Sitting as I am amidst a vortex of period mahogany furniture, the opportunity to recast it as green has a refreshing, if not downright salubrious effect. Sort of like mixing a bit of branch water with whiskey.
No question, the watchword in interior design is green, and the reuse of period material can be thought the greenest technique of all. Our discussion will avoid a consideration, naturally, of the deforestation that occurred in the first place to produce the then newly constructed pieces so prized in the 18th century. Well, we don’t wish to foster an anachronism. In the decades just following the voyages of discovery, who knew but to exploit what the explorers found- particularly if they could work to annihilation the local population to so do. Times, thank goodness, change. Mind you, I am not suggesting we build a memorial pyre and fuel it with mahogany, satinwood, and rosewood furniture, in expiation of the spoliation wrought in the 18th century- we just won’t make that mistake again.
While the use of the woods and their novel color and, in the case of satinwood and some mahoganies, near iridescence, are features that we can barely see to appreciate some 200 or more years on, the grains that were also an integral feature need be mentioned. Referred to in the trade as ‘figuring’, the grain of the wood is at least as important as its color. While reforestation and proper management have made some timbers accessible, what can’t be duplicated is the figuring found in the old growth timbers felled centuries ago. Most of my 20 or so devoted readers have heard of figured mahogany veneers descriptively named ‘flame,’ ‘plum-pudding’, and ‘fiddle-back’, but satinwood veneers, for instance, can be equally as complex. The mania for satinwood peaked in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when it was used prodigiously in the production of Edwardian period ‘Sheraton revival’ furniture. Sadly, for all its use, the veneering patterns with their uniform striations betray a later growth satinwood, pretty but not as interesting as those timbers exploited a century or so earlier.
While period satinwood with its color and figuring should be considered a treasure worth preserving, its physical properties sometimes cause it to appear distressed when, in fact, it isn’t. It is worth bearing in mind that satinwood has always been in scarce supply and oftentimes, to accentuate its rarity and the preciosity of the furniture that utilized it as a primary timber, the secondary timber was frequently mahogany. Gillows, for instance, regularly veneered satinwood over mahogany. However, satinwood is much softer than mahogany- or nearly any other wood- and satinwood will often shrink and contract at a considerably greater rate than the secondary timber to which it is applied. Over time, veneers will lift and shrinkage cracks will appear in satinwood more than any other exotic wood. While lifting veneers can be flattened, shrinkage cracks cannot be repaired short of replacing the range of veneer- something I would not recommend. In fact, I generally look for shrinkage cracks in satinwood as an indication that the veneer is original.
With all the column inches dedicated to green design, there should be pretty general agreement that the use of period furniture is of benefit to the planet. A bit of connoisseurship might be engendered, as well, with the realization by contemporary generation of acquisitors that new furniture while it might be able to replicate the outline of period pieces, cannot duplicate their color and figuring.