Using Soft Woods In The Home
July 24th, 2009. Published under Home. No Comments.
When you are building furniture or other things in your home, you probably jump to hardwood pretty quickly. The price for hardwood is generally higher, which to many means that it is a better quality. In all things you should look to the type of project you a working on, and choose a wood that works best for the project. Are you building a closet or a home theater entertainment center? The choice matters. Here are a few softwoods that have very practical uses.
Cedar is the first softwood most people think of. It has a very distinct smell, and it envokes visions of log cabins and serene getaways. This could be because cedar is a natural insect repellant, and smells better than moth balls. It is a light red wood with understated streaking and knots as well as a pleasant grain. This wood is used mostly for chests and closets, because, again it smells better than moth balls. Do not bleach or stain this beautiful wood. If you are making a storage chest for blankets, do not finish the inside of the chest. The outside can be treated with a simple clear finish. This wood is moderately expensive, but perfect for its intended projects.
An evergreen cousin of cedar, pine is another softwood I like to use. You see pine a lot in colonial furnishings, and it is becoming very popular in more modern furniture as well. It has a variety of indoor and outdoor uses, but is primarily used for unfinished pieces of furniture. The color can vary from a pale cream to a darker yellow/brown color. Growth rings show clearly in this wood, so you should go with a natural finish to bring out the beauty of this wood. Pine is relatively inexpensive and easy to work with.
Poplar is the great exception when it comes to wood. While it is technically a hardwood, it is a very soft one, so we will include it here. This wood is used to make inexpensive furniture as a filler wood. It is a great back up tool if you want a pretty hardwood piece, but want to back it with a tough, but inexpensive wood. Poplar is brownish yellow with some green to it. It has a subdued grain and stains very well because of its close grain. The upside to poplar is its lightness and ease of use with hand tools. A mahogany table is much easier to lift if it is jointed and backed with poplar instead of using mahogany all the way through.
Redwood is a very popular softwood. Most people think it is a hardwood because of its toughness, but hard and soft are botanical terms in this case. This particular softwood, not soft at all, is used in outdoor furniture and rugged indoor furniture for cabins. It is a beautiful red/brown wood, with vibrant growth rings. Its use in outdoor furniture suggests that it is resistant to decay as well as bugs. Though moderately hard, it is easy to use with hand tools. The price varies regionally on this one. Redwood is becoming more popular indoors with home theater furnishings.
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