Oak, mahogany, walnut, pine, rosewood, maple, elm; you are able to have some or all of these woods inside your home. But, do you know how to tell the difference between them? In this month’s column, we’ll talk within the various varieties of wood that are regularly noticed in antique furniture and some popular decorative treatments.

The Basics
Wood for antique mailboxes for sale is hard or soft. Once I say hard, I mean that the wood is dense, whereas, a soft wood is supple. A beneficial trick to tell the difference between hard and soft wood is that should you press your fingernail into a soft wood such as pine, it leaves an indentation. But, this does not happen with a hard wood such as oak.

Wood is coarse-grain or close-grain. In coarse-grain wood, the age rings inside the wood are far a part, giving it an uneven appearance. In close-grain woods, the age rings inside the wood are really close together, giving it a smooth, delicate appearance.

Sometimes, wood is stained. Lighter woods such as oak, elm and maple is also stained to resemble a darker mahogany or rosewood.

Some woods (mahogany, rosewood, burl walnut) are perceived being a lot more valuable than other woods (elm, maple, spruce). The reason for this really is availability. Woods that must be imported are a lot more costly than home-grown woods. Woods that are abundant are not as costly as woods that are scarce.

Oak
Oak is a coarse-grain hard wood observed in Europe and North America. Starting in 17th century Europe, oak was employed to make furniture observed throughout the home. There are numerous types such as red oak and white oak. Young oak is pale in color. But, over time and with polishing, oak darkens into a rich brown color.

Mahogany
Mahogany is a close-grain hard wood native to northern and central South The united states and also the West Indies. Mahogany was a well-known alternative in England during the mid-18th century for fine furniture making. It is a dark red color sometimes, however, it is dark brown. Red mahogany is observed inside the West Indies and brown mahogany is native to South America. Mahogany furniture continues being desirable today.

Rosewood
Rosewood is a close-grain hard wood indigenous to India, South The united states and also the West Indies. Rosewood is known as for the rose scent that releases after it is cut. Occasionally, I discover that people confuse rosewood and mahogany. Both woods is also red in color. However, when you look closely at rosewood, you’ll see fine black (and sometimes white) rings that are not offer in mahogany. One more trick to tell if an solution is rosewood is to select it up. Rosewood is a really heavy wood, heavier than mahogany. During the 17th century China, rosewood was a well-known alternative for fine furniture makers. As well, in 19th century Europe, it was employed to construct better-quality furniture for fine homes.

Walnut
Walnut is close-grain hard wood observed in Europe and North America. The color varies from light to a really rich golden brown color and it is not uncommon to discover walnut stained to look like mahogany. Sometimes, disease leads towards the unexpected. Burl walnut, the most prized form of walnut, effects from a disease that attacks the tree causing a beautiful scrolled, close-grain. These days you see the look of burl walnut replicated inside the plastic interiors of some greater end cars.

Pine
Pine is a pale, knotted soft wood with a wide, straight grain. It grows in Europe and North America. Pine was usually employed in furniture intended being painted. Everyday furniture – kitchen tables and chairs -were usually created from pine.

Maple & Elm
Maple and elm are coarse-grain hard woods observed in North The united states and Europe. They have been often employed in utilitarian furniture. Often a veneer of the finer wood was employed to these woods.

Veneers
Veneering is a procedure exactly where a really thin sheet of the a lot more costly wood is glued to a a smaller amount costly wood. Utilizing a smaller amount costly woods such as elm and maple and adding a a lot more costly mahogany or walnut veneer allowed furniture makers to provide furniture that was affordable for your larger clientele. You can hear an antique dealer say; “This table is walnut on maple.” The dealer means that the solution has a walnut veneer and underneath the genuine solution is maple. A walnut on maple table is a smaller amount valuable than a solid walnut table.

How do you tell if your furniture is veneered? Look at the edges in the piece. In case you see what appears being a seam, it is veneered. On the other hand, if the edges in the piece are seamless, it is solid.

Early veneers inside the 17th century have been hand-cut, so they might be uneven. But, inside the 19th century veneers began being cut by machine. This allowed the veneers being cut really thin and even. Depending on a way the wood is cut, veneering produces various effects. Butterfly veneering happens after a couple of opposing end grain veneers are diagonally cut from a branch. They’re employed to mirror every other.

Marquetry/Parquetry/Inlay
Marquetry is a procedure exactly where many varieties of wood are employed to a surface to make a picture. Flowers and birds have been usually the subjects. Exotic woods such as ebony, satinwood and tulipwood have been often employed.

The difference between marquetry and parquetry is the subject matter. Parquetry is a veneer that uses geometric patterns. Nowadays, you see it in parquet hardwood floors and ornate chess and backgammon boards.

Inlay is a decorative treatment exactly where materials other than wood are cut into a design. Inlays have been usually created of bone, ivory, mother of pearl, brass, tortoise shell. Marquetry, parquetry and inlay first appeared during the Italian Renaissance.

Gilding
Gilding is a procedure wherein gold leaf is employed with gesso (a plaster-like substance) to wood. It is extremely decorative and was well-known during the Italian Renaissance and also the Louis period in France.