In spite of changing consumer preferences wooden furniture finds relevance in every household. Furniture made from wood is elegant, strong, long-lasting and requires minimal maintenance. It can work in beautiful ways to create the feeling of a warm, cosy home. With advent of social media, consumers are exposed to the best of designs and trends from across the globe. From merely functional aspects, today's furniture has become an extension of the house owner's personality. It can be moulded, contoured and customized to suit any personality.
Many old bulky furniture have given way to wooden furniture that is light, easy to move and most importantly respects the environment. Sustainably sourced and certified wood is becoming the buzz among architects, designers and consumers alike.
In response to this shifting consumer preference, furniture manufacturers across India are tailoring their products to meet the growing demand to suit their taste. Here is where B.C., species particularly western hemlock, yellow cedar and Douglas-fir became the preferred wood for home furniture and interiors for the designers and architects due to their great working properties.
Canadian wood species appropriate for indoor furniture
Western hemlock is the single most plentiful tree species on the coast of British Columbia. It has firmly established itself as an outstanding wood for furniture and many interior applications.
Western hemlock is known for its following properties:
- easy to work with and excellent machining properties
- turns, planes and shapes well and can be sanded to a smooth finish
- good gluing properties
- good screw holding abilities
- good strength-to-weight ratio
Applications:
- Western hemlock is recommended and coveted for making furniture, solid wood doors, finger jointed edge glued door frames and other interior uses.
- It is widely used for interior panelling and is the preferred choice for mouldings. Hemlock is available as seasoned and graded lumber.
- Kiln drying reduces the moisture content and increases resistance to decay and insect attack.
Yellow cedar
Yellow cedar is known for its exceptional working properties and can be easily machined and finished. It has an even texture, turns, planes and shapes well and can be sanded to a smooth finish. It is appreciated the world over for its durability.
Unique properties and applications
- It is easy to work with, hence widely used for applications such as joinery, decorative panelling, furniture, carving and moulding etc.
- It has extractives, making it naturally termite and decay resistant. These properties, combined with its durability make it ideal for outdoor applications including pergolas, gazebos, garden furniture, cladding, decking, shingles and stairs.
- It has excellent strength-to-weight-ratio and compares favourably with popular hardwood species in terms of stiffness, strength and stability.
- It scores over popular hardwood species in terms of working properties such as planning, mortising and nailing and can be sanded to a smooth surface.
- Easy to edge glue, paint, stain or coat with a clear finish.
Douglas fir
Douglas-fir is commonly used for building and construction purposes due to its excellent strength properties and availability in large dimensions. However, it also finds use in interior furniture.
Unique properties and applications
Douglas-fir has excellent strength properties and is well known for its workability. The wood dries rapidly with small dimensional movement and little tendency to check. It is relatively easy to work, with good machining qualities. It turns, planes and shapes well and can be sanded to a smooth finish. The wood glues easily, has good nail and screw holding ability and takes a good finish.
Canadian Wood promotes five distinct species from British Columbia (B.C.), the westernmost province of Canada renowned for its certified forests and sustainable forest management practices: Western hemlock, Spruce-Pine-Fir (SPF), Douglas-fir, Western red cedar & Yellow cedar - suitable for a wide variety of indoor and outdoor applications.
All Canadian wood species are sized, graded, seasoned and are available through a pan India network of stockists. They are legally sourced from certified and sustainably managed forests of B.C., Canada.
Certified wood from sustainably managed forests
Sustainability and use of responsibly sourced wood by furniture manufacturers have been a matter of concern in these days of climate change and global warming. India is a wood fibre deficit nation and has to depend on imports to meet its market needs. Canada on the other hand is home to over 10% of the world's total forest cover with minimal deforestation over the last three decades. Thus, it is well-positioned as a long-term source of legally harvested, certified wood from sustainably managed forests to fulfil the wood needs of the Indian market.
B.C. Canada has forests certified by highly reputed independent international agencies such as PEFC and/or FSC which adds credibility to it being the home to the largest certified forest area in the world.
