It’s a good question, but to ensure we’re offering a concise answer, we’re going to be focusing on oak in terms of interior design, such as doors, coffee tables, kitchens and flooring. There are some obvious advantages for choosing to add oak to your home, and as a natural material, there are many different types of oak, so having an understanding on the advantages and disadvantages of each is always handy. But generally speaking, oak is strong, durable, and easy to work with, weatherproof, beautiful and packed with character. So these are just a few of the main reasons!
Let’s say you decide to invest in oak doors for your home. You will immediately notice the quality of the doors, even if they have knots and splits, which often add even more character. They are usually heavy but brilliant at preventing a draught coming into the room, yet they are built to last decades. With oak, you don’t have to worry about the quality of the wood deteriorating over time. As long as you provide a coating of wax or oil and ensure the wood is well protected throughout the course of the year, it will remain strong, dependable and beautiful, whilst wood generally looks better with age as you get a more rustic finish.
It seems that coffee tables have always been around, but they’re certainly now a must have item in a living room. We’re now a world of coffee lovers, so what better place to rest our mug of coffee beside a magazine, newspaper or the remote control? Solid oak is the most popular material for a coffee table and it’s easy to see whey when you browse the many designs online. 5 minutes scanning through Pinterest is enough to show you the possibilities that exist for your coffee table, and whether you’re a DIY enthusiast or have never picked up a saw in your life, it is possible to create your very own personalised coffee table just from rummaging for various plans and equipment lists online. You then simply buy the oak, fixings and tools to complete the job and you have a solid, dependable and unique coffee table for your home. It’s actually a lot of fun to make your own coffee table too.
Though oak is extremely popular for general pieces of furniture such as bookcases, tables, chairs and shelving, it’s not the most popular option for flooring these days, so why is that? Well to be frank it’s probably largely due to cost, as well as environmental impact. With solid oak flooring, it can warp and cause problems, whilst cheaper options are easier to fit with minimal maintenance, such as laminate flooring or carpets. Having solid oak flooring doesn’t exactly protect our forests either, because for a large job you could be using hundreds of oak boards, all cut from beautiful trees, whereas with furniture is a lot easier to use small amounts, or even choose recycled oak, which is a big trend right now!