Oak has been used for furniture for over thousand years. And is still being used today, so a brief history of oak furniture is presented here.. Oak was chosen originally for its availability, but now it is chosen for its other qualities. Oak was so plentiful, it covered the lands of England and Europe and it was used from anything from wagons to ships (its water resistant properties being especially useful)The qualities that oak has make it one of the more spectacular timbers to use for furniture. Oak is sturdy, heavy, dense, and has a beautiful grain. That means that oak can be used for all sorts of furniture and suffer the punishment children will give and still look great.

Oak is a native northern hemisphere tree and was very plentiful across Europe and England for many years. When people first started making furniture back in the Dark Ages they made It from what was freely available.The earliest recorded information about wooden furniture is in Norman Times.

The very first oak furniture was very solid and basic in design and generally a bench. Benches were made for nobles and other wealthy people. Only the very wealthy and powerful had raised seating, hence the names of power that we retain today like "Chairman", "Member of the Board" and "Before the Bench".The majority of the population had little furniture until the 19th century. After benches came chests to store things in, and cupboards with shelves to put them on. Originally chest were just hollowed logs with lids, then a drawer was added to the base and a chest of drawers was thought of! Turning the chest on its end led to the early wardrobes. Although most of these early pieces of furniture were used to store weapons and armaments, as well as money.

Middle Ages

As society developed the middle classes became wealthier and began to spend money on non essential items, this included furniture. Furniture was often commissioned and would include dates or names of the family it was made for. Furniture was made be skilled artisans who had to undergo years of apprenticeships and training to earn the right to join the master craftsmans guild. Being a guild member was a mark of the quality of work that could be expected. Furniture became more decorative around this time, with lots of carvings. There a many examples of medieval oak  carved panels one of which is the British House Of Commons which has high quality pieces.

Oak suffered a decline after the mid 1600's as the lighter timbers of Europe gained in popularity. Oak began to become popular again in England around the Wars, but as the material was scarce the style of furniture was much slimmer and lighter, both in amount of material and lines.

Mission Oak Furniture

In America at around the turn of the 20th century oak which was plentiful was being used to create furniture. The American Arts and Crafts Movement saw the emergence of a number of new designers whose work would influence American furniture for many years. Gustav Stickly was one such designer. Mission furniture was a term first mentioned by a New York manufacturer and store keeper Joseph McHugh. It was used to describe a rustic styled chair with simple lines and a rush seat, based upon a design of chairs made for a Spanish mission church- hence the term mission furniture. Mission furniture quickly became very popular and was a term for simple, straight lined furniture. It was also widely available and not every piece was well made, so its reputation is varied. Today mission oak furniture is becoming popular again, and again the quality of what is available is very varied. Always look out for solid wood, it will serve you better than other types of material for furniture.

Today

Today oak is available for all kinds of furniture. It characteristics are used  to display and oak where they will be most appreciated. You can use oak in any room of the house from oak bedroom furniture  to oak kitchen furniture and oak floors to oak office furniture. Oak lasts so long that much oak furniture is used as heirlooms and passed down from generation to generation. If you care for your oak then you will be able to do the same.