By: Julia Aidan
Submitted: 2009-03-01 20:12:49 | Word Count: 542
Oak is one common household name across the world. The term is used to refer to trees from the Quercus genus. It is a kind of hardwood that is preferred by a lot of people, thanks to its durability, hardness and strength. When you study oak furniture history, you will find that it was preferred, and it is still preferred to date because oak is highly resistant to fungi and parasites. The bark of Oak has an unpleasant taste that is disagreeable to human beings and a lot of insects and animals.
Oak furniture history dates back to the mediaeval times. This was after the emergence of a status middle class during the 16th and 17th centuries in England as wealth started swelling up. At that time, having a home was a symbol of status hence merchants started spending a lot of time on creating long lasting furnishings. Having oak furniture in your home was even more prestigious, because at that time the timber was prized pretty high, thanks to its durability and strength.
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On the other hand, pine furniture boasts of a proud history because, after the emergence of the ruling social class who preferred hard woods to make their furniture such as the oak furniture, pine furniture was made for the minority, it was made for masses of people who couldn’t afford oak furniture. This was during the Industrial Revolution in the 18th and 19th centuries. Pine furniture basically exudes softness and warmth although not as durable as oak furniture.
The rise of the numbers of craftsmen was evidence enough that there was an enormous demand for oak furniture where people wanted to furnish every room in their houses with oak from an intricate tester bed to a simple kitchen chair or fine dining table. Oak was in abundance across England hence making it a perfect resource for craftsmen to experiment on new designs of furniture.
Since the medieval times, oak furniture has become the most preferred although it has also become more expensive partly because of the considerable amount of time it takes for the trees to mature enough and become ready for use. Another contributing factor is the substantial amount of time, and the significant degree of craftsmanship employed in the production of the impeccable designs that bring color and live to homes. Consequently, this has made pine furniture financially more accessible to the people on a budget.
Whereas today oak furniture is mad of nuts, bolts and screws, traditionally, it was made using traditional, age old methods which incorporated woodworking joints to help provide the flexibility and strength. Joints such as the famous dovetail joint, traces its roots back to the medieval era when oak furniture came into the limelight.
The oak furniture history set the stepping stone for the designs that we see today of oak furniture. The designs that we see today are a recreation where each piece is handcrafted in oak to produce meticulous designs that will be marveled at in the coming years.
Author Resource:-
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