Your choice of materials can have a marked impact on the overall feel of your interior. Among the most powerful weapons in the designer’s arsenal is timber. With its natural grain, it can add a touch of the organic to an otherwise sterile environment. There are myriad different sorts of timber available, and it can be adapted for a range of purposes. Working with wood properly demands the right tools. This will ensure not only that you’re able to produce great results, but that you’ll spend your woodworking time most efficiently. You’ll find great instruction on these matters over on the SGS engineering website.

Floors, Walls, and Ceilings

If you can, restore original wooden flooring like in this 19th-century apartment 🠕

Wooden floors confer distinct practical advantages over the alternatives. They don’t get cold in the same way as tiles do. Moreover, they’re less likely to smash your phone if you’re unfortunate enough to drop it. At the same time, they’re easier to clean than carpets, and minor scrapes and scratches can be repaired with a few moment’s sanding and some protective treatment. When it comes to walls and ceilings, practical considerations aren’t so pressing: you’re not, after all, going to be actually walking on the surface. Painted paneling can help to break apart larger open spaces, and thereby eliminate that sterile, empty feeling.

Doors

Always choose to restore old wooden doors if it’s possible. Not only you will have a unique interior element, but a quality item that will last for decades.

The overwhelming majority of interior doors are made from some kind of wood. The alternatives, like metal and glass, might lend a modern aesthetic – though in practice they usually give the impression of an office building or school. The treatment you apply to the wood is just as important as the wood itself, from an aesthetic point of view. If you’ve invested in quality, then going for a natural finish will allow the underlying grain to shine through. If you’d prefer a more traditional look, then plain white tends to work well. Bear in mind that gloss finishes work best when it comes to doors, as they’ll naturally repel the oil of people’s fingers that come from frequent touching.

Furniture

You don’t need to invest in expensive wooden furniture. Plywood is cheap, long-lasting, and looks fantastic 🠕

Timber is an exceptionally adaptable material when it comes to furniture making. While we might have access to more modern alternatives like metal and plastic, most high-quality pieces of furniture are still made entirely from wood. Of course, this means you’ll be paying a premium, not only for the material itself but for the carpentry skills required to transform those materials into a worthwhile piece of furniture. You can expect to pay several hundred pounds for a piece of solid oak furniture. The good news, however, is that it’ll remain in place for decades if properly cared for.

This restored old wooden desk is now a beautiful interior element 🠕

If you have older wooden furniture knocking around, then you might elect to restore it yourself. This might mean giving it a quicksand and reapplying some treatment. This serves two functions. Firstly, it will alter the look of the material. Secondly, it’ll protect it from moisture and other problems. If you’re looking for second-hand furniture, then be sure to be wary of woodworm and other pests before you invest.