Materials
Solid Wood & All Finish Options
All of our materials are hand-selected for their beauty, strength, and longevity.
Working with specialty suppliers, we responsibly source domestically-grown timber of the highest quality. Each wood species is chosen for its set of characteristics that make it optimal for fine furniture making, such as the grain, density, and colour.
Learn about our preferred types of wood with the swatches below.
Wood Finishes
Natural Ash
Ash is a lightweight yet highly durable wood—a great choice for heavily-used furniture. The finish enhances its distinct blonde patterns. Ash’s light, airy colouring has a casual & contemporary feel, which perfectly suits a Scandinavian aesthetic.
Whitewashed Ash
Ash absorbs wood stains well, and whitewashing gives it a fresh and relaxed look. The wash softens the wood's natural appearance, providing it with a slight grey undertone, while still maintaining the beautiful wood grain.
Blackened Ash
This finish elevates ash to a bold, contemporary material. Though the stain is jet black, it offers subtle warmth highlighting the wood's characteristic grain. Not to be confused with black ash wood, which isn’t as strong as white ash.
Natural Oak
Oak is prized in fine furniture making for its durability, strength, and beautiful grain pattern. There are many types of oak in North America—we tend to use white oak for its versatile, soft colouring and effectiveness in taking stain colours.
Pale Oak
Pale oak features the characteristics of the natural and whitewashed finishes. The closest of the three to unfinshed oak, both warm and cool can be seen in the wood grain. With oak's durability and versatility, it has longevity in style and resilience.
Whitewashed Oak
Finishing hard-wearing oak with a subtle whitewash brings out some of the wood's natural cooler tones. It gives the wood's varying grain pattern and character a fresh look. This muted look works with a variety of decor styles.
Extra White Oak
"Extra white" means the wood has been finished with a thicker whitewash which subdues the grain pattern. This contemporary look is a bolder statement than the regular whitewashed oak, and has grey tones.
Oxidized Oak
When a natural oxidizing agent is applied to oak, the wood gains varying tones of ashen grey and charcoal black while still keeping plenty of character. This finish creates a distinct look for every piece of furniture.
Natural Walnut
Walnut offers strength, stability, and rich colour. Its excellent shock resistance makes walnut ideal for heavily-used furniture. We use a natural finish that enhances the deep chocolate heartwood. The lighter-coloured sapwood is also available.
Reclaimed Fir
Prized in construction for its excellent strength, reclaimed fir carries the richness of its past. This wood is full of character and imperfections, giving your furniture a rustic or industrial feel. The wood colour is mostly amber and red with some browns.
Tambour Finishes
Natural Ash
Ash is a lightweight yet highly durable wood—a great choice for heavily-used furniture. The finish enhances its distinct blonde patterns. Ash’s light, airy colouring has a casual & contemporary feel, which perfectly suits a Scandinavian aesthetic.
Whitewashed Ash
Ash absorbs wood stains well, and whitewashing gives it a fresh and relaxed look. The wash softens the wood's natural appearance, providing it with a slight grey undertone, while still maintaining the beautiful wood grain.
Blackened Ash
This finish elevates ash to a bold, contemporary material. Though the stain is jet black, it offers subtle warmth highlighting the wood's characteristic grain. Not to be confused with black ash wood, which isn’t as strong as white ash.
Natural Oak
Ash is a lightweight yet highly durable wood—a great choice for heavily-used furniture. The finish enhances its distinct blonde patterns. Ash’s light, airy colouring has a casual & contemporary feel, which perfectly suits a Scandinavian aesthetic.
Pale Oak
Pale oak features the characteristics of the natural and whitewashed finishes. The closest of the three to unfinshed oak, both warm and cool can be seen in the wood grain. With oak's durability and versatility, it has longevity in style and resilience.
Whitewashed Oak
Finishing hard-wearing oak with a subtle whitewash brings out some of the wood's natural cooler tones. It gives the wood's varying grain pattern and character a fresh look. This muted look works with a variety of decor styles.
Extra White Oak
"Extra white" means the wood has been finished with a thicker whitewash which subdues the grain pattern. This contemporary look is a bolder statement than the regular whitewashed oak, and has grey tones.
Oxidized Oak
When a natural oxidizing agent is applied to oak, the wood gains varying tones of ashen grey and charcoal black while still keeping plenty of character. This finish creates a distinct look for every piece of furniture.
Metal Finishes
Darkened Steel
We oxidize steel with a natural patina to create this finish. The patina is a surface coating that provides depth and varying interest of blueish-black and warm earth tones. It's a living finish, meaning that surface will occasionally change or rust in spots—and that's okay, it’s part of the process.
Powder Coating
Powder coating is a hard, protective coating applied to steel. The process produces a long-lasting, durable, and attractive finish that’s tougher than paint and guards from corrosion. Our favourite finishes are matte black and white, but there are infinite colour options. Please contact us about other colours.
Alternative Finishes
Forbo Furniture Linoleum
Made from environmentally-friendly and recycled materials, Forbo is a unique surfacing material with long-lasting properties suited for high-use applications. The matte finish has a warm, fine texture. Email usto see the range of colour options.
Baltic Birch
This is an affordable, stylish alternative to solid wood. We utilize the highest-grade plywood made exclusively from layers of solid birch veneer. The superior uniformity in its layered profile gives it a contemporary appearance.
Veneer
If you require long term stability, veneer is a good alternative to solid wood. It consists of an ultra-thin layer of wood applied to both sides of furniture-grade MDF or plywood. Available in a variety of wood species—email us for your veneer options.
Forest Stewardship
We are committed to making better choices to reduce our environmental footprint and show our gratitude to the raw materials we work with everyday.
That’s why we’ve partnered with Blue Green Planet Partners, a nature-based sustainability service company focused on restoring forests across Canada.
Your purchase of Union Wood Co furniture directly supports reforesting areas affected by climate change and human activity. A percentage of our yearly sales is donated to their organization.
We produce solid wood goods that respect the raw materials and the heritage of our craft.
Natural Wood Samples
Need a closer look at a natural wood sample for your furniture purchase? We've got you covered!
As an independent furniture studio, we take as much pride in our choice of materials and finishes as we do in our workmanship.
We work primarily with solid North American lumber, the finest and most durable wood on the planet. The timber used in our workshop is sustainably sourced to allow for a long future of woodwork for generations to come.
After years of testing solid woods, we've curated a series of finishes on our preferred species of wood. Every board of natural wood has differing grain patterns and character making each piece completely unique. Our stains and finishes aid in creating an even tone throughout the wood.
Our woodwork is sealed with a commercial-grade final coat of clear protective finish, unless otherwise specified.
Wood samples are 4" x 4" and 1/4" thick. Our tambour sample is unfinished to show the variation in wood and the material's profile.
Order one (or a few) to help confirm if the finish suits your space. The cost will be deducted from your final order total.
What is your favourite solid wood finish?
Now that you've seen and picked your favourite finishes it's time to start shopping our high quality furniture collection.