Kalon is one of my favorite furniture makers and recently they posted an article in their journal about wood and their finishes. I remember when we built our home and I struggled with our builder because I wanted everything unfinished. I told him that my families home in Sweden has pine floors that have never had a finish on them - let's just say we fought about it for a long time (I won! - most of the time). I think that coating beautiful wood with poly wax or whatever is a bit ridiculous and totally oversold by an industry of... well whatever... paint!
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| caravan crib turned into a cute day-bed! |
In this article by Kalon they explain why they finish some things, and not others... thank you for explaining it! and it makes total sense, and no you do not need to finish everything! But... you do need to sometimes, but NOT all the time! There is nothing more beautiful than the natural grain of wood and their furniture shows off just that... the gorgeous wood, oh, and yes it's functional. Their furniture grows up with your kids (and doesn't need to be thrown, sold or given away), it's simplicity means that it can meld with whatever style is in your home and it won't change your entire personality. You adorn IT they way you want or you can leave it alone - it's your choice. OH and they sell organic mattresses to go with your beautiful kalon bed!
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| finishers used in NATURAL finishing - oil-wax and hemp oil! |
Oops, I went off task there (look at their website, you will LOVe everything)... In this article you will find how to finish your pieces, what is best for what wood, natural finishers (!!) and the how-to of it all. So you can make your own decisions, don't let someone tell you that you need to put toxic finishers on your beautiful solid non-toxic wood! Here, Kalon explains natural vs. synthetic finishes:
Natural vs. Synthetic Finishes
Solid wood is a living, breathing material that responds to its environment. This is also true for the solid brass used in the custom drawer pulls and feet. We coat these materials with natural, live finishes as opposed to synthetic, poly finishes because of the way they reveal the natural beauty of the materials and allow them to continue to breathe and patina. Polyurethane may preserve the look of raw wood, but it encases it in a plastic coating that freezes the piece in time. It allows for less frequent maintenance, but damage means that the piece must be completely stripped and refinished. A natural oil and wax finish requires more regular care, but any damage can be spot repaired with light sanding and oiling.But don't try this on your Ikea furniture :)
visit the Kalon website here
link to article on finishes here
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| caravan crib by Kalon |
