Peter Oak is one of the oldest types of wood with its use in making house furniture dating back several centuries. The quality of oak has made it the most popular choice for a lot of homeowners and interior designers. It is popular for its beautiful and hardy grain. Once sanded down in a smooth fashion, the hardwood serves for a great aesthetic look when coated with a varnish of the best quality or finishing oil.
Features Of Oak Hardwood
The heartwood of oak has a completely conspicuous colour contrast compared to oak sapwood. While sapwood tends to be white in colour, heartwood can either be light brown, dark brown, or brown with a hint of yellow. It has very clear annual rings. It is usually grouped under two categories namely white oak and red oak which are not really white or red respectively. It can prove rather difficult for people to tell the difference between the two types of oak. The difference between them lies in the application. While white oak is mostly used for hardwood flooring, red oak is better suited for wooden furniture applications such as doors, window frames, or as mantles. It is generally, a paler hardwood as compared to other hardwoods such as maple, teak, and walnut. Oak hardwood is also rather dense and hard but its surface is very fine and smooth. However, those are not its only pros.
Pros Of Using Oak Mantels
Oak is very hard and has high density thus rendering it a very stable material to use to make a mantel. Its high density also makes it a strong resistant of rot and makes it highly durable, with its lifetime nearing a hundred years. Its toughness is renowned and can be used to make all kinds of beautiful oak mantels. It has a very beautiful mountain wood grain and its surface feels very fine and smooth to the touch. Oak mantels are a great place to set up a seasonal display, especially during Christmas. A lot of people like to decorate their oak mantels by cutting up small logs then setting them upright on an oak mantle. They also serve as good candle stands while adding a rustic aspect to the decorations you might have set up such as flowers inside vases or candles.
Cons Of Using Oak Wood
An oak mantel can be rather expensive as compared to other forms of wood. Oak can be used to create a very strong mantel, however, they scratch and stain easily. It can be such a disappointment having spent a lot of money to pay for the mantel only for your kids or pets to spoil the surface beauty or smoothness of your mantelpiece.