Benefits of Handmade Hardwood Furniture
Handmade hardwood furniture is made-to-measure
One of the biggest benefits of handmade furniture is the fact it’s made just for you! There’s no need to scour the internet looking for a premade desk that fits flush with your walls or a particularly skinny TV stand that doesn’t take up too much space in a compact living room. Once you’ve chosen your design, tell us your measurements and we’ll craft your bespoke piece of furniture according to them.
Hardwood is incredibly durable
Most solid wood furniture is very durable, but hardwood furniture takes it to another level. The clue is in the name - hardwoods, like oak, walnut, and ash, grow slowly to create a dense, strong, hard wood which is naturally resistant to dents, spillages and heat. When treated with a finishing wax, hardwood furniture can also become UV-resistant and even water-resistant, making them suitable for outdoor furniture as well.
Handmade hardwood furniture is built to last - it’s not built to be used for a few years and then thrown away like many wood-style MDF and plywood pieces which are cheap to make and buy (and which aren’t particularly environmentally-friendly, but we’ll get onto that later). Hardwood furniture is built to stand against the wear and tear associated with daily use and busy family life.
At The Bespoke Carpentry Co., our hardwood furniture is made to heirloom quality. We work it and finish it using proper joinery techniques with the idea that once you’ve bought it, it’ll last for generations. This is also why we provide the guidance and tools for you to keep your furniture looking its best even after decades of use.
Hardwood never goes out of style
And it’s a good job too, considering the longevity of any handmade hardwood piece of furniture. The natural grain patterns, colours, and textures of hardwood add warmth and character to any space, and the planks can be stained or styled in a variety of ways. Go for a modern, industrial look with metal accents (think drawer handles, frames, legs and knobs) or a rustic vibe with a chunky, live edge hardwood dining table.
As your personal interior design preferences evolve, your hardwood furniture can adapt, serving as a base for any decorations you want. Got your eye on a boho style? Your hardwood furniture will look great with wicker, rattan or jute, woven, plain or with patterns. A modern, Scandi style can be achieved with sleek, Nordic-inspired decor, like a wooden tray, neutral vases, and fur throws. All with your hardwood furniture as a base.
Each piece of handmade hardwood furniture is unique
No two hardwood trees are the same, and as such, no two planks of hardwood are the same. If that’s the case, how could two pieces of handmade, hardwood furniture possibly be identical? Well, exactly - if it’s a one-of-a-kind statement piece you’re looking for, hardwood is where it’s at.
Variations in grain, colour, and texture all provide nature-added character in every piece, and at The Bespoke Carpentry Co., we embrace these differences. We also solely use reclaimed wood in our furniture, which means they’ve already lived a full life before they come to us to be refurbished and made into furniture for you. This life comes with remnants, such as saw marks, old nail holes, scuffs, hammer indents and traces of paint and rust. Whilst we sand and re-stain these reclaimed planks, we like to lovingly honour their history rather than remove it completely. This adds an extra layer of personality and uniqueness to your furniture - each piece tells a story.
Reclaimed hardwood furniture is sustainable
Like we mentioned earlier, one of the biggest benefits of hardwood furniture is their innate environmentally-friendliness. Wood is a natural resource and it’s renewable, as long as you’re replanting as many trees as you’re chopping down. Because we use reclaimed wood, we don’t chop any trees down to make our hardwood furniture at all, making it even more sustainable.
Wood-style furniture made from manmade materials like MDF and plywood cannot compete with the sustainability of reclaimed hardwood. They break easily, and any chips or cracks that appear cannot be repaired like they can with hardwood furniture. Furniture made from these materials won’t last you more than a few years, especially if you’re using them daily as a dining table or desk. And where do they go once they break? Landfill.
One of our biggest aims is to decrease the amount of wood sitting in landfill - even natural wood takes many years to decompose and as it does so, it produces methane, a powerful greenhouse gas. Treated wood can also become hazardous, letting off toxic gases by reacting with other materials in the landfill and contaminating the soil and groundwater. And we believe it is such a shame for high-quality solid wood planks to end their lives in this way, which is why we reclaim them before they get there. Reclaimed hardwood furniture is the most sustainable you can get.
Hardwood furniture can be easily maintained
The natural durability and resilience of hardwood means the furniture requires minimal upkeep to stay in excellent condition. Whilst a chip in MDF is there for good, small imperfections in hardwood furniture can be easily sanded out and treated with a wood touch-up kit. This is thanks to the dense grain found in hardwoods - they’re a lot more forgiving than many other materials. After a few decades, should your hardwood furniture have incurred more significant damage, they can be refinished and repaired to give them a second (or third, or fourth) lease of life.
Regular dusting with a soft cloth and occasional polishing with a wood polish will keep your furniture at its best. We also have a full maintenance kit available which includes a tinted hard wax oil that provides exceptional durability and resistance for furniture, even when subjected to a high degree of wear. The kit also includes a polishing wax which fills the open wood pores. We finish all of our pieces with the wax oil followed by the polishing wax before you receive them, and we recommend a reapplication every six months (use dependent) to maintain the quality and finish of the piece.
Handmade Hardwood Furniture at The Bespoke Carpentry Co.
Here at The Bespoke Carpentry Co. we offer a beautiful range of handmade hardwood furniture that celebrates the beauty and uniqueness of reclaimed wood. Each piece is meticulously handcrafted by skilled artisans who take pride in their work, ensuring you get a product that not only looks stunning but also stands the test of time.
To get started, browse our range of pre-designed reclaimed hardwood furniture online, give us a call on 01305 849386 or fill out our online contact form.
