Wood kitchens

The fascinating study of a plant’s growth rings reveals its age but above all it tells very accurately its relationship with the surrounding environment, the climatic background of the geographical area where it grew, the natural disasters to which it is been subjected and some of the animal species it came into contact with. The width and shape of the rings, for example, are influenced by various events: heavy rains, drought, humidity, fires, thermal shocks, polluting elements. A precious source for the study of the planet.

The characteristics of wood

Physical properties are related to strength, density, hardness and stiffness. There are therefore strong and hard woods: oak, fir, ash tree, plane tree; soft woods: poplar, chestnut, birch; fine and hard woods: walnut, cherry tree, olive tree, ebony, rosewood, mahogany, teak. Furthermore, each essence of wood has other specific properties distinguishing it aesthetically: honey colour, brown, reddish, type of wavy, straight, parallel veins.

The wood used for furniture helps to create warm and intimate environments. One of the most intriguing aspects of this material is that it is alive, in fact its colour tends to vary over time and undergoes slight movements, it expands or shrinks depending on the level of humidity in the environment.

How to design a wood kitchen

Specific skills are required to work wood in order to highlight its intrinsic characteristics. TM Italia offers a wide choice of essences for its kitchens: 15 basic essences including oak, teak, chestnut, bamboo: a selection of 10 premium essences including: olive wood, sycamore, rosewood, ebony, 12 essences dyed with various shades, 7 material essences, 4 coloured material essences. These last two categories include essences that are valorized thanks to specific treatments including: thermo-treatment, which ensures higher durability to the wood as well as giving it a darker natural colour; saw-cutting that recalls the marks left on the wood by the saw as in the carpentry shops of the past; pickling, a decorative technique that gives the wood a worn down appearance; brushing that by highlighting the grain it gives the wood a more rustic look; soaping that enhances the naturalness of the colour and confers high protection.

Applications of the wood grain in wood kitchens

There are several ways to use the wood grain, which can be flamed, half-flamed, striped or “frisè”. In the kitchen composition, the various doors and fronts can be combined to maintain the continuity of the grain – this particular process that distinguishes the best craftsmanship is called book-matching. There are different ways of combining the veneers, which can be coupled parallelly, book-matched or herringbone combined.

As for the surface of the wood, this can be worked three-dimensionally to enhance tactile and functional aesthetic effects, such as the exclusive striped processing of the Rua model that enhance and embellish the MDF coloured in paste.

Wood kitchens design inspirations

Wood in the kitchen can be used on various surfaces. From snack tops to backrests, from drawer fronts to doors. However, it is not recommended for worktops, where water-repellent and heat-resistant materials are more suitable. Different atmospheres can be created by combining different types of wood with other materials. The harmony between kitchen and living room in Canaletto walnut in a large open space as in the Naples project; warm colours and functional spaces for the kitchen in Rovere tabacco oak and stoneware made in St. Petersburg; the unusual and refined combination of olive tree wood, with dominant grain, and Carrara marble; Nordic cottage atmosphere achieved by to the combination of Miuccia blue bases and Rovere nodi a spacco oak columns with split knots; the elegant mix of gray-stained eucalyptus with long and very thin grain with tone-on-tone Imperial Gray marble.

Environmental responsibility: Conscious use of wood in kitchen design

All TM Italia structures are made with renewable raw materials produced by a certified responsible supply chain, which guarantees the origin from consciously managed forests and with high standards of environmental protection.

Unlike other materials such as laminates and melamines which suggest “wood” effects reproduced through printing and impression techniques, wood essences are natural and living materials, which can change over time under the action of light and air. There are suitable protective treatments that preserve natural essences from the effects of aging and prolong their life. Small precautions in the periodic care and maintenance that wood requires are linked to its intrinsic charm: it is a living material appreciated for its tactile characteristics, its warmth and its naturalness.