Wood furniture has been around as long as, well, wood. And over the years, furniture makers have chosen their woods based on three basic criteria:
1. Availability
2. Durability
3. Appearance
For most of history, only local woods were available to craftsman. As commerce and transportation improved over the centuries, non-local woods became available. Heavy exportation of some woods on occasion put them in short supply or even worse. So the balance of supply, demand, and sustainability of desirable woods was always a challenge. Still is.
It used to be that if you wanted cherry furniture, you found it only where cherry trees grew. Once the choices of woods expanded from just the trees that grew nearby to a range of woods that were more durable and beautiful, furniture making expanded too. Craftsmen had the ability to move from practical and functional furniture made from local woods, to durable and beautiful furniture that could become an art form.
Of the 70,000 species of wood in the world, a small group has endured as being just right for furniture making. Many, but not all, are hardwoods. Which sounds sensible for building something durable, until you discover that not all hardwoods are hard. And not all softwoods are soft.
Though hardwoods generally are harder than softwoods, they're actually called that because of the type of tree they are. Hardwoods are flowering trees, like ash, beech, birch, cherry, hickory, mahogany, maple, oak, teak, and walnut. Softwoods are coniferous trees including cedar, fir, pine, and redwood.
American furniture from the 1700's was often made of hardwoods like cherry and walnut. But pine furniture was common also. Other woods used in this period were birch, maple, and oak. In the 1800's, fine furniture was mostly made from mahogany, oak, rosewood, and walnut.
Today, on the most affordable end of the spectrum, some furniture is made entirely of particle board and shipped flat from furniture plants in other countries, with inexpensive "quick assembly" hardware included. Known as "knock down" or KD furniture, these choices generally live a short life, but serve a very real function before being tossed out once something breaks. This is not furniture you repair.
For middle price range furniture, you'll find pieces that are crafted from less expensive woods like ash,fir, gum, pine, and poplar. They are assembled using simple construction methods and hardware that save time and money. Lower quality woods are also used for some unseen parts of this furniture. Though this furniture may last longer and look nicer, it's rare that it will be around for decades, much less generations.
Finding real hardwood furniture today is difficult, though not impossible. There are still a few companies in the U.S. that make traditional hardwood furniture using time honored wood crafting methods. The best of these furniture makers use hardwoods like American black cherry, American black walnut, and white oak that are sustainably harvested. Imported woods like African mahogany are selected for their sustainable availability, while the endangered mahogany species from Honduras or Cuba are avoided.
Among the handcrafted techniques that are still practiced are precision joints using dovetails or mortise and tenon, and woods that are hand selected for matching colors and grains. Hand sanding and precision hand fitting are paired with new smooth operating hardware for the best of old and new. These methods take more time, the hardwoods are more expensive, and the hardware is more refined, which adds up to a higher quality piece of furniture. And like many decisions we all make, you weigh the benefits of something beautifully made that will last for generations, against the higher cost to own it. For many, the decision to own hardwood furniture isn't hard at all.
Sheila McKinnon
