Wood Furniture

Wood furniture is central to many, many design styles. Whether pine or oak or mahogany, wood gives a warm and traditional charm to any design scheme. Wood furniture varies from the intricately carved pine pieces, popular in Mexican design to the simply constructed rustic look of barn wood furniture, with lots of examples and styles in between. Below are some of the more commonly found styles of wood furniture:

Pine Wood Furniture

Lodge furniture takes its inspiration from the rustic summer houses that dot the Great Lakes and inland lakes from Maine to Minnesota. This style is casual and sturdy, using rough hewn logs and even twigs in its construction. Sometimes the tree bark is left intact for interest, as on lodge-style bed posts.

Handcrafted items, such as bent-twig chairs and hand-planed chests, are commonly found in lodge furniture. Finishes are usually natural, in warm brown tones. Hardware is simple and utilitarian rather than decorative.

Another common style of wood furniture is the Adirondack style, which grew up around the elegant lodge homes that dot New York's Adirondack Mountains. The most common piece of Adirondack style furniture is the Adirondack chair, the slat-backed, low chair, that is popular as lawn furniture.

Adirondack furniture is typically made of oak, cedar, birch, teak, and hickory – the woods found in upstate New York. Such furniture is simply constructed with fluid lines, but little adornment. Adirondack furniture makers are some of the country's most talented artisans and hand-crafted pieces are prized as collector's items.

Adirondack Chairs

Barn wood furniture makes use of salvaged wood from antique barns. Rustic, yet charming; sturdy, yet rough; rustic barn wood furniture brings the feel of 19th century farm life into the living room and dining room. Originally created out of necessary, today barn wood pieces are popular for their rustic style and as a way of recycling and practicing green design.

Barn wood furniture is found either with a natural finish or boldly painted in rich hues, such as burnt orange, bright yellow, and vibrant red. Such pieces are commonly found as dining room and kitchen tables, coffee tables, and striking armoires and cabinets. Owning a barn wood piece is owning a little piece of American history.

furniture is distinguished by its use of light pine wood, combined with decorative wrought-iron hardware. Mexican-style wood furniture is a staple in Southwestern design. Popular pieces include rounded top armories, massive dining room tables, and side and coffee tables. Many Mexican furniture pieces have intricately carved motifs and designs and are stained in the warm honey tones of sunny Mexico.

British colonial style combines the elegance of British design with the sturdiness necessary for tropical climates. This is the style imported by British colonists, eager to bring a little piece of England to their homes around the British Empire. British colonial furniture is typified by hard, tropical woods, such as mahogany, teak, and ebony, which will withstand the humidity of the tropics. Caning for chair seats is common as are fanciful embellishments, such as carved pineapples atop wooden bedposts.

Campaign furniture is another form of British colonial furniture. These pieces are designed to be disassembled and transported with the British troops, adventurers, or explorers as they moved their camp from one location to another. Pieces, such as desks, chairs, and cabinets are constructed so that they fold up or break down in sections for easier transport.

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