Our pieces are finished with a penetrating oil that sits in the timber rather than forming a film on top of it. That is a deliberate trade: it marks a little more easily than a polyurethane lacquer, and in exchange every mark is repairable at home, for the life of the piece.
Everyday cleaning
A dry or barely damp microfibre cloth, wiped along the grain. That is the whole routine. Dry immediately afterwards — standing water is the only routine enemy of an oiled surface.
What to avoid: spray polishes containing silicone (they build a film that later prevents re-oiling), anything with ammonia or bleach, methylated spirits, and "wood cleaner" products that are mostly solvent. If you need more than water, use a drop of pH-neutral dish soap in warm water and dry straight after.
Re-oiling: once a year, or when water stops beading
The test is simple. Put a few drops of water on the surface and wait thirty seconds. If they sit as beads, the oil is intact. If they darken the timber, it is time.
- Clean the surface and let it dry completely.
- If there is any roughness, sand lightly along the grain with 240–320 grit. Do not cut through to bare pale timber unless you are repairing a mark.
- Apply a thin coat of a hardwax or penetrating furniture oil with a lint-free cloth, working along the grain.
- Wait 15–20 minutes, then wipe off all the excess. Oil left to dry on the surface goes sticky, and the fix is to strip it.
- Leave it 24 hours before putting anything back on it.
Horizontal surfaces that get daily use — a shoe cabinet top, a sideboard you serve from — may want this every 9–12 months. Sides and doors rarely need it more than every few years.
Fixing the three common marks
- White ring from a glass or hot mug. This is moisture trapped in the oil layer, not damage to the timber. Sand the ring lightly with 320 grit along the grain and re-oil the whole panel, not just the ring.
- Scratch. Sand along the grain through 240 then 320 grit until the scratch disappears, feather the edges out well past the mark, and re-oil the full panel so the sheen is even.
- Dent (crushed fibres, no break). Lay a damp cloth over the dent and press a warm iron onto it for a few seconds at a time. The steam swells the crushed fibres back. Sand lightly and re-oil.
None of these are possible on veneer, which is why we sell solid.
Sunlight and humidity — the Australian part
Direct sun will change the colour of any hardwood, and unevenly if part of the surface is covered. For the first year especially, rotate runners, lamps and trays, or leave the surface clear so it ages evenly. Cherry and walnut change fastest.
Solid timber also responds to humidity: it takes up moisture in a wet Brisbane summer and gives it back in a dry Melbourne winter. Small seasonal movement is normal and designed for — it is why drawer bottoms float in grooves instead of being glued. What is not normal is placing a piece directly against a ducted heating outlet or an unflued gas heater, where the timber dries far faster on one face than the other. Keep 300mm of air.
What the warranty covers
Our 10-year structural warranty covers the frame, the joinery and the timber itself — the things that cannot be fixed with an afternoon and a cloth. Surface finish is the part you maintain, and the reason we finish in oil is that you can. If something structural does go wrong, our team answers phone, live chat and email during business hours, usually within minutes.
