Have you heard of burl wood? If you’re not familiar with different types of wood or antique furniture, maybe you haven’t.
A lot of furniture has been crafted from burled wood or burl wood veneer (especially valuable antiques). You may have even seen a tree with a wood burl on it and not realized what it was. Keep reading to learn more about burled wood – what it is, how it happens, and why it’s valuable.
What is Burl Wood (aka Burled Wood)?
A wood burl happens when a tree has a growth or deformity due to infestation or illness (some kind of stress). It’s found in oak, maple, walnut, cherry, ash, redwood, and other tree species. It’s usually found in the roots, curled branches, or large rounded “warts” on the tree. Some people think of the growths as ugly imperfections but others see them as rare and beautiful.
Burl Wood Furniture and Accessories
Burled wood is thick and resists splitting, so it’s ideal for building furniture and decor with unique designs. It’s also often cut into thin layers and used as veneer for furniture, musical instruments, automobile paneling, and more.
Is Burl Wood Expensive?
Because of its qualities, pieces made from burled wood or burled wood veneer are one-of-a-kind and can be quite expensive (especially large pieces like furniture).
Some Burl Wood Examples
First is this burled wood buffet that I bought years ago to refinish and has been in my storage unit for awhile now:
You can see the variations in the wood and how the patterns are symmetrical on the drawers and doors.
Here’s another antique burled wood piece below that I bought to refinish – it was a non-working radio cabinet and so far I’ve only removed the radio parts from the inside. Again, the doors have a lovely symmetrical design:
Here are a few more examples of burl wood:
Burl Wood Coffee Table available from Wayfair ($2489 on sale)
Redwood burl wood phone case by Carved (so neat)
You get the idea, and now you know what is burl wood. Burled wood is rare, often very expensive, and definitely special.
So this begs the question… how do you respectfully repair damaged burl wood furniture? Read this post to learn more: How to Repair Burl Wood Furniture
As for the two burl wood pieces that I showed you earlier and are currently in my storage unit – I plan to add shelves in the radio cabinet and paint the inside white, and just freshen up the wood on the outside with maybe hemp oil (it’s already gorgeous in my opinion).
For the buffet, I need to check it over again to assess the condition of the veneer. Depending on how it looks, I might do a partial two-tone finish. Or I might not do any painting at all… that’s why it’s been sitting in my storage unit for years. I had planned to paint it at first and then decided I couldn’t just cover up all that beautiful wood.
Feel free to Pin or share this post so others can be educated too. Talk soon, friend – I appreciate you! – Jen, Girl in the Garage
