Types of Timber for Furniture
Creating sustainable furniture from native Australian recycled timber
In Australia, we are so lucky to have such as wide range of beautiful and sustainable timbers available to us to create truly stunning furniture. At Bombora, we primarily use wood from the local Victorian Eucalyptus species of Messmate, Wormy Chestnut and Australian Chestnut to build our pieces of timber furniture.
We prefer to use these timbers as they are hard-wearing, have low travel miles and create a beautiful finish. We only use new timbers that have been certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) to ensure they have been responsibly sourced.
Messmate is otherwise known as Eucalyptus obliqua. The colour of Messmate ranges from a pale to medium toned brown to light yellow with a hint of peach. A quintessential charactaristic of this timber is the regular gum veins, well defined rings and a coarse grain.
The tones of this timber range from a pale to medium brown to a light peach. A quintessential characteristic of this timber is the regular gum veins, well-defined rings and coarse grain. The tone is more consistent in comparison to recycled Messmate.
Wormy Chestnut is a newly harvested timber from a collection of Victorian species of Eucalyptus including Messmate, Silvertop Ash and Cuttail. This timber has a straw blonde or light brown tone with black sap line markings.
Australian Chestnut is a newly harvested timber that is hand selected at the timber yard to have minimal black features. It is a straw to light warm brown tone with a fine grain pattern. Australian Chestnut furniture has a versatility that ensures it is suited to a wide range of aesthetics.
Blackbutt or Eucalyptus pililaris is from the family of Myrtaceae native to southeastern Australia. This beautiful timber tends to be creamy light brown in colour, coarse textured, fairly straight grained with common small gum veins. Its hard texture makes it perfect for making furniture.
American Oak is a newly harvested timber from the Quercus Alba tree that is native to Northern America. This timber is very similar in colour and appearance to European Oak. It is a beautiful light brown colour with an ash blonde tone. It has a unique grain pattern that is not found in any other timber.
A newly harvested timber from the Juglans Nigra tree native to Northern America that is also known as Black Walnut. This is a stunning timber with rich dark chocolate brown tones. The grain is generally straight with interesting curves making a subtle yet beautiful pattern.
A new timber from the Acacia Melanoxylon tree native to the south eastern states of Australia. This beautiful timber has a seductive warm brown tone with hints of gold. It has been long used to create decorative items such as furniture, musical instruments and tools. The gentle waves of the grain create subtle interest.