Mango Furniture

June 7, 2010

Article Category: Guides > Tags: interior design, mango furniture

Baku Light Mango Sideboard

Introducing Mango Furniture

Mango furniture is relatively rare when compared to oak furniture or mahogany furniture. This should not lead you to believe that it is in any way inferior to its more popular hardwood furniture cousins.

How do You Make Mango Furniture From Fruit?!

One of the questions that we are often asked is, ‘mangos are fruit, how can you make furniture out of fruit?’ The answer is quite simple – we don’t!

Mango wood is indeed the wood from a similar cultivar of mango tree as the fruit is harvested from, but rather than harvesting the fruit, the mango trees are grown specifically for their high quality furniture making properties. After all, virtually every tree produces fruit; it’s just that we don’t eat the samara from the mahogany tree, or acorns from the oak tree.

Mango Furniture is High Quality Furniture

Unlike inferior quality furniture made from pine, mango is a hardwood like oak, and is just as sturdy and hardwearing. Therefore you can be sure that when buying our mango furniture you will be getting the same high quality as if you were buying oak furniture.

In fact, when you see the beautiful grain patterns and colours that naturally occur in mango wood you’ll be amazed that mango furniture isn’t more popular.

Tokyo Teak Mango Dining Set

The Many Finishes of Mango Furniture

When unstained and finished only in clear beeswax, this variegated wood is, on the whole, slightly darker than oak with a more pronounced grain, but it also takes stain incredibly well, so at Oak Furniture Land we also make dark stained mango furniture and teak oiled mango furniture, each giving its own individual exotic charm.

Whilst unstained mango furniture makes a great alternative to oak furniture, dark mango furniture can bring a striking contrast to a white room or one that has a lot of bright natural light, whereas the warm glow of teak oiled mango furniture will instantly make a room cosier, making it ideal bedroom furniture.

The Charm of Rustic Mango Furniture

We also apply a rustic finish to our mango furniture. This can involve various forms of distressing, to give a ‘lived-in’ look. This can be very desirable when making a room look homely, or when adding a new piece to a room that already has older or antique furniture in. (a room filled with high gloss lacquered furniture can easily start to look like a furniture showroom rather than a place you want to relax!).

At Oak Furniture Land we make several ranges of mango furniture in various finishes and styles to suite any home. Each mango furniture range includes bedroom furniture, living room furniture and dining room furniture.

Why Oak Furniture?

May 13, 2010

Article Category: Guides > Tags: Bedroom Furniture, dining room furniture, Guides, living room furniture, oak furniture

Oak Living Room Furniture

Why Oak?

Whilst there is a huge selection of wooden furniture on the market these days, the wood that is most sought after is oak. So the question has to be asked: why oak? To answer that seemingly simple question we need to ask several others.

What influences us when choosing oak furniture?

It may seem obvious, but when deciding on what wooden furniture we want in our home, the first thing we think of is appearance. Oak furniture has a universal appeal that few other materials can match.

For example, there are those who see mahogany furniture as the height of opulence, but others don’t like it. This is probably because of it’s striking colour and generally grand designs.

Other people love the rustic appeal of dark mango furniture. But again, whilst it is undoubtedly beautiful furniture, it’s the sort of finish that appeals to those with a more exotic and adventurous pallet. Oak furniture seems to transcend this, but retains its luxurious charm.

Oak Bedroom Furniture

Is oak furniture is more than just a pretty face?

The grain of real solid oak, with its subtle variegation that hinges around a distinctive sumptuous light golden colour, is not just a thing of beauty. The tightness of the grain is a clue to its strength and durability. It also means that it can be worked into intricate forms without causing weakness.

Again, these intricate details needn’t be purely decorative. A feature of truly high quality wooden furniture is the use of hand crafted dovetail joints. Usually hidden away in drawers, these joints are traditionally very strong, and can only be made using high quality wood. Oak is perfect for this kind of joinery.

Is oak furniture easy to live with?

In a word, yes. In fact, as long as you steer clear of poor quality furniture (which is built using oak veneers, not solid oak), then you will find oak furniture is one of the easiest types of furniture to care for.

Simply dust your oak furniture without using spray cleaning products (these will crack the timber), and give it a light coat of Danish oil every so often and you don’t have to do anything else at all! Simple.

Oak furniture at Oak Furniture Land

As the name suggests, at Oak Furniture Land we have built a company around oak furniture. With hundreds of items in many different styles, and over 20 years experience in the UK furniture industry you can be confident that you are getting high quality furniture, backed up with our extensive specialist knowledge and superior customer service.

Makeover Time!

May 3, 2010

Article Category: Guides >

Solid Oak Dining Room Suite

Time For a Makeover?

With the sun finally showing itself more often from behind the clouds (and volcanic dust!), we can say that spring has sprung and summer’s on its way. It’s at this time of year that people often think about giving the house a spruce up and redecorating. After all, its an ideal time; the heat hasn’t really taken hold and one can fling the doors open to waft away the paint fumes!

Don’t Just Redecorate, Rejuvenate with New Furniture

Whilst the furniture is moved away from the walls and under the cover of dustsheets it’s a lot easier to see your room as a blank canvass and you will find yourself thinking about how your furniture fits into your new colour scheme. Sometimes people even redecorate to fit in with their existing furniture, even though they don’t necessarily like it!

Once the blank canvass is in front of you try to ignore the furniture layout you already have. Ask yourself some simple questions, such as:

Does the TV have to be in that corner?
What if the bed was turned through 90 degrees?
Could we gain space by replacing the bookcase and chest of drawers with a glazed dresser?

Just repainting the walls will give the room a quick refresh, a rearrangement and a couple of new pieces of furniture will give the room a whole new lease of life.

Solid Oak Bedroom Suite

Furniture for The Future

When choosing new furniture it is imperative that you look to the future. Whilst that pink, hanging egg chair may look funky in the shop you, but will you be able to live with it in your lounge for the next 10 years?

A far better way rejuvenating your home is with fresh, high quality hardwood furniture. A solid oak dining table, for example, will last a lifetime and transcend fashion.

The Affordable Way of Replacing and Entire Furniture Suite

If you want to go the whole hog and replace a complete furniture suite (which is by far the best option. This avoids pitfalls such as ranges ending and not being able to add to a furniture suite at a later date), but don’t feel that you can afford a full set of solid hardwood furniture then it’s always worth looking for 0% finance deals to spread the cost without incurring any charges.

At Oak Furniture Land we offer a choice of buy now, pay later options as well as 0% finance. Depending on what you go for you could see yourself paying for your furniture over 36 months without paying a penny extra! You can also make huge savings in our current sale. The two combined will mean you will be surprised how easily you can afford to completely revitalise your home this spring.

Cotswold Furniture

April 28, 2010

Article Category: Bedroom Furniture, dining room furniture, living room furniture > Tags: Bedroom Furniture, cotswold furniture, dining room furniture, living room furniture, oak furniture, painted furniture

Cotswold Furniture

Cotswold Furniture is Steeped in History

The Cotswolds have a rich history of design, especially in the fields of Cotswold furniture, arts and crafts. Inspiration is said to be due to the stunning scenery and beautiful architecture of the area. There is one person who should also be given credit for the reputation of high quality Cotswold furniture: Ernest Gimson (1864 – 1919).

The Forefathers of Cotswold Furniture

Modern Cotswold furniture owes much to Ernest Gimson, as he helped kick-start the movement. Born in Leicester and trained as an architect, he moved to the Cotswolds in his early thirties “to live near nature” where it is said his creative stimulation was at its highest.

After a brief stay work took his to Somerset, but it wasn’t long before he moved back to Cirencester in Gloucestershire where he set up a Cotswold furniture workshop to indulge in his true passion of Cotswold furniture design. This Cotswold furniture was hand crafted from solid hardwood by highly skilled craftsmen under the renowned cabinet-maker, Peter van der Waals.

Painted Solid Oak
Cotswold Furniture

Cotswold Furniture has an Exceptional Reputation

The Cotswold furniture that he designed in this time was highly structural and obviously drew on his architectural experience. A reputation quickly grew that Cotswold furniture was strong, well crafted, high quality and attractive. This reputation lasts to this day with original pieces fetching thousands of pounds at antique auctions.

Oak Furniture Land Continues the Cotswold Furniture Standards

Oak Furniture Land is based very close to where Ernest Gimson set up his Cotswold furniture workshop. Our designers are influenced by the same idyllic scenery and the history of the Cotswold furniture industry. We use this to blend Cotswold furniture traditions with other international and modern designs to create a vast choice of unique designs and ranges.

The legacy of beautiful, sturdy, high quality hand crafted Cotswold furniture runs through the company and our staff.

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