Wood Guide | Kvadro Furniture

Wood Guide
Listed below you will find the photographs and general characteristics of hardwoods which are used in KVADRO furniture construction. All KVADRO furniture is made of solid wood. Various finish colours are available. You may call us or email us if you have any questions.

Other Names: Red Maple, Maple, Soft Maple
Hardness: moderately heavy, hard and strong. Brown Maple is about 25% softer than Hard Maple. Brown Maple has a rating of 950 on the Janka Hardness Scale* (same as cherry).
Finishing: Finishes well. Brown Maple stains unevenly and shows variations in colour shades. The darker is the stain the more solid is the colour. Lighter stains reveal the natural characteristics of Brown Maple showing the wood’s broad range of grain colour which cangive a “wooden” feel to the furniture piece.
Grain:grain is fine, not distinctive
Distinctive Characteristics: works great for contemporary designs. A reasonably priced quality hardwood which makes it a popular choice. With proper care, furniture made of Brown Maple will serve for years.

Other Names: American Cherry
Hardness: It is a softer wood so it is prone to scratches and denting with a lot of use. It is still a hardwood and has a rating of 950 on the Janka Hardness Scale* (same as Brown Maple).
Finishing: Stains and finishes evenly in a variety of colours. Natural Cherry Wood has a warm reddish hue which is seen in all of the cherry stains.
Grain: semi-porous wood. Very fine, closed grain. Cherry often shows a waving curly figure when finished.
Distinctive Characteristics: a relatively rare wood. Used primarily for high-end fine furniture and musical instruments. When exposed to the light, cherry wood tends to darken with age into deeper tone, especially the first year after being finished.

Other Names: Canadian Walnut, American Walnut
Hardness: Tough hardwood of medium density. Relatively heavy in weight. A rating of 1010 on the Janka Hardness Scale*.
Finishing: Walnut is usually used in clear finishes and oils which bring out satiny grain. Comes naturally in creamy white colour with light brown to dark chocolate brown variations, occasionally with a purplish cast and darker streaks. The wood develops a rich patina that grows silkier with age.
Grain: straight, moderately open.
Distinctive Characteristics: A high-end wood used primarily in fine furniture, flooring, carving and wooden accents. Has a very unique look due to colour and grain variations.

Other Names: Oak
Hardness: the wood is hard and heavy. Offers great wear-resistant. Oak has a rating of 1290 on the Janka Hardness Scale*.
Finishing: Staines and finishes evenly and offers wide variety of finish tones. Has a slight pinkish tone.
Grain: open-pored, grainy wood. Reddish Grain is pronounced, with coarse texture
Distinctive Characteristics: broad grain gives the furniture made of oak a pronounced appearance. Widely available and reasonably priced.

Other Names: Eastern White Oak
Hardness: great wear-resistance. Durable and heavy. A rating of 1360 on the Janka Hardness Scale*.
Finishing: Takes a finish well and consistently
Grain: Quarter Sawn White Oak features a unique grain pattern which is achieved by cutting the wood at a 90 degree angle to thetree’s growth rings. It shows a lot of grain but it has a tight and fine texture.
Distinctive Characteristics: As white oak is highly resistant to liquids it has been extensively used for ship timbers, barrels and casks. Thus, it is especially good for tables.

Other Names: Sugar Maple, Rock Maple, Maple
Hardness: hard, heavy and strong, highly resistant to wear. A rating of 1450 on the Janka Hardness Scale*.
Finishing: finishes extremely well. Stain and finish are very smooth and evenly distributed.
Grain: closed grain, uniform texture.
Distinctive Characteristics: strong as it is hard maple is the excellent choice for such furniture that requires a lot of abuse. For example, it’s widely used in cutting boards because it imparts no taste to food and holds up well.

Other Names: Pecan Nut, Sweet Pecan, Nogal Morado, Pecanier
Hardness: Extremely tough and scratch resistant. Very heavy in weight. A rating of 1820 on the Janka Hardness Scale*.
Finishing: Stains evenly in a full range of medium-to-dark finishes.
Grain: Natural colour is the mixture of cream with reddish brown grain. Sometimes hickory grain reminds of red oak but it is more irregular,smoother and less pronounced.
Distinctive Characteristics: Hickories grow slowly and it is not unusual for a tree to take 200 years to mature. It’s the hardest, heaviest and strongest North American wood.

Distinctive Characteristics: Rustic Hickory and Rustic Cherry have the same characteristics as Premium/Regular Cherry and Hickory.
Rustic wood types feature such natural characteristics as knots, small season checks and mineral streaks. It’s a showcase of the natural beauty of wood.