Category: Bespoke Wooden Furniture, News
The finish is where beautiful woodwork truly comes alive. It reveals the timber’s natural character, protects it for generations, and creates the tactile experience of living with handcrafted furniture.
While many understandably focus on wood type and design, the choice between oil, wax, paint or varnish profoundly shapes how your bespoke pieces will look, feel and perform over decades.
Let’s explore wood finishes in depth, and what they mean for your projects.
Why Finish Matters More Than You Think
Finish matters hugely. It determines whether your dining table develops a rich patina or shows every water ring, whether your kitchen cabinets need regular maintenance or can be wiped clean with minimal fuss, and whether your wooden floor develops character or just looks worn.
In short, it affects every aspect of your furniture.
The world of wood finishes breaks down into a few main categories, each with dramatically different results:
- Paint completely covers the wood grain with solid colour, offering protection and endless colour options
- Varnish and lacquer create a hard, protective coating that sits on the wood’s surface
- Oil soaks into the timber, enhancing grain patterns while creating a touchable surface
- Wax provides a traditional soft sheen that’s easily refreshable but offers less protection
Each creates not just a different aesthetic, but a completely different relationship between you and your wooden furniture.
Lifestyle First
The most beautiful finish in the world can become frustrating if it doesn’t match how you actually live. Here’s what we mean by that:
- Homes with children or pets need tougher finishes that forgive accidents and clean easily
- Kitchens and dining areas face spills, heat and moisture that challenge delicate finishes
- Pieces that will be touched frequently (tables, chair arms, handrails) benefit from finishes that feel good against skin
- Display cabinets or occasional furniture can showcase more delicate finishes that might be impractical elsewhere
So, it’s often a matter of placing function first. Tougher finishes don’t look worse – it’s just a matter of matching the proper finish to the use case scenario.
The Marriage Between Wood and Finish
Different woods have distinctive personalities that shine with certain finishes and fall flat with others.
The inherently natural relationship between timber species and finish type creates thousands of possible combinations. For example:
- Oak develops remarkable depth when treated with oil, which highlights its distinctive grain patterns and slowly transforms its colour from honey-gold to amber. Paint tends to fight against oak’s prominent grain, often resulting in a less refined appearance.
- Cherry is known for its natural colour shift over time, gradually darkening to a rich reddish-brown. Clear finishes that allow this natural ageing process showcase one of cherry’s most prized characteristics, while stains or paints hide this magical transformation.
- Maple offers an exceptionally smooth, tight grain pattern that takes paint beautifully, creating a perfect canvas for coloured finishes. Its subtle natural figure can be somewhat muted with just oil.
- Walnut‘s chocolate hues contain subtle purple and green undertones that oils enhance beautifully. These complex colours often get lost under paint or dark stains.
The Art of a Proper Paint Finish
If you opt for a painted finish, that too isn’t just about slapping on a coat of colour. It demands careful preparation, quality materials and expert technique.
We start with thorough sanding, apply specialised primers that properly seal the grain, build depth with carefully applied undercoats, and finish with multiple topcoats for durability and perfect coverage.
Each stage requires drying time and light sanding between coats – no shortcuts.
The result is a painted finish that stays beautiful for decades rather than years, with none of the peeling, chipping or uneven wear that comes from rushed work.
Finding Your Perfect Match
Nothing beats experiencing finishes in person. Visit our Andover workshop to run your fingers over different surfaces, see how light interacts with various finishes, and discuss what would work best for your specific project.
We can even prepare sample pieces with different finishes on your chosen timber, allowing you to compare options in your own home before making your final decision.
Ready to explore finish options for your project? Contact our friendly team or visit our workshop.
We’re always happy to share samples and expertise to help you make the perfect choice for your bespoke woodwork.
