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When you look around at your friends homes that have been furnished recently, youre likely to see more use of acacia wood, rather than only seeing pine or mahogany pieces. The wood is a bit more exotic because its not grown in the UK, so its not been more widely used up until now. But word is spreading about this renewable tree species.
Lets learn a bit more about this interesting wood to see how its different.
What is Acacia Wood?
Acacia is a type of wood that grows in Africa, the Americas, Asia, and the Pacific Rim. However, it originated in Australia and is native there. Theres actually more than one thousand varieties of Acacia trees in Australia, so the grain and overall appearance is different, with different furniture made from this wood species. It is a hardwood, so its suitable for timber, logs, and for sturdy furnitures like chairs, tables, and other items in the home.
How Is Acacia Different to Other Species of Tree?
The durability of Acacia, plus its resistance to water damage, are key selling points in products made from the wood. This was a major takeaway I got from an interview with Rajiv, a furniture maker for the past 35 years, who praised that fact that Acacia products are quite resistant to scratches, unlike some other wood species that show scratches more obviously.
The natural colour is a dark brown hue with a rich grain thats attractive. Used in the kitchen or bathroom, the wood lends depth to its surroundings. There are useful antibacterial properties to this wood too, especially types of fungus, which makes it useful when made into kitchen food bowls, serving bowls, and other kitchenware. Plus, the waterproof nature of this wood means kitchenware wont warp out of shape from water damage either.
Does It Have a Distinctive Feel?
Its possible to polish the wood to make it feel smooth as silk, well almost, but it naturally has a smooth wood finish, so thats hardly necessary. Its certainly good for food bowls because it provides clean curves where food can move around freely with no rough edges to store crumbs or catch food on.
How to Keep Acacia Woods Durability?
To ensure the long-term viability of any acacia wood furniture, it needs to be hand-washed carefully and not placed in the dishwasher. It is a bad idea to leave the bowls in the sink to soak for a while, along with the other plates and dishes if you dont have a dishwasher; the prolonged exposure to water could damage the product. Therefore, soaking the wood is a bad idea. A medium water temperature is fine, but extremes of either cold or hot temperatures could damage the acacia wood by making it brittle.
Renewable Forestry at Work
One of the advantages of the Acacia trees is that when harvested, they grow fast when replanted. Pine trees typically grow about 7% biologically every year, but Acacia beats this hands-down. Due to the speed of natural growth, its difficult for forestry companies to run out of wood supply and deplete the forest in the process. As such, its a good renewable resource that also cleans the air like other forests do too. When first cut, it also has a sweet aroma, which is different to other trees too.
Whether you simply like the darker finish of Acacia wood, the renewable forestry aspects due to its faster organic growth rate, or that it has a strong visual appearance that compliments any room, the popularity of this wood species continues to grow as more homeowners learn about it and express a preference for it.
