There’s an attraction and a romance with natural wood that is hard to explain. For me it’s akin to a gut reaction that I can’t control. If I see natural wood with spectacular figure and grain or used in some outstanding way, it takes my breath away. It’s not just marveling at the craftsmanship; it’s the draw of the wood itself.

Not far away from my house in Maine is a boutique lumber yard called Rare Woods USA. It specializes in exotic hardwoods from all over the world and has multiple warehouses full of amazing wood. I’ve written about the place before, and I could spend hours there, just checking out the wood. Seeing and touching new species, the smell of the place, the inspiration to make something from a special board — it all combines for a magical experience. 

James Krenov famously wrote about keeping special boards in his shop until they spoke to him and inspired him to make something. I typically buy wood for specific projects, so I seldom succumb to the urge to take possession of a spectacular board without already knowing what I want to build. But I do know people who are self-described “woodaholics.” One gentleman I know has a whole barn full of some of the most spectacular wood you have ever seen. It’s way more than his custom furniture shop probably needs for beyond his lifetime, but he still keeps buying more wood.

After years of design trends for cabinets being dominated by paint, designers tell me the wood look is back. But that includes increasingly realistic synthetic substitutes that mimic the look, color, grain, and texture of natural wood without the finicky workability issues that wood sometimes imposes. That’s good, because demand for the best natural wood continues to outstrip supply. Environmental considerations mean we might not always be able to obtain highly sought after species. And new technologies such as thermally or chemically treated natural woods are allowing more widely available and renewable species to stand in for some exotics or even to compete with synthetic materials in exterior applications.

Still there is something intangible about spectacular natural wood. Marveling at the chatoyance of quilted maple, or the intricate swirling grain of a burl, running your fingers down the rich chocolate surface of some perfect black walnut, or enjoying the dynamic surprise of stripes of ray lines as you open up a quartersawn white oak board for the first time. These are things that feed the magic of natural wood in my soul.

It helps to remind us that working with wood is working with a unique and living material. No two pieces are identical. It inhales and exhales the moisture in the air, expanding and contracting constantly. No matter how perfect the board is, it is not entirely homogenous, and those who treat wood as if it were homogenous are destined to experience failure. I’ll take that challenge any day just to savor the magic of wood.