The Beginners Guide to Wood Species

Wood is a great material for tables and desks. Not only is wood more durable and lasts longer than other materials, a wooden kitchen, dining, coffee or conference room table also elevates working and living spaces by adding character. This guide will help you pick the right material for your home or office table.  

Hardwood Versus other Softwood Species

Wood species can be divided into two categories: softwood and hardwood. A common misunderstanding is that ‘hardwood’ is more solid than the ‘softer’ ‘softwood’. This is not always the case. In fact, the term ‘hardwood’ is typically used to group tree species that lose their leaves annually, whereas softwood trees come from a conifer and usually remain evergreen. For furniture, the softwood type that is most commonly used is pine. Pine is often stained with colour to imitate other, more valuable wood species. In general, for furniture production hardwood species are more suitable as they are of superior quality. For that reason, we do only work with hardwood species.

Use cases for the most popular hardwood species

Oak

Oak is the most popular wood species used for furniture, floors and for example whiskey barrels. Oak is highly durable, has a distinctive grain and a warm colour. It’s a timeless choice that is a good fit for many elegant interior settings.

Walnut

Walnut has a darker colour than most of the European species, with a high contrast bright edges and irregular form that lends it a unique character. For this reason, it is a popular choice of interior designers and architects looking for an iconic and unique centrepiece. There are two types of Walnut wood: The more common American Walnut and the more rare European Walnut. European Walnut usually doesn’t come in wide slabs but has a really rich texture, twisted grain, knots and colour palette from white, through yellow, beige to dark brown in one piece, whereas American Walnut is wider, but more regular and plain dark colour.  

Ash

Ashwood is a preferred choice of many carpenters and craftsmen. As is as durable as Oak while in the opinion of many, its grain and colour are even more appealing. Also, usually the price of Ashwood is lower than that of Oak and Walnut. It is, however, less well known and hence less common.

Beech

Beech has a light beige or even pink colour and a very regular grain. It’s usually used for toned down interiors, where the simple form of the object matters more than the natural features of the wood itself.

If you are still not sure what would be the right choice for you, contact us via filip@hardwoodhk.com to get a free consultation and to review our samples to decide which type of wood is right for your project.