Guide to responsibly sourced hardwoods

The most British of woods. Correct timber selection, furniture design and cabinet making skills produce really special results. Light brown to golden brown in colour, the timber itself is usually very straight grained and has distinctive growth rings and medullary rays that show to great effect with particular cuts of timber.

Treske often fume oak to react with the resins causing the timber to darken. This natural process helps show off the patina of the timber and can lead to very pleasing finishes. Customers at Treske can see examples of this when deciding on how they would like their furniture finished.

Treske was founded using locally grown Ash and still makes furniture using this coarse straight grained and very tough timber. Unlike the elm disease, it is thought Ash is genetically diverse enough to survive Ash Dieback Disease and will remain a feature of our countryside for generations to come.

Ash is characterised by a wide colour range from the whites of the outer layers to the dark olive brown of the heart wood. This colour variation can be used to great visual effect on tables. As with oak, ash can be stained to different colours often to match a client's existing furniture.

Sadly this tree which dominated much of the landscape has virtually disappeared in much of England due to Dutch Elm disease. Happily elm is available from colder areas of the UK and makes wonderful furniture.

The wood is coarse textured, the grain is boxy and often highly coloured, but it finishes into delightful character furniture.

Grown in Canada and the USA this hard maple is heavy, with a straight grain and fine texture that finishes very smoothly.

The timber grain patina is similar to Cherry & Sycamore but on finish is a warm pale almost white colour. Heartwood can be darker brown. Often used as a veneer, especially timber that shows a latticework of knots – Birds Eye maple - excellent within wardrobe and kitchen doors to show off this special feature.

A tree that is often considered a weed can be made into lovely fine textured creamy golden white furniture. Sycamore is a softer alternative to maple and over time develops more of a golden colour to the more orangey colour of maple.

A quirk of Sycamore is that it is felled in the winter months before sap has started to move up the trunk. If felled too late the sap produces a green colouration within the timber - it is for this reason that the planks are traditionally dried standing up on end.

This north American plantation grown hardwood is a tough fiberous timber that finishes smoothly and makes for very nice furniture. Often used in conjunction with oak as a compliment, this wood is a rich dark brown to a purple black colouration.

Current bedroom and kitchen trends are resulting in the use of more of this timber, to produce modern and stylish furniture.

Walnut had a golden age in British furniture making, ended by a succession of cold winters and the import of mahogany as an alternative. Many people will recognise walnut as the timber used for gunstocks and for special pieces of furniture.

This is a truly special timber with a delicious range of brown and grey creamy colours. The amount of feature depends on where the tree was grown, the best being British. The timber is bought in log form (boules) to ensure that timber remains well matched.

A native cherry found across the UK and Europe that is similar in characteristic to American Cherry with one important difference – colour. The colour is a pale pinkish green brown and when finished in a natural lacquer is very fine. The timber can be stained successfully and the underlying fine grain gives great character to this timber.

A straight grained hardwood with a smooth texture that enables a fine finishing to furniture. Grown in North America this timber is characterised by a colour change in light from pale green-brown to a deep rich orange red. The initial colour change is so fast that objects left on and protecting a surface from light will leave a light outline that will even up once the area is exposed to light. The timber is also characterised by small darker sap pockets within the wood.

A traditional cabinet making and high class timber, loved for its straight grain and fine even texture. Colours are generally very pale creamy white to a pinkish colouration.

As with ash, beech is often used in chairs, especially where a bent wood shape is required. Treske frequently use beech for drawer boxes as well as individual pieces of furniture.