Oak Vs. Maple: Which Wood Is Right for You?
Here at Woodcraft, we proudly offer our sophisticated, high-quality furniture pieces in different types of Canadian-sourced wood, including Cherry, Black Walnut, Pine, Oak, and Maple.
Knowing what wood to choose when you’re ordering a piece of furniture can be confusing. Attempting to straddle the practicalities that each different type of wood offers while satisfying aesthetic preferences can sometimes feel overwhelming.
Today, we are going to discuss Oak versus Maple and the benefits that these different types of wood offer. We hope to make your selection process a little smoother — though we are always happy to help if you have further questions.
About Oak
Oak is a slow-growing tree — it can take up to 20 years for a sapling to cross into maturity — making it a dense, exceptionally strong and durable hardwood. Because of this, Oak is resistant to everyday wear and tear; it’s also less sensitive to environmental changes in the home, such as humidity and dryness. With proper care, Oak furniture has an unlimited lifespan.
Visually, Oak comes in an array of colours, from reddish browns to light greys. Oak has a swooping, swirling and wavy grain that’s intersected by scattered flecks, making furniture that’s made with Oak a distinct and unique piece in any home.
About Maple
Canadian Maple is one of the most popular types of wood that we offer. Maple is a solid wood — it’s even marginally stronger than Oak — and because of this, you’ll often see Maple used in the construction of hardwood flooring. For its quality, we like to use Maple to create heirloom furniture that’s made to last.
Maple has less of a distinctive pattern than Oak, making it easier to blend with other furniture pieces in your home; however, its beautiful, lightly striped patina will deepen with age. That said, we also offer Wormy Maple wood in some of our furniture pieces. Wormy Maple offers rich grey and brown stripes and added depth if you like a distinct grain in your furniture.
Finishing Options
For us, Oak is best suited to a transparent or semi-transparent stain — leaving the natural grain to make a statement. Oak has a marginally rougher texture, so finishes will have a matte effect, whereas Maple will appear slightly glossier.
We are always happy to discuss staining your furniture. Our team is ready to advise you on the best stain colour for your piece; we can also explore stain colour-matching if you’d like your order to match other furniture pieces in your home.
Which Wood Is Right for You?
For many Woodcraft customers, our mid-priced Maple is a popular choice for their dining room, bedroom, kitchen furniture and their custom wood furniture. Canadian Maple is tough and will absolutely stand up to the demands of everyday wear and tear — even for large dining tables that host multiple people several times a day.
That said, Oak is a fantastic choice, too, as it is also a hardwearing wood. When deciding between these two choices, aesthetic preference will likely be the most important determining factor.
We offer oak and maple dining room tables, office desks, bedroom sets and more. Whether you’d like your Woodcraft furniture made using Oak or Maple, we can confidently say it will be made with longevity, quality, and beauty in mind. Connect with us today to learn more about our wood options.