is darkens and appears more attractive as the years go by. This is fine grained wood with a distinctive brown-red color. A great choice for timeless and elegant furniture designs. Cherry wood that is less refined and which is sawn in a manner so as to accentuate its knots, pits and sap wood is known as rustic cherry wood. This can be in a range of colors ranging from the light to the deeper, darker colors.

Maple - Another highly popular choice for Amish furniture, this is a favourite because this is the hardest variety of wood domestically grown. Because this is such durable wood and so long lasting it is a popular choice. It is characterized by very fine almost invisible grain and a light, bright coloring that can add brightness to a room.

Brown Maple - The characteristic shading of tans, whites and browns along with warm creams is a feature of this rustic looking wood. This sort of wood takes paint or a dark stain better than lighter stains.

Hickory and Rustic Hickory - Hickory is another popular choice for Amish furniture makers because of its beautiful creamy, reddish colors. The homey look is achieved by its smooth medium grain. A rustic look for hickory is achieved by less refining of the wood and a method of sawing that permits you to see the center wood and the sap wood as well.

Walnut - Another very popular choice for Michigan furniture makers, this rich and distinctive wood can come in a range of beautiful colors. The brown could be tinted purple or could be a deep chocolate color. There could be grayish, blackish or even a bluish tint that walnut wood could have. It is highly prized because this is the only kind of dark brown hardwood that is available in the area that is not imported. This is a midrange hardwood – not as hard as maple or oak, but harder than cherry wood.

With this guide to hardwoods you are now better equipped to make informed choices about the sort of furniture you want to buy - your preferences and your requirements.