Best Timber Furniture For your Home

Resistance is always a top priority for every customer when it comes to buying furniture.

The durability of each product is really what makes the real value out of your money.

When it comes to all the raw materials that ultimately give us the strongest furniture, wood comes on top. Timber has undoubtedly been our favorite when it comes to long lasting furniture products.

Wood is one of the strongest building materials till date, and this is exactly why wood furniture is highly popular.

However, it’s an obvious fact that the resilience and durability of your timber furniture comes from the wood type used in its manufacturing.

Therefore, we are here to help you look for the timber type best suited to your needs.

Before further ado, let’s jump into the needed information.

What to Look for in the Timbers for Furniture?

When it comes to buying timber furniture, the strength and sturdiness of the wood comes on top.

The denser the product, the longer you can expect it to last.

However, that’s really not all. In order to get yourself the best timber for furniture, you need to be able to distinguish wood types on the basis of the environments they are best suited in.

Timber that works great for your coffee table might not be the best purchase if you’re planning on using it to make an outdoor bench.

Therefore, we are here to help you know your right timber based on your individual needs.

The Best Situation to Use Oak

One of the most popular, as well as versatile, wood used for making furniture is oak.

It’s not just a very durable hardwood suitable for furniture, but it also has beautiful grain that makes it pretty appealing for the job.

So, even if you are mostly about aesthetics and not sturdiness, the texture and the finish oak offers is definitely great.

Pros

  • Highly durable
  • Versatile
  • Water resistant
  • Weather resistant
  • Does not warp
  • Appealing grain and texture
  • Naturally smooth finish
  • Stains easily
  • Easily available
  • Economical

Cons

  • Very heavy hardwood
  • Difficult to deal with when it comes to cutting, etc.
  • Might crack if not taken proper care of

Since it’s a hardwood, oak can be hard to work with sometimes. But it’s exactly for this reason that it’s highly resilient.

If you ask us, we think oak is suitable for products which are to suffer from constant rough conditions. For products that need fine and fancy wood finishing, this might not be the best timber.

Therefore, the most common uses of oak include flooring and homewares, etc.

The Best Situation to Use Sheesham

Sheesham is a hardwood commonly employed for furniture due to the various finishing shades it gives people. With the right tone in sheesham, a lot of people do not artificially stain or polish the wood surface.

In fact, even the grain structure varies with shades. Which is why a lot of customers love sheesham furniture in its natural finish.

Pros

  • Highly durable
  • Versatile
  • Water resistant
  • Weather resistant
  • Appealing grain and texture
  • Natural finish is highly preferred
  • Stains easily
  • Easily available
  • Easy to cut, etc.
  • Does not crack

Cons

  • Expensive
  • Causes allergies, breathing problems, etc in some people

Unlike most of the hardwoods available, sheesham is way easier to work with, you do not have to worry about cutting or etching on it, as it’s moderately coarse surface makes it very suitable for the purpose.

Considering all these factors, sheesham is highly employed for manufacturing of doors, furniture, cabinets, etc.

The Best Situation to Use Fir

When it comes to building small houses or commercial buildings, fir is definitely a favorite timber used by most builders.

Fir is a type of softwood, even though it’s harder and sturdier than a lot of woods that are classified as hardwoods.

Pros

  • Highly durable
  • Pretty hard for a softwood
  • Water resistant
  • Weather resistant
  • Appealing grain and texture
  • Stains easily
  • Easily available

Cons

  • Slightly expensive
  • Difficult to deal with when it comes to cutting, etc.

With it’s straight, orangish grain, it gives a pretty aesthetic look to the room - whether you are looking for an old-school rusty vibe or a modern one.

Mostly, you will see fir framing residential constructions.

One reason for this is that fir comes from really tall buildings, and thus it’s easier for builders to get their hands on long wooden boards to achieve the look they are going for.

The Best Situation to Use Mango Wood

Mango wood is a rather soft and pretty pliable hardwood that is utilized for a number of purposes when it comes to manufacturing furniture.

With its beautiful tone, the easy handling, and the least toxic dust, mango wood is undoubtedly a great option to employ no matter what furniture product you are looking forward to.

Pros

  • Highly durable
  • Versatile
  • Water resistant
  • Weather resistant
  • Soft and pliable
  • Appealing grain and texture
  • Stains easily
  • Easy to cut, etc.
  • Easily available
  • Economical

Cons

  • Requires polishing
  • Discolors easily
  • Catches fungus easily
  • Might crack if not taken proper care of

This hardwood is simply great for rough usage, which is why it’s commonly used for flooring purposes.

It does, however, need constant protection from insect attacks.

While it’s not smooth and needs artificial polishing, the color of mango wood is absolutely beautiful and would definitely add to your aesthetics.

The Best Situation to Use Acacia

Acacia - a hardwood - has been seen around for many decades in the shape of a number of products.

The huge popularity that this wood type enjoys mainly comes from the durability that it comes. The hardness and density are its best features.

Pros

  • Highly durable
  • Versatile
  • Water resistant
  • Weather resistant
  • Does not warp
  • Appealing grain and texture
  • Naturally smooth finish
  • Almost scratch proof
  • Stains easily
  • Easily available

Cons

  • Slightly expensive
  • High maintenance
  • Might crack if not taken proper care of
  • Darkens over time

Acacia is a pretty beautiful wood type to employ for furniture. It gives you all sorts of natural shades that you might be looking for without any need for stains - from lightest amber to the darkest mahogany.

To add to the pros, it’s even comparatively scratchless as compared to other timbers, saving you a lot of maintenance money.

The Best Situation to Use Pine

Pine is used to make cupboards, tables, and other furniture that needs to be solid, hard and durable enough, and it has been doing the job the right way for many decades now.

Pinewood is a softwood, yet it’s stiff and resistant.

Pros

  • Highly durable
  • Versatile
  • Water resistant
  • Weather resistant
  • Lightweight
  • Appealing grain and texture
  • Easily available
  • Economical

Cons

  • Has knots on finished surface
  • High maintenance
  • Susceptible to scratches
  • Might crack if not taken proper care of

Whether you need to go with an inexpensive option, or a lightweight one, pine will give you all and still be worth all the money you spend!

Despite being soft and pliable, it has a pretty long lifespan and brings value to your spent money.

The Best Situation to Use Mahogany

Mahogany is commercially popular when it comes to furniture manufacturing because it’s not just durable, but also beautiful.

Having a mahogany product or two around will definitely give your home an appealing vibe, and this is an important factor for almost all customers making wood purchases.

Pros

  • Highly durable
  • Versatile
  • Water resistant
  • Weather resistant
  • Does not warp
  • Appealing grain and texture
  • Naturally smooth finish

Cons

  • Not that easily available
  • Expensive
  • Uneven coloration throughout
  • Being sold a fake mahogany is a very common scam nowadays

Whether it comes down to musical instruments, or simply coffee tables, mahogany is greatly employed for a number of purposes that it fairly rewards.

The Best Situation to Use Clipboard or MDF

Clipboard or medium density fiberboard - more commonly known as MDF simply - is not exactly natural wood.

While it is made of wood, it is achieved by a mixture of softwood and hardwood that result in a product with a medium density, which also means it’s never as durable and strong as natural wood - even in comparison to the softest timbers!

In fact, it’s easily prone to damage, and once damaged, it’s even harder to repair.

Pros

  • Environment friendly as it saves wood
  • Versatile
  • Very easy to work on
  • Naturally smooth finish
  • Stains easily
  • Easily available
  • Economical

Cons

  • Weaker than natural woods
  • Absorbs water
  • Easily damaged by nails, screws, etc.
  • Might crack if not taken proper care of

MDF might not be the most durable option for you to employ, but it definitely is the most economical one.

Conclusion

A little education before making such a big investment for your home is a necessity and not just some additional information.

To make sure you spend money at the right place, on the right product, you need to know your requirements and the wood types suited to your needs.

With that being said, we tried our best to provide you information on all that you needed to know. If you still have any questions, please feel free to reach us out!

 If you need any more advice please contact our team at hello@utopiahome.com.au