Source: Planet Ark Environmental Foundation.
There is no household area that doesn’t suit the warmth, richness, comfort and finesse of wooden furniture. Tables, chairs, bed frames, shelves, chests of drawers, cupboards and even ornaments—the advantages of wooden furniture in the home cannot be overstated. Most of all, wood offers a unique combination of aesthetic appeal and peerless structural integrity that other materials can’t reflect.
As part of nature-connected interior design, wood can transform the mood of a room or entire house, creating a homely, welcoming feel and a truly 'organic' sense. It’s also not a fad—this material and has been used for furniture construction for generations upon generations, and as such offers a timeless quality that cannot be replicated.
All the reasons why using wood is the best choice for furniture would make a long and detailed list, but here are some of the principal ways any furniture scheme can benefit from incorporating a wooden touch.
Strength and durability
Wood is, of course, a long-lasting and robust material and is the perfect choice for anyone looking for longevity from their furniture. Whether your choice is hardwood or not, there is an innate stability and reliability to a well-made wooden chair or desk.
This durability ensures that wooden furniture offers excellent value for money, and should you ever want to sell a piece, solidly made, well-looked-after furniture can maintain its value over the years.
Durability also ensures easy maintenance. Waxing, polishing and oiling only needs to be carried out occasionally, and is an undemanding process.
Look and feel
As mentioned, wood can add a certain dignity and charm to any room, whether it be lighter-coloured wood or rich darker hues. And when crafted by a skilled artisan, there is boundless potential for design innovation to bring further aesthetic allure to a piece of furniture.
Wooden furniture can also go a long way to creating a sense of the natural world indoors. If you live in a high-density apartment block in a city, you may wish to foster a sense of nature in your living space. Wood is the perfect way to achieve this, through both its wide-ranging colour spectrum, and the fascinating patterns of grains and fibres. Wood can also immediately bring warmth to otherwise sterile surroundings.
Sustainability
When responsibly sourced and certified, wood represents an excellent option for sustainability, and is thus an ecologically sound way of furnishing a home.
Wood that is responsibly sourced is the only renewable building material around. This means, trees that are harvested for their wood can be replenished by new growth. What's more, the carbon footprint that results from the production and processing of wood products is drastically lower than that for other building materials. And with up to 50 per cent of the dry weight of wood being carbon, they also have the capacity to store carbon, something that’s crucial in the fight against climate change.
Another way wood is a sustainable option is that it gives you the opportunity to 'buy local' from specialised artisans in your community. This gives you the chance to not only support the local timber industry, but also the local economy.
Variety
The vast range of colours and tones of wood means that plenty of variety is available for style and look. And this is not to mention the subtle but noticeable differences between the grains and textures of different species and cuts.
Beyond the actual material, there is further variety available in that every furniture maker – particularly if you are buying from an individual craftsman – offers a different slant on design according to what type of furniture is being constructed, along with personal tastes (yours and theirs). There is little uniformity when it comes to wooden furniture, and certainly scope to get creative design-wise to ensure a one-of-a-kind piece.
Versatility
Unlike many other materials, wood looks good in pretty much any setting. Wooden furniture can be a part of any design scheme, be it modern or rustic, and different species will blend together tastefully within one room or house. You might consider spotted gum or red gum for a large dining table and pine for a dresser: either way, these wooden tones bring a seamless grace to any home.
And of course, its versatility extends to the outdoors. When treated with oils to withstand exposure to the elements, furniture made of timbers—such as jarrah and treated pine—can look wonderful in the garden or on a veranda.
Photo: Milker - Yellow Diva