Mahogany Furniture

I realize that part of my awe and love for Mahogany came from my childhood where a giant Mahogany table dominated our dining room, and doing anything remotely questionable to it was...well, out of the question. However, as I grew older, I also adopted a love of this hard but beautiful tropical wood.

Mahogany wood was most likely used by the indigenous people in prehistoric times in locations like Central and South America as well as the Caribbean. Mahogany was first noticed by the Europeans when Spain began to colonize the Americas. One of the oldest suspected pieces of mahogany design is the cross located in the Cathedral of Santo Domingo. The cross has the date 1514 inscribed and is reputed to be made of mahogany. It is assumed that during the establishment of the French colony in Haiti, previously Saint Domingue, the wood began to find its way to France where usage of the wood in art, furniture and other designs began to become popular. The time period would have been in the 1700's. Meanwhile, on the English Islands like the Bahamas and Jamaica, little to no mahogany was exported before the 1700's.

Commonly free of voids and pockets, this tropical hardwood has a generally straight grain. While the most freshly cut mahogany will have a reddish-brown color, this color will darken over time. Mahogany has one of the most impressive sheens when polished and for this reason, some of the most famous pieces of mahogany furniture in the world are also considered some of the world's most magnificent mahogany art.

Wow. There are some gorgeous dining tables out there. One friendly reminder to keep under consideration is that a full-sized dining table made of mahogany, with or without any extensions, will be heavy. While it will be weightier than most wood dining tables, the durability and beauty of this wood will make the initial struggles of placement and setup well worth it.

One thing my mother also instilled in me somehow, without ever having spoken it, was the need to cherish, protect and refurbish and reuse our finest woods as much as possible. Mahogany is often dug up from the thrift store, the local antique shop or estate sales.

I remember the day that I arrived at my parents, long after I had moved on out of their home and had a family, home and dining room table of my own, and seen the dining room newly refurbished. A brand new, very trendy dining room sat in the place of that old faithful beast that lived through 3 girls, several grandchildren and thousands of sit-down-to-dinner holidays. With the old table gone, a new idea was born. I had decided right then that I would have a fantastic piece of my own Mahogany one day, but until then, I'll keep looking for the perfect one. So I hope my search may also help you in yours!

While big elaborate dining table pieces are gorgeous, timeless pieces, the smaller pieces are often given a more critical eye when it comes to the artist who designs them. There are so many incredible mahogany end tables around that it's painfully hard to select a choice few but here are some on top of my list!

Of course, if I truly had my way. I would be able to find the most classic piece of mahogany in existence hidden away at my local thrift store and restore it to it's former glory in that personal way that those who enjoy wood restoration know will make a piece their own. So while I do plan to keep looking for that hidden treasure, chances are I'll have to start out with a new piece entirely.

If you are also looking for a perfect piece, don't forget to check your local antique and thrift shopes, Ebay and Etsy and other local venues that may have those hidden mahogany treasures you desire.

Okay, so maybe I won't be president, but there is no reason why little old freelance writer me cannot sit behind a presidential style mahogany desk. I mean really, it doesn't matter what I do sitting behind a desk like that, I will look incredibly regal doing it. Here are a few of the desk I have been eyeing.