In interiors magazines, in furniture shops, and in our homes, darker timbers and finishes are the thing, so you’d be forgiven for thinking light oak’s time had passed. Not so.
At The Furniture Show in Birmingham last month, light oak rose again. Solid oak specialist label Old Charm chose European white oak for its new Seville, the 80-year-old manufacturer’s first contemporary bedroom range. A light natural finish emphasises the design’s modern appeal, while lovers of darker finishes will prefer the alternative richer Cognac. Seville echoes the success of Old Charm’s light oak Chateau which featured a new solid oak Epernay dining table with a separate oak frame for each leaf.
Another solid wood specialist, Witney-based Corndell, launched Kingsleigh, an oak oriental-style range stained in a burnt orange lacquer. Once working 100% with pine, Corndell now uses oak, painted pine, ash and birch.
At the NEC, painted finishes were popular for country-style collections. YP Furniture’s Rochelle, a French-influenced design available in seven hand-painted colours ranging from dark to pastel, is popular with interior designers. The finish is painted onto MDF, with tulipwood and beech used for areas of extra strength. “They take the finish in the same way and because the grain is very tight it doesn’t show through,” said sales director Chris Everist.
Some manufacturers did stay true to darker finishes. YP’s sister company Wade Furniture launched West Quay in solid and veneered black beech, while the antique dark oak finish Sandringham was new at Halo. Darker woods “reflect the current trends within the interiors market,” said Halo’s head of marketing Kate Hardcastle.
Furniture sales at Habitat remain wood-biased, accounting for 80% of all products sold; however, non-wood materials are expected to increase share as shoppers demand a wider selection of modern finishes. Melamine, lacquer, glass, plastic and metal are growing in popularity, a change the design team attributes to consumers moving towards “less natural” finishes.
Habitat’s strategy of selling wood and veneer ranges is influenced by consumer perception, said Bethan Gray, head of furniture design. “Wood trends have evolved a lot in the last 10 years at Habitat. A shop floor in 1995 would have consisted of beech and birch. We believe our customers’ perception of the quality of veneered beech and birch declined due to so many melamine and plastic laminates being used in the lower end of the market.” Because of this, Habitat only sells solid wood or veneered furniture.
Oak is something of a favourite at Habitat where the trend for solid wood is growing. Oak has overtaken beech or birch as the company’s best seller, with grey-stained oak gaining ground on dark stain or walnut. “Customers want to see and feel the real thing,” said Ms Gray. “The finish of oak can change the whole look dramatically. We’ve developed a matt lacquer that protects the wood but at the same time looks unfinished. Dark-stained wood is popular but is still more successful with our European neighbours than here in the UK.”
Dark or light, the verdict is out. There is no evidence to suggest a radical shift but the swing to lighter finishes – light oak in particular – may evolve throughout 2006.
