Knowledge center · Woods in antique furniture

Knowledge · Wood

Woods in antique furniture

The living tree, the end grain, and the figure — so you can see what your furniture is made of.

Wood

European beech

A pale, hard, even wood that excels at steam bending. Very common in chairs, bent parts, frames, and European working furniture.

Wood

American black cherry

A fine furniture wood that begins pinkish brown and darkens with light and time. Valued for its smooth surface, calm grain, and warm luster.

Wood

American black walnut

A dark, even chocolate-brown wood, medium-hard and stable — the classic American cabinet wood, and the wood of mid-century modern furniture.

Wood

Cedar

A fragrant softwood, relatively light and resistant to decay and insects — the wood of wardrobes and chests in the Middle East and the Mediterranean, and the timber of the Temple in Jerusalem.

Wood

European walnut

A classic cabinet wood in varying browns, with a fine grain and wavy or curly figure. Walnut appears as solid wood, as veneer, and in marquetry.

Wood

True mahogany

A family of tropical cabinet woods in a reddish brown, with good stability and excellent carving and polishing. The trade name “mahogany” is also used for other woods, so it calls for caution.

Wood

Hard maple

A dense, pale wood with a fine texture, used in fine furniture and sometimes showing curly, wavy, or bird’s-eye figure.

Wood

Oak

A hard, heavy wood with large pores and prominent rays. Oak is one of the most important woods in antique European furniture, for its strength, its durability, and its rich appearance.

Wood

Olive

A hard, dense, oily wood with twisted grain and dramatic dark-brown streaks — the most local wood in Israel, and in furniture used for veneer, small objects, and special pieces, not for mass production.

Wood

Rosewood (palisander)

A heavy, expensive tropical wood, purplish brown with black streaks and a rose scent when worked — the veneer wood of Regency furniture, Art Deco, and Danish design of the 1960s. All Dalbergia species are protected under CITES.

Wood

Scots pine

A relatively light softwood, with clear rings and knots. Common as a structural wood, in backs, in drawers, and under veneer in European furniture.

Wood

Teak

A golden-brown tropical wood, oily and naturally durable. Associated with fine furniture, outdoor furniture, and Scandinavian and mid-20th-century design.