Often called African teak, afrormosia grows in relatively dry forests in the Congo basin of west Africa. Typically available in larger leaves than teak, it has a beautiful golden brown color; a fine, uniform texture; natural luster; and a typically straight grain that may produce a broken stripe when quarter cut. This veneer can be stained to a variety of colors and is a popular choice for architectural and boat interiors.
Yellow
Amboyna burl is among the world’s rarest and most expensive veneers—holding the distinction of being the original wood used on Rolls Royce dashboards. Leafs are small in dimension due to the small size of the burl. Deep yellow-orange to red, amboina burl has an unsurpassed depth and beauty prized in high quality architectural woodwork and cabinetry.
Ancient Norwegians considered a mythological ash tree to be the center of the world. Among the palest colored veneers, ash has a lustrous surface, beautiful straight grain, a light stripe effect, and subtle contrast between its light tan heartwood and creamy sapwood. It produces a wide range of beautiful, shimmering figures and delicate burls. Extremely strong, ash is the lumber of choice for parallel bars, baseball bats and tool handles. In veneer, it’s prized for high quality furniture and for use in light, open interiors.
Avodire is a pale yellow African wood with a natural luster, moderate to fine texture, and very little contrast between heartwood and sapwood. A wide range of grain patterns and figures, combined with a shimmery chotoyance (cat’s eye effect), make it popular in cabinetry, furniture, and architectural interiors. Highly figured logs fetch high prices.
Thousands of centuries ago, Lebanese cedar was one of the world’s most precious woods, used in the construction of ancient temples and palaces. Today, this beautiful, decorative wood is now primarily grown in England and France. Rare and highly prized, most logs are produced by local European veneer merchants with local knowledge of the availability of this exceptional veneer.
Cerejiera is a South American wood particularly prized in crotch veneer—a figure that develops when two branches or trunks are knit together as they grow (sometimes called a plume or feather pattern). The pyramid-like pattern is lively, rich in contrast, and fascinating to behold. This rare veneer is sought after for high-end furniture and as a featured accent in architectural interiors
European Elm with cluster figuring features a lively and dynamic grain pattern, as well as a coarse texture. The wood’s color ranges from yellow to tan with a subtle pink undertone. It’s worth noting that the color tones can vary significantly from one log to another. The unique grain and warm color palette creates a timeless and cheerful aesthetic. This particular type of Elm is primarily found in Eastern Europe, France, and northeastern and southeastern Finland, and is most commonly known for its exceptional durability and resilience.
The rustic character of this wood works well in both contemporary and arcadian settings. The vivid, contrasting red-yellow stripe is typically straight, even, and seldom, if ever, figured. Generally quarter cut, more veneer and production plywood are made from this specie than any other worldwide.
The largest of the hemlocks, this hemlock grows over 300’ tall from the Rockies to the Pacific coast. It has a straight grain, tightly spaced growth rings, somewhat course texture, and flat, uniform appearance with little distinction between the heartwood and sapwood. Hemlock takes finishing well and can be stained in virtually any color, making it an adaptable wood for interior projects.
A relative newcomer to the US market, jequitiba has grown in popularity in the last decade as an alternative to mahogany for rich, traditional interiors. The reddish to purple-brown heartwood, sometimes with dark streaks, varies only subtly from its paler sapwood. It has a medium luster, fine grain, and soft, smooth texture. These large trees produce ample size leaves for large installations. Flat cut, it has a pleasing cathedral figure; quartered wood may be figured.
Larch is an exceptionally straight-grained veneer with a reddish-brown heartwood and thin, yellow-white sapwood. This tall, straight tree grows to exceptional heights, producing long lengths of clear veneer, primarily from the heartwood of the tree. Fumed, the typically medium colored wood turns a rich, dark, chocolate brown color reminiscent of African or tropical woods.
Although veneer is often labeled white or black limba, there is really just one limba tree. Black limba refers veneer selected from the darker heartwood of the tree—typically reddish brown with varying degrees of irregular black streaking—and is somewhat more rare than white limba, which is cut from the lighter sapwood of the same tree. Figured wood is highly prized for architectural use.
Artists and designers alike appreciate the elegant lines of this lighter alternative to African mahogany. It’s lighter in color, firmer in texture, and straighter in grain than its African counterpart. Among the finest woods in the world, this is a versatile and adaptable choice for architectural interiors.
Movingui is an exotic wood with a lustrous surface, fine texture, and bright lemony-gold to orange-brown color. It has a fine, even texture and produces a variety of figures including fiddleback, mottle, and bee’s wing. Deviations in the fiber appear as horizontal stripes that emphasize its satiny finish. Because it resembles satinwood, particularly in its intense luster, it’s sometimes called Nigerian satinwood.
A cousin of the hickory, the pecan tree was so central to native Americans in the lower Mississippi river valley that it was associated with the Great Spirit. Today the tree is cultivated in southern orchards for nuts and is prized as a fine cabinet wood. It has a typically straight grain, a medium texture, low natural sheen, a medium reddish-brown heartwood and paler yellow sapwood, and may be figured. Pecan stains well and is sometimes stained to match or replicate other woods.
A species that has over 30 species throughout the world, we supply Yellow Poplar as the base specie for some of our Bleached and Dyed offerings. One of the most common utility hardwoods in America, Poplar comes from the tulip tree and often comes in a wide range of colors throughout the sap and heartwood of the tree. It is often used in the veneer and lumber industry as paint grade wood, but is very versatile because it takes glues and finishes well. Yellow Poplar's light color and ability to take a finish is why it is used in the dyed veneer options we offer.
This rare and beautiful, light-colored Central American tree grows in a dog-leg fashion, making straight sections over 10’ uncommon. Because it must be cut when the sap is low, native loggers watch the phases of the moon, waiting for the waning phases when sap is limited to harvest. Yellowish-red in color, and streaked by brown, red, or orange, the wood produces a range of beautiful figures and is highly prized for architectural work.
Madagascar Rosewood can be found in various shades of deep brown to reddish-brown. The veneer has a medium to fine texture and ribbon grain, typical of rosewoods, with pronounced dark red, vertical lines that can be wavy in some logs. Darker streaks are common and can produce a spiderweb-like figure. Flat cut, the log produces a swirly, burl-like heart.
This is one of the world’s most loved and prized veneers. It ranges in color from lustrous chocolate-brown to purple-black with a cream colored sapwood—all very saturated with a vivid contrast. It has a lively variegated stripe and occasional bee’s wing figure and, when flat cut, produces a characteristic cathedral pattern. Increasingly used as a substitute for the extremely rare but prized Rio rosewood.
Satinwood is a pale gold wood with a rippled grain and straight striping. Typically figured, Satinwood often produces a bee’s wing or mottle figure. Satinwood is used for decorative inlays on table and conference tops. It is also used for high quality furniture and cabinets. Select logs are sliced to produce extremely attractive veneers for high-end architectural paneling, cabinets, and marquetry.
Pale yellow-gray to nearly white, sen is a Japanese ash popular in Japan for both furniture and interiors. It has a straight, fine grain when cut on the quarter and a nice cathedral character with a fine grain on either side of the heart when flat cut. When marked with a pommele figure, this veneer is called "tamo." Sen is an excellent choice for a variety of interiors aesthetics including modern, Asian, and minimalist designs.
Knotty spruce, characterized by its distinctive features, presents a charming and rustic aesthetic. The wood showcases a myriad of small, brown knots scattered throughout its surface, creating a unique and visually appealing texture. These knots add character to the spruce, bringing forth a sense of natural artistry. The uniform light color of the specie produces a natural radiance and a prominent striped grain, while the patterns formed by the knots contribute to the wood’s overall rustic charm. This wood variety is not only visually striking, but also carries a touch of authenticity, making it an excellent choice for those seeking a distinctive natural appeal in their furnishings or architectural elements.
Vintage knotty spruce is sliced from hand-hewn beams reclaimed from old farmhouses, barns, or commercial buildings. Preserving the natural character of the wood, the beams are washed, de-nailed, dimensionally sorted, and then sliced into veneer. The veneer is generally straight grained with knotty characteristics that include splits, checks, nail holes, and occasional discolorations that reflect its history and give the wood a rustic feel. This veneer is sliced at 1.4 mm and intended for use in random sequences.
Tamo is the name given to highly figured, rotary cut, Japanese ash. This highly prized veneer is known and sought-after worldwide for its stunning, lustrous, pommele or "peanut shell" figure—a lively, variable, swirling background with peanut or blister figuring. Colors range from brownish-tan to gray to almost white—all of which provide rare and uncommon options for highly decorative interior spaces and custom furniture.
Probably one of the most unusual woods in the world, zebrawood creates a powerful presence in the built environment. This African wood has a light background overlaid vivid, roughly parallel dark stripes that earn its name. This highly decorative veneer is prized for both interior panels and custom cabinetry and comes in large sizes that simplify planning in large-scale architectural installations. Also available in recon.