Friday, August 21, 2009

A Brief Description of Indian Furniture

By Michelle Santana Smith

Indian furniture is distinguishable by its unique design and style and is usually made of attractive, dark hardwood. The uniqueness of each piece of Indian furniture adds personality to any room they might inhabit and the subtle artwork and craftsmanship that goes into every piece has made it well known for being beautiful, traditional furniture.

The materials used to make Indian furniture are usually, rosewood, sheesham or mango wood. The wood usually carries a traditional, rustic heir with it and most pieces are very versatile and will fit in nicely in any kind of room.

Beeswax is often used to finish the wood with most Indian furniture, giving it an attractive sheen, but also highlighting the traditional work that has gone into it. Indian furniture is particularly popular as bedroom furniture because of its war and homey feel.

A jali is something that is used fairly frequently in Indian furniture, and it is the term for a perforated stone or latticed screen that usually has a design or pattern incorporated into it using calligraphy and geometry.

The shisham tree, an Indian native deciduous tree, is used to make the shisham or sheesham style of Indian furniture. Also known as Tahli, Indian Rosewood Sisu and Sissoo, its preferred habitat is along riverbanks but can grow more or less anywhere and trees have been seen up to 1300m tall.

In the shisham trees native lands, the average temperature is between 10C and 40C, however is has been known to range to below 0C and above 50C, meaning that the shisham tree can withstand a massive range of temperatures. Not only this, but it can survive 3-4 months of drought as well as an average annual rainfall of 2000mm making it one of the most tough plants in the world.

Mango wood is a stunning hardwood with a distinctive grain pattern and an overall rustic look. It is used to make several ranges of Indian furniture, one of which being mango cube, which is usually enhanced by staining the wood dark brown with a clear lacquer finish, again giving it the rustic antique look while remaining polished and perfect.

Due to the versatility of Indian furniture it will make an attractive and suited addition to any room in which you choose to situate it, however it is mainly popular as bedroom furniture due to its warm feeling and rustic, homey look.

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