How To Identify Wood Types In Furniture

Don’t you feel relaxed whenever you sit or lay on your wood furniture? Well, aside from we feel closer to Mother Nature, they are durable and classy looking. But have you ever wonder how to identify wood types in furniture? This is an important aspect when we are choosing furniture in our house. So if you want to learn how, keep reading.

Why Should We Learn About Wood Types in Furniture?

Learning different wood types will help you appreciate a certain type of furniture. There are many types of wood in the world. Each of them has unique features, color, texture, and strength. So if you are familiar with wood types, you know the quality and strength of the furniture that you need in your house. If you are fond of making furniture, you can experiment with different types of wood. You can also decide what type of wood is applicable to your place, the type of wood that would that will fit in the style of furniture that you want, and more. But how to identify wood types in furniture?

How to Identify Wood Types in Furniture

Grain Direction

If you want to know how to identify wood types in furniture, start with the direction of the grain. The grain tells us about the orientation of the cell fibers in the wood. The orientation or direction of the grain will tell us if the wood will lose strength in the long run or durable. If you choose to have wood furniture with wavy grain, you’re on the right track because they are more durable than those with straight grains. Here’s how you can identify the type of wood based on grain direction:

1. Oak- has a quartersawn grains 
2. Pine - has straight grains 
3. Maple- has a mixture of grains 
4. Cherry- has straight grains 
5. Walnut- has straight grains 
6. Cedar- has straight grains 
7. Birch- has loose looking grains 
8. Ash- has a mixture of straight and wavy grains 
9. Poplar- has straight grains 
10. Douglas Fir- Straight and Slightly wavy grains

Color

Each type of wood differs in color. So if you want to find a certain type of wood in your furniture, look at the color. Some are can be dark in color, while some can be creamy. The color of the wood may also vary in age. But typically, here’s how to identify wood types in furniture based on color:

1. Oak- mostly light brown in color with a touch of red 
2. Pine - has a yellowish color with dark knots 
3. Maple- has a light reddish-brown color and sometimes light yellow. 
4. Cherry- reddish-brown in color 
5. Walnut- chocolate brown in color but sometimes incorporated with green or purple hue 
6. Cedar- reddish or slightly purple in color 
7. Birch- light and creamy color with a touch of medium brown 
8. Ash- light to medium brown in color 
9. Poplar- it is multi-colored but normally it has a creamy color with a touch of yellow. and brown. But sometimes comes with a mixture of green, gray, or purple. 
10. Douglas Fir- light-brown with yellow or red

Growth Rings

Growth rings are clues on how to identify wood types in furniture. If you will analyze the end of the board of your furniture like tables, chairs, or doors you can see the growth rings. The growth rings tells something about the radius of the tree’s growth.

1. Oak- has light to medium brown colored growth rings 
2. Pine - has dark brown colored growth rings 
3. Maple- has a medium brown colored growth rings 
4. Cherry- has dark brown colored growth rings 
5. Walnut- has pale yellow color on its outer rings and dark brown on the outer rings 
6. Cedar- has pinkish or reddish growth rings and pale yellow outer ring 
7. Birch- has dark brown growth rings 
8. Ash- has light brown and sometimes beige-colored growth rings with wide space 
9. Poplar- has dark brown growth rings. 
10. Douglas Fir- has dark yellow growth rings

Patterns

If we, humans, have fingerprints, woods has patterns. You can identify the type of wood used in the furniture simply by looking at its pattern. Below are the patterns that can help you in identifying wood furniture:

1. Oak- has an unusual pattern 
2. Pine - has dark brown knots 
3. Maple- has a unique pattern 
4. Cherry- has a wavy sapwood pattern 
5. Walnut- has a wavy and circular sapwood 
6. Cedar- has planks, knots, and dark brown stripes 
7. Birch- has horizontal thin horizontal strips 
8. Ash- has wide spacing of sapwood 
9. Poplar- has a straight uniform patterns 
10. Douglas Fir- shows wide range patterns

Conclusion 

Wood furniture is so classy that no matter what interior design you have at home, they can blend perfectly. Their natural color and patterns makes us feel closer to nature. They are so pleasing in the eyes and so comfortable. We can all agree that they are durable because unlike manufactured sofas, they last longer. Sometimes this furniture are even used by generations if the wood used to make the furniture is high-quality.

This is why we need to know how to identify wood types in furniture. So with one look, you know it is durable or not with the type of wood used. Now that we have shared with you the tips in identifying wood types, you can have the confidence in buying wooden furniture! Find out more about wood types.

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