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How Wood Furniture from Indonesia is Better
Wood furniture has been around for ages. That many ages are the wood furniture from Indonesia has been around too. Not through different people comes and goes, but by generations of giving down wood-carving from fathers to son and from a son to grandsons. Such was how the wood furniture in Indonesia maintains its beauty and its quality.
Is it Any Different from other Places Around the Globe?
The first thing that can be said about furniture from Indonesia is that Indonesia has its own woods. Teak wood especially is the most common commodity to use in making furniture.
While other countries may struggle to keep up with their need of good quality wood, Indonesia as a tropical country have their own supply of woods, and thus have relatively lower price than those who make furniture from imported woods.
Teak itself has been known for a long time as one of the highest grade hardwood out there. It is strong, durable, and gorgeous both as new cut and as an aged piece.
While many of South Asia has teak woods, Indonesian teak woods in particular are planted by the government in order to keep the revitalization alive. Every time one teak tree is cut down, it will be replaced by another one. Each wood is given registry number that you can track, making sure that the very wood you have is legal.
Types of Woods Used in Furniture Made in Indonesia
Wood furniture from Indonesia commonly uses teak wood for material. Other material made into furniture then ranged from teak, sungkai, mahogany, rosewood, suar, rubberwood, and acacia. All of them have their own characteristics.
Mahogany especially is known for its sturdiness and grows on many tropical countries. The one native to Indonesia is called Toona Sureni which is largely used as a substitute for teak wood mainly for its economic advantages.
Teak
Teak wood belongs to the ideal wood group for strength, durability, and the beauty of the preferred fiber. This wood is very resistant to termites and fungus attacks. In addition, teak wood has good resistance to weather and temperature changes.
Sungkai
One of the characteristics possessed by sungkai wood is that it is dominated by bright colors. Where the sapwood on this wood is white to pale yellow. While the terrace has a slightly dark color.
The colors on the sapwood and terraces that are not too contrasting make the resulting furniture need to use transparent colors. This is because the combination of these colors will give the impression of elegance.
Mahogany
Wood has reddish brown color with similar grain to teak wood. The color is usually colored several shades darker according to demands from locals.
Mahogany certainly is a durable wood. It, however, does not contain natural pests resistant like teak wood does.
Rosewood
Has constant linear grain pattern with brown to dark brown color that looks like someone carves patterns on it. That is the main stem. The outer stem is a light blond color that contrasted wildly to the color inside the wood, making the wood looking gorgeous.
It is unfortunately deemed as an endangered species internationally, even though it is not the case in Indonesia. Obeying the law, Indonesia unfortunately cannot ship the wood to USA. However, it is still used, though not widely, as wood furniture from Indonesia.
Raw rosewood from Indonesia cannot be exported anywhere, however, finished products can still be delivered to many countries. The only exception for this is USA that has strict rules to prevent the endangered species in.
Suar or Monkeypod
A tropical tree just like teak wood and mahogany. It has beautiful dark brown color that age into gray color like teak wood under the sun.
The diameter of this wood can reach up to 2 meters long, which is taken advantage of by making it into a one wide piece of table top. The downside of suar wood on the other hand is that is has high moisture content. Even dried with oven, it would take a long time to lose enough water to make furniture. This will certainly affect its price in its finished state as a wood or as furniture.
Rubberwood
The wood taken from rubber plants. Labeled as environment-friendly factor as it is the waste of rubber production, the furniture made from the rubberwood is getting popular.
Furniture from Indonesia especially has a lot of this woods made into functional furniture. Though not as durable and strong as teak or mahogany, rubberwood is pretty desirable with the right layering to top the finishing off.
Acacia
Growing to 30 meters high, acacia is used a lot for furniture. It certainly has lower grade than teak and other woods, but it still is used widely for economical reason. Ikea, for instance, has been known to use this wood for their production.
Wood Furniture from Indonesia: Quality or Price?
If you are looking for quality, there is no doubt in choosing teak as the best option for your furniture. Mahogany would be your second option with of course lesser quality.
Rosewood can also be your option for the material of the furniture you are ordering from Indonesia, if you are not from USA of course.
If you are looking for buying a lot of furniture at once with strict budget, you can always look for manufacturers that can get you wood furniture made from rubberwood and acacia.
Tropical woods are abundant and so you can choose freely whether you want to prioritize quality or price.
Hardwood vs Softwood Furniture
Wood furniture from Indonesia can also be differentiated using whether they are made from hardwood or softwood. Hardwood furniture such as teak and mahogany will have higher price than softwood like albasia—or sengon in Indonesia.
This will certainly affect price too, however, it is known that Indonesia has a very competitive price with its neighboring countries regarding price.
Whether you are looking for intricate, very detailed carving for you furniture or a simple, modern, and simplistic furniture, you can always choose among the many manufacturers in Indonesia.
To Conclude
Wood furniture from Indonesia is made with native Indonesian wood as well. With various choices of types of woods in Indonesia, you will have as much option in buying wood furniture.
Starting from beautiful and durable strong, teak, mahogany, sungkai, gorgeous rosewood, environmentally friendly rubber wood, big and wide suar, to easy-growing acacia, you can have your very own option in what wood will make your furniture.
Taking into account your budget, this wood furniture in Indonesia made from each wood would have different prices from pretty low budget to the higher ones. You can also consider taking softwood as your furniture.
