Source: Richard Oedel

There are a number of factors that you need to consider when commissioning a piece of furniture, such as which material you would like for the furniture to be crafted from. You know by now that I use my design blog from time to time to provide an overview of some of the different types of hardwoods that you may want to consider for your special piece, and today I would like to touch on Hard Maple.

In addition to hard maple, you may hear this type of wood also referred to as sugar maple or black maple. This wood hails from the Northeastern part of the country, and the early settlers in America were especially fond of this type of wood for furniture making. In addition to being used to make furniture, we also commonly see hard maple used to make flooring for basketball courts, dance floors, bowling alleys, and other surfaces that require a hard, durable surface.

What makes hard maple different from just about any other hardwood is that its sapwood is more often used than its heartwood. The range in color of the sapwood varies from nearly white, an off-white/cream color, or a reddish/golden hue. It’s a fairly hard material to work with at times. Though while it is tough, it’s not impossible to create beautiful and timeless pieces of furniture from the wood, such as this set of chairs.

To learn more about commissioning a piece of furniture and what you should consider before getting this process started, please feel free to contact me, Richard Oedel, Fine Furniture Master.