Antique Wood – Aren’t They Priceless?

One of the hallmarks of antique furnishing and home decoration is the extensive use of fine wood. From antique wood flooring to antique wood file cabinet exquisite finishes and wood grains give these pieces a degree of solidity and refinement often lacking in more modern pieces with their reliance on synthetics and particle board.

Recognizing Antique Woods

Recognizing different variations of wood is simply a matter of practice. In some periods wood grain was obscured by heavy black veneers but on any piece where you can see the true color and grain type, you can identify the wood used.

Mahogany, for instance is a fine grain hard wood with a reddish-brown hue that has been a favorite of furniture makers for centuries for its weight and stability. Another hard wood, oak, has even greater density and durability but lacks the rich color of mahogany. Oak is common in both blond and dark finishes and is often present in antique flooring as well as furniture. Since oak is not considered a luxury wood, it is often found in austere, functional pieces like Shaker furniture or pieces from the Arts and Crafts period.

Rosewood has a reddish hue not unlike mahogany b ut the grain is larger and can be both black or whitish in appearance. Rosewood is a hard wood suitable for furniture and flooring and is also something of a favorite with piano makers.

Pine is an extremely soft wood and subject to dents and dings. It is, however, a popular choice for less expensive furnishings because it takes paint so well. Many pieces crafted from antique pine wood are covered in paint or varnish so the best way to determine the presence of pine is to lift the piece of furniture. Pine has a very low weight so this is usually a good indicator as is looking on the underside of a given piece to see if the wood is so pale as to almost be white in appearance.

These are but a few examples of the many kinds of woods used in antique furniture and in vintage buildings. If you really want to become conversant in identifying woods, find a good reference book at your local library or bookstore or conduct research online. There's no substitute for studying photographs of good exa mples of given woods that allow you to memorize both the color and the grain pattern.

Continue to: Guidelines to Follow before Buying Antique Exotic Wood

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