Furniture Information & Care
Natural Wood - Cracking in the wood
Before our furniture is made:
Wood has naturally occurring cracks present in it when we make our furniture. These usually occur during either during the air-drying process or the kiln drying process. As standard we will fill these cracks with a natural coloured filler. Cracks under 1mm in width are too fine to fill and are part of the natural character of real wood.
Aftercare of the wood when the furniture is placed in your home:
It is perfectly normal for cracking in the wood to occur with new indoor furniture. This can happen immediately or any time in the first 12 months.
The initial shrinkage / cracking of timber indoors is primarily caused by central heating drying the air out, combined with a lack of fresh air circulating to replace the lost moisture. Modern homes with underfloor heating and / or air conditioning, combined with well-sealed doors between rooms, normally have the driest air.
Many of our customers like the natural development of cracks to emphasise the authentic character of their wood as it ages.
However, there are steps that you can take to minimise this shrinkage and the chances of cracking. These steps allow the wood to acclimatise to the indoor conditions of your home as gently / slowly as possible. Here are our recommendations
Have a house plant or plants growing in the room, because
they naturally put moisture back into the air.
Have a humidifier, controlling the moisture level in the room.
Allow fresh air to circulate through the home as much as possible.
If you cannot allow fresh air to circulate through the home (in the cold winter months for example) then as a minimum you can have a container / bucket of water standing in the room, to evaporate into the air and help keep some moisture content in the atmosphere.
Direct Heat and Sunlight:
Furniture is susceptible to shrinkage, cracking and / or warping if it is in line with heat or direct sunlight through, for example, a glass door or window, or next to a heat source. Damage can occur at any time of year and shading is advised
Differences in Colour
Because we use 100% natural wood, differences in the colour are to be expected. We always aim to select wood from the same tree to keep these natural variations to a minimum.
Staining and Marking
The wood finish provides a low level of protection against staining and marking, and the finish can still mark and stain. So, we advise using placemats and coasters 100% of the time to avoid this issue.
When the finish begins to fade it can be replenished with a hand-applied coat of oil. Please contact us for instructions on how to do this.
Steel Work – ‘RAW’
Pieces that include steel come in a ‘raw’ brushed finish as standard. This finish can be restored by hand using the correct brushing pads. Please contact us for any recommendations on how to do this
Steel Work - Painted Finish
Our powder coated steel pieces can be chipped with impact from another object. Any damage should be repaired (touched-up) by a professional to avoid corrosion of the parent steel