Solid Wood

Solid timber carries structural and aesthetic roles that no other material can fill. Where section, mass or re-finishability are specified, solid wood is the only answer.

• Furniture legs and frames
• Hand-carved decorative elements
• Staircase components
• Heritage joinery and mouldings
• Solid oak flooring
• Structural joinery members

Solid wood is timber cut directly from the tree — structure, not surface. We use it where furniture works hardest: frames, legs, rails, edges and carved elements, paired with veneered panels where wide, stable surfaces are needed. The species sets the character of the piece, and the choice runs on four axes: density, grain, colour and how the timber behaves under the maker’s tools.

The benchmark furniture hardwood. Dense, hard-wearing and honest in figure, oak suits everything from dining tables to staircases. We favour white oak over red for its tighter figure and natural moisture resistance — it is the species that takes daily use in hospitality settings without complaint. Quarter-sawn oak adds the shimmering ray fleck prized in Arts and Crafts work; plain-sawn shows the familiar cathedral grain.

American black walnut is the luxury default: rich browns running to purplish black, a fine, tight grain that machines and carves cleanly, and a polish that feels as good as it looks. Its consistency makes it the species we reach for on curved work and intricate detailing — desks, dining tables and casegoods where the timber itself is the design.

The frame-maker’s wood. Beech is strong, stable and even-textured, with a subtle pale grain that takes stain uniformly — which is why it sits inside most of our upholstered furniture, working invisibly as the sprung skeleton of sofas and chairs, and shows itself in clean contemporary pieces where a quiet, light surface is wanted.

Pale, straight-grained and unusually flexible for its strength, ash is the species for bent and curved components — chair backs, arms, sweeping rails. Quarter-sawn it reads calm and linear; plain-sawn it shows a bold, open figure. Its near-white colour anchors light, contemporary schemes.

Teak, rosewood, mahogany and other dense tropical species bring colour and figure nothing temperate can match — and teak’s natural oils make it the standard for outdoor furniture. We source exotic timbers against responsible certification, and where a species is under pressure we propose exotic veneers or dyed alternatives that deliver the look with a clearer conscience.

Every commission starts with selection — boards chosen for the specific piece, grain matched across components before a single cut. Timber is conditioned to workshop humidity, machined, joined with the joints the load demands, then finished in oil, stain or lacquer. Species samples are part of our sampling service; specifying from a photograph is the one mistake we will always talk a client out of.

With two varieties, red and white, oak is known to be easy to work with and relatively strong. However, furniture makers often opt for white oak over red oak for its attractive figure and moisture-resistance.

Walnut is an attractive darker hardwood with rich dark browns to purplish-black in colour. The timber is moderately hard, tough and strong, with a fairly coarse grain, and is easy to work with. It features particularly beautiful grain patterning, and can be polished to an exceptional finish.

Our beech timber is pale in colour and features a fine texture. This is a versatile and smart material for a range of different projects as beech has good strength and stiffness and is also suitable for stream bending. It takes stains and dyes brilliantly, and has good turning abilities for furniture.

Teak wood is one of the most highly durable timbers available, and also one of the most expensive. It is perfect for outdoor furniture as it contains natural oils and rubbers which gives it extraordinary resistance to chemical and insect attack, and general exposure outdoors. Teak is incredibly hard celled and as it weathers over time, the wood goes from a honey brown colour to a slivery grey.

Our Iroko is a very durable, richly coloured and versatile teak alternative for outdoor furniture. Originating from Tropical Africa, Iroko is light yellow in colour when freshly cut, turning to beautiful golden brown when exposed to light. Used as an alternative to teak it comes with an interlocking grain, a fairly coarse texture, and has a similar strength. It is also has a decay and insect resistant composition.

Using various techniques we are able to create textures on wood to your specification.

Another example of texturing wood is by sand blasting which accentuates the woods natural grain by removing the softer parts of the wood to create a rustic texture.