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The Beauty of Natural Hardwood
Hardwoods offer a tremendous selection of grain patterns, color variations and textures. Choices range from the bold
statements of oak and hickory to the more subdued personalities of cherry and maple. These variations define and enhance wood's
natural beauty. Because no two trees are exactly alike, the cabinets made for your kitchen or bath will have subtle variations from the
showroom displays or samples on which you based your selection. The quality solid hardwoods used in Wellborn cabinetry are some
of the most beautiful and enduring natural materials available. Homeowners sometimes confuse quality, consistency and uniformity.
Natural hardwood products are never as uniform as, say, wallpaper from a catalog; that's a major source of their charm. But "less
uniform" does not mean "inconsistent," "lower quality" or "uncontrollable."
All hardwoods, being a product of nature, vary from one piece to the next, even from the same tree, each having its own
characteristics. Therefore, each piece of wood, each cabinet and each kitchen is unique. (Cabinetry that emphasizes the rich
grain pattern and unique texture of solid hardwood has a greater perceived value.) No human being was ever intended to
control the natural development of hardwoods. This is the unique beauty of natural hardwood and this is the distinct beauty of solid
wood cabinets. Wellborn Cabinet, Inc., believes there is nothing more beautiful than solid wood. That is why Wellborn is one of the few
remaining manufacturers who continues to use solid wood in most of our doors and drawer fronts.
Cherry
Cherry is synonymous with luxurious
cabinets. The rich red highlights give the
wood a distinctive appearance. Cherry will occasionally have
tiny pin knots, pitch pockets and very small, dark streaks of gum.
These features have fascinated woodworkers for centuries.
Character Cherry
Character cherry's unique characteristics
are emphasized by randomly occurring
various sized knots, pin knots, pitch pockets and small streaks
of gum. Cluster knots and open knots could also be a feature.
The amount of character will vary from each door making each
kitchen unique.
Maple
Maple is widely used in the cabinetry
industry. This wood species features a
straight grain with several distinctive characteristics. These
include unique figures such as bird's-eye, fiddle back, mineral
streaks and curly grain patterns. Finely textured with a natural
luster, this creamy-white to light reddish-brown wood is often
used for cabinets and floors.
Character Maple
Character maple's unique characteristics
are brought out by randomly occurring,
variously sized knots, pin holes, worm holes and tracks, gum
and bark pockets, sugar tracks, heartwood and mineral streaks.
Cluster knots and open knots could also be a feature. The amount
of character marks will vary from each piece of wood making each
kitchen unique.
Oak
Authentic
open-pored and have grain patterns.
Wellborn's manufacturing technology presents oak with straighter
grains than most cabinet lines, and our process minimizes the
wide grains and reduces the widths of cathedrals in oak.
The solid hardwood furnishings
and materials used in your
cabinetry are made up of tiny
pieces of wood. Each is unique
and if you look carefully, you may
notice natural variations in color.
The lighter pieces were closer to
the tree's bark, while the darker
pieces were closer to its center.
All are equally strong and impart the beauty and value
that make hardwoods second to none.
The unique grain patterns in solid hardwood are
related to the tree's growth rings. The distinctive
differences come about as the wood is prepared for
use in your home.
Technical assistance provided by The Hardwood Council, www.hardwoodcouncil.com, and
The Hardwood Manufacturer's Association, 400 Penn Center Blvd., Suite 530, Pittsburgh, PA 15235.
American
red
oaks
are
Hickory
Hickory
colors from light to dark and strong grain
characteristics. The texture of hickory is open grained. Hickories
by nature are heavy, hard, strong and stiff—producing durable
cabinetry. Hickory is for homeowners desiring dramatic wood
characteristics.
Thermofoil
Thermofoil doors and drawer fronts are
covered in a strong, scratch-resistant
thermofoil that is thermally glued and vacuum-sealed. To create
the popular raised panel appearance we use precision, diamond-
head routers to carve the double-step perimeter edge and center
panel detailing from a solid slab of medium density fiberboard.
Laminate
Melamine is a decorative panel with
Melamine-resin-saturated
paper thermally fused to a particleboard or MDF core. The
thermally fused melamine (TFM) process bonds the paper and the
board using heat and pressure.
MDF
MDF (Medium Density Fiberboard) is a
smooth paintable substrate used for door
and drawer fronts to ensure good adhesion and a smooth finish.
MDF is durable and tough enough to stand up to the demands of
daily use.
All trees grow limbs, which fall to the forest floor as
the tree matures. The tree trunk, however, will always
have a knot where those limbs once were. Parts of that
tree, knots and all, may find new life in your hardwood
cabinetry. These natural markings are proof of your
hardwood's origins and they have absolutely no effect
on it's durability and structural integrity.
has
distinctive
contrasting
decorative
Trees absorb minerals and other essential
elements as they grow and prosper. You may
see their traces in the hardwood cabinets,
flooring or furnishings in your kitchen and
bath. These natural characteristics let you
know you are enjoying the authentic item,
and not an artificial wood imitation.
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