A piece of natural oak wood can take on virtually any colour; from light beige through brown and red. While white oak tends to look more beige-to-brown and red oak looks rosier, it’s not always easy to tell the difference between the various types of oak based on colour alone. Moreover, the same oak tree can have different colours throughout, and both red and white oak stain well, meaning a piece can look as dark as walnut or even brighten a whole room when stained a vibrant colour.

Most trees show a significant colour shift between the heartwood (innermost portion of the tree) and the sapwood (layer closest to the bark which transports the tree’s nutrients). You’ll see this in oak too, as the sapwood is usually a bit lighter, though this isn’t always the case. Sometimes, the heartwood and sapwood blend seamlessly in an oak tree.

You will also note that oak pieces will change colour somewhat as the years pass, with white oak tending to pick up an amber hue.

Oak wood may darken slightly over time, taking on more amber tones. This happens due to exposure to oxygen and UV light, making it an unavoidable process. When it comes to oak furniture, most people will not even realize the change is happening, as the colour change is fairly subtle. They may catch on if they purchase a set one piece at a time or try to add in a new piece years down the road hoping for a match. For this reason, it’s generally better to purchase a full set all at once.

Oak wood is one of the preferred choices in furniture making as well as in flooring and cabinetry because of its durability, workability, and natural beauty.

Oak wood is generally straight-grained and has an uneven texture. However, there are other aspects of oak’s grain that makes it quite unique. For example, white oak’s water resistance lies in its pores. Red oak does not have the same cellular growth and its pores are open. One other unique characteristic of oak is the rays which run alongside the grain. In red oak, it can sometimes look like someone took a dark pencil and drew dotted lines across a board. The same marks are present in white oak as well, but they tend to be much longer.

Oak is a hardwood. This distinction does not refer to a wood’s ability to resist damage, though. It has to do with whether the wood came from a dicot or gymnosperm tree. Leafy trees are typically from the dicot group, and so they’re all hardwoods. Others, such as pine and fir, are from the gymnosperm group, and that’s why they’re called softwoods.

When people want to better understand whether a specific wood type is suited to their lifestyle or how they intend to use a piece, another type of hardness is measured. The Janka Scale is used to demonstrate damage resistance. Wood is put under a basic compression test. A steel ball is pressed on the board until it embeds halfway, and the amount of force needed to do it is measured. With white oak, it takes 1,360 lbf or 6,000 N to embed the ball halfway. White oak is represented as being 1,360 Janka.

This makes it one of the toughest woods. That means if you have an active lifestyle or a family, oak will hold up extremely well.

Oak has a fairly unique grain pattern, so someone familiar with wood species may be able to recognize oak fairly easily. However, depending on the milling, species, and tree, it can be deceptive and sometimes confused with ash or other woods, particularly if it has been stained. Your best bet is to make sure you’re purchasing furniture from a reputable and experienced company.

If it is fit to build a Viking longship, then surely oak wood is ok to use in outdoor furniture, right? Not exactly. The Vikings understood white oak could keep out the water, but they did a fair amount of maintenance on their ships. Back in the day, this meant creating a mixture of tar and animal hair or moss and applying it to the ship regularly. Nowadays, we do not use animal hair and tar (thank goodness), but wood furniture that goes outdoors still needs a considerable amount of maintenance at least once a year if not more, and even still the wood will degrade over time.

Oak trees grow in abundance. Oak wood is a great choice in terms of eco-friendliness because it’s durable, which keeps it out of landfills, and is biodegradable.

Finding quality oak furniture is not always easy because some companies will market things as if they were real solid oak when they are really using an oak-look product or they cut corners and produce inferior products as a result.

The care of an oak piece will depend on how it is finished or what measures have been taken to seal the wood. It is also best to avoid commercial polishes and cleaning solutions, as these can often damage the finish.

Oak is gorgeous in its natural state, particularly because it has bits of character like rays. A wide variety of options are available, so it is easy to customize your furniture to look the way you want it to based on your personal style or the décor of your home.