Natural Wood Styles Furniture Favourites

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31084, 13 June 1966, Page 2

Natural Wood Styles Furniture Favourites

Once wood “in the raw” was only for those who liked to live country style—scrubbed tables and creaking unpolished floors. But times have changed. Nowadays, natural wood gives natural elegance to a room, provided that it is used stylishly. That means linking it with other furnishings in colours chosen to bring out the rich tones. You can mix types of wood, too, to get a beautiful and subtle scheme. There are now about 150 types of wood in everyday use and all give a long-lasting

labour-saving surface if they are cared for properly. Some of the more enlightened furniture makers are using different woods in one piece of furniture: light deal and dark beech oembine effectively. You will find that blending of wood colours creates its own golden glow and grains and knots of the different species all marry in to form an interesting and cohesive whole.

Soft-wood, particularly if exposed to heat or steam, needs treatment with a plastic sealer—there are plenty of these on the market—and should then be dressed with paste wax or liquid wax. The seal will last for months or years.

If you cannot afford real wood, there are simulated surfaces in plastic and veneer. There are even some skilfully printed wallpapers which will fool everyone except the perfectionist armed with a magnifying glass or even worse a penknife. . . .