There are tens of thousands of tree species and thus wood types worldwide; some of them are not yet known, and many are not yet researched and scientifically investigated. However, only a few dozen of them are used as timber and felled either in forests or in timber plantations.
Typical characteristics of different wood types include wood color, grain, pore structure, and density or weight of the wood. Depending on these characteristics, some woods are more likely to be used in construction (roof beams, facades, carports, entire wooden houses…), interior finishing (floor coverings, stairs, windows, doors…), or furniture making.
Wood Color:
- Generally, a distinction is made between light and dark wood types. However, this color is not a fixed value but can vary depending on location, growth conditions, and the accumulation of resins or other chemical compounds. Lighter wood types include, for example, maple, birch, spruce, pine, fir; darker and reddish wood types include acacia, beech, oak, mahogany, teak, sheesham.
- Wood types also have shades such as light brown, brown, reddish-brown, whitish, yellowish, gray. These shades are also dependent on the environment but can also vary greatly within a single tree. Sapwood, for example, usually has a different color than heartwood.
- Furthermore, wood darkens over time, and this process is also dependent on the wood itself and, for example, sun exposure. Beech wood, for instance, darkens little, while chestnut becomes significantly darker in a few years.
Grain:
In general, it can be said that every piece of wood is unique - just as every tree is unique. Some wood types have a rather uniform and subtle pattern, while others have a very distinctive grain and pattern. And here too, there are differences within a tree species. For example, 'wild oak' has a stronger grain, more knots, and cracks than 'normal' oak, although both are the same wood type. These differences, like wood color, are caused by location and environmental conditions. Sheesham wood, for example, has a very strong grain with clearly different structures, while rubberwood is rather uniform with fine pores.
Density and Hardness:
A distinction is made between hardwood and softwood based on the so-called oven-dry density. The oven-dry density refers to the average bulk density of dry wood, i.e., at 0% wood moisture.
Hardwood has an oven-dry density of more than 0.55 g/cm³, i.e., over 550 kg/m³. Hardwood types for furniture and dining tables include, for example, acacia, birch, beech, oak, rubberwood.
Softwood has an oven-dry density of less than 0.55 g/cm³, i.e., under 550 kg/m³. Softwood types include, for example, spruce, pine, larch, lime, fir.
The oven-dry density also provides information about the buoyancy of wood. All wood types with a density below 1 g/cm³ float. However, there are also woods that sink in water, such as the very heavy Bongossi wood or Lignum Vitae.
Combination of different wood types in a room:
The combination of different wood types in a room is, of course, primarily a matter of taste that everyone must decide for themselves.
However, there are a few tips that can be quite helpful when choosing wood colors and furniture:
- Either combine subtle colors and grains, for example, lighter tones together, or
- Combine strongly contrasting colors, grains, and contrasts, for example, a light table with dark chairs or a strongly grained table with solid-colored chairs.
- No more than 2-3 shades in one room; otherwise, the different nuances can quickly appear restless.
