Pine Is Not Cheap Oak, It Is Its Own Wood

Pine has a reputation as the budget wood, but used well it gives a room a softness and warmth that oak never quite reaches.

Pine is light, quick to work and full of character, with knots and a grain that goes golden as it ages. The trick is to treat it as its own material rather than as a cheaper copy of something else. We choose boards with straight grain, keep the knots small and finish it with a white oil that stops it turning orange.

In small flats especially, pale pine makes low furniture almost disappear into the light, and it leaves the room feeling bigger and calmer than it is.

Every wood has a right place, and a good room is often built from the wood nobody expected.