Furniture & Wood glossary

Circassian Walnut: Possibly the most handsome of the walnuts-a very expensive dark brown wood with a very curly, grain, native to the area around the Mack Sea.

Cocobolo: A dark brown wood with a purple cast, used, for the most part, in the production of contemporary furniture.

Elm: A creamy beige wood with very little contrast in grain or color, it is hard and dense, yet flexible, utilized for upholstery frames more often than in wood furniture construction.

Ebony: Dark heartwood from an African tree, its principle use is as an inlay in fine furniture where a designer contrast line. In most present-day furniture, this contrast line is painted or silk-screened, which results in major saving for the producer.

French Burl: Often used as a term referring to walnut from Persia/Iran. It has a swirly, wonderfully curly grain that makes it very difficult to use as a veneer due to the tendency of the wood to separate into its concentric patterns. Grafted walnut from the Western US is very similar and has.

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