You may have seen references to “Afromosia” or “African” Teak in descriptions of mid century furniture pieces. But what does that mean? Read on as we explain what Afromosia is and how it was used on mid century pieces.
So you thought teak was just teak. Wrong!
Afromosia wood, also known as African teak (though it is not botanically related to true teak), is a hardwood that’s native to - you guessed it - Africa, specifically West and Central regions. It’s a completely different wood, but is often used in mid century furniture alongside teak.
Some of the most famous mid century designs - including many in our online shop - use afromosia and you probably didn’t even know!
So where does the confusion come from?
Afromosia is often compared to teak due to its similar colour, grain, and durability.
In the past it was a lot cheaper than true teak, which originates from South East Asia. Basically, teak - also a hardwood - had been hugely overexploited, to the point where it was becoming a lot more expensive due to increasing supply pressures and sustainability issues.
In the mid century period Afromosia didn’t have the same supply pressures and due to it’s similarities and natural strength, it could be used on mid century furniture as a complimentary wood to teak.
How was Afromosia teak used?
Afromosia teak was commonly used for solid elements, whereas teak was generally only ever used for thin veneered sheets due to higher costs, although there are some more rare exceptions on high-end pieces. Teak - the quintessential mid century wood - was still the preferred look for tops, sides and fronts, with it’s lighter, more golden tones. The extremely thin teak veneer was usually applied to cheaper and lighter particle boards.
Afromosia was used in solid forms for legs and frames, as well as trims, and handles - basically anything which needed more than veneer. This creates the classic tonal contrasts with the lighter and darker browns which is the hallmark of so many classic mid century designs.
Occasionally the afromosia was stained rather than oiled, which gave the impression that the wood was even more teak like. Occasionally you’ll also find it sun bleached to a pale brown colour too.
We prefer the natural beauty of oiled finishes, which while darker, allows the grain and natural tones to shine through. In some pieces, the Afromosia’s tonal differences to teak were used as design tools - for example on Nathan and G Plan pieces.
Afromosia was less expensive than teak but wasn’t exactly cheap. The use of afromosia usually signifies a certain quality of design. Cheaper furniture generally used beech wood stained darker as this was a cheaper wood to use at the time, while cheaper pieces also omitted solid wood trims too. We try and look out for pieces which include the darker afromosia trims - you’ll see our online shop is littered with them.
To confuse matters even further, occasionally other similar tropical hardwoods were used for these "solids" instead of Afromosia, such as Mahogany and Iroko, which were almost always stained as naturally they tend to go a more yellowy gold than teak. I can only assume this was due to supply - I recall one 1980s Nathan furniture catalogue actually specifying that "solids" will be made from either Afromosia or another hardwood variety which suggests supply was becoming more strained by this time.
Some more expensive pieces still used solid teak as well, which can be found more commonly on Scandinavian furniture from the era.
Is afromosia wood still used?
Afromosia is considered an endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) due to overharvesting and habitat loss. It is listed under CITES Appendix II, meaning that international trade is regulated to prevent exploitation. As a result, obtaining afromosia wood can be expensive and challenging. It’s basically gone the same way as teak did previously.
A modern alternative to Afromosia is Walnut. We recently replaced some handles on a cabinet with brand new solid walnut, which when oiled were tonally extremely similar.
Although it's endangered now, there's currently no restriction on selling old afromosia pieces. Reusing pieces which include afromosia wood is therefore the most sustainable option.
I’m intrigued, where can I find pieces which include Afromosia?
urbn nest always sell pieces which afromosia. You’ll find numerous examples on our online shop and sold items, and you’ll probably have a piece at home with afromosia as well as teak - have a look!
As stated above - afromosia is a tell tale sign of good design and build quality. We’d recommend pieces which include Afromosia if investing in some mid century furniture. Brands such as Nathan, G Plan and Mcintosh - all commonly sold by urbn nest - all feature Afromosia frames and trims, and many other lower volume British builders such as Myer also feature solid Afromosia trims.
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