Wood Guide for Home Improvements | FREE Advice From Property Advice Blog

Choosing and Identifying Wood

Wooden furniture is a timeless classic in the home, but understanding the different qualities of different woods can help you determine if it has the right characteristics for the desired purpose things to consider are hardness, grains and colour. Identifying the wood of the furniture you are about to buy or perhaps an old piece in your property can also help you decide if it is worth restoring.

What is hardness in wood?

Wood can either be a hardwood or a softwood, this doesn’t necessarily refer to the feel of the wood, instead it refers to the tree itself, flowering trees are called hardwoods while conifers are softwoods, although in practice most hardwoods are harder than softwoods. Hardwood is generally more expensive than softwood, and usually has a richer colour and finer grain.

How can I identify wood?

When trying to identify wood look at its grain and colour. There are two different type of grain: open and closed, this is determined by the cell structure of the tree. If its cells are large the wood will appear rough and a filler may be needed to smooth the surface, this is an open-grain. If the cells are small the texture is smooth and it is close-grained. The type of grain and colour of the wood can help you identify the type of wood of the piece of furniture. More expensive woods are often more visually intricate, with distinctive patterns in their grains.

What is a veneer?

A veneer is when an expensive wood is glued onto a cheaper wood, so that you get the look of the expensive wood at a lower cost, because it is not a solid piece of furniture veneers are fragile and can more easily be damaged by attempts at restoring. To identify if a piece of furniture is veneered, look at the edges to see if you can spot a thin layer of glue or join. There is nothing wrong with a veneer but it is difficult to restore and the price of the piece should reflect the fact that it is not entirely made from the higher quality wood.

What is a wood combination?

In furniture, a wood combination is when two different types of wood have been used in one piece of furniture, this is particularly common in tables, a cheaper wood is used for the legs and hidden structural pieces, while a more expensive, visually appealing wood is used for the table top. If the piece of wood you are restoring uses multiple wood then you need to take extra care to make sure that the finish you use minimises the visual difference between the two types of wood.

A good piece of wooden furniture can be seen as an investment, it will last a lifetime and with simple restoration it can maintain a fresh, glossy look for years. Identifying woods is a useful skill to acquire when buying furniture or when deciding to restore a piece as it will tell you whether or not the price you are paying reflects the quality and rarity of the wood.