We offer both red and white oak furniture at Upstate Amish. From dining room tables and chairs to tv stands, we offer a variety of solid wood pieces. Each piece is customizable in wood species and stain to style and size.
With Upstate Amish, customers can choose our rustic white oak, red oak, or quarter sawn white oak for any piece of furniture. We also offer a variety of stains for each wood species. Customize your ideal oak furniture pieces online or in store.
We have a variety of oak pieces on display in our store in Seneca, SC. These options are available for immediate purchase, while customized orders will take around 8-12 weeks to complete. Browsing options in person is a good idea to compare oak grain, color, and general appearance.
Please don't hesitate to reach out with any questions or concerns about our solid oak furniture. Contact us via our website, call, or visit us in person. We highly value customer satisfaction and top notch service. We will work with you to bring your interior design vision to life.
White Oak vs Red Oak Furniture
These two species of oak share similar levels of strength. However, they have key differences. Red oak trees and white oak trees look entirely different, and so do the wood they produce.
Primarily, the color and grain pattern of red and white oak contrast. To choose between the two, decide if you prefer red or olive undertones or loose, wavy grain patterns over uniform, tight ones.
Color
As its name suggests, red oak is a light or medium brown with red or pink undertones throughout. Since this species is highly porous, it absorbs stain colors well. Because of the warm red hues in the wood, stains will appear different from woods like maple with little natural coloring. After staining, red oak wood will usually maintain its salmon colored undertones.
White oak has a more neutral wood color. Like red oak, it is a light or medium brown, but the undertones and hues are more similar to olive, gray, and beige. As it ages, white oak becomes warmer and has a more golden or honey brown tone.
Unlike red oak, white oak is non-porous, so it doesn't absorb stain as easily. However, gray and brown stains similar to its natural color work well. Compare color, grain patterns, and the stains we offer using the chart below.Â
Grain Pattern
Red oak features an open-pore grain structure making its patterns appear more spread out than white oak. Wavy cathedral and flame patterns are common in red oak along with loose, flowing arches and loops. Its dramatic grain pattern paired with its unusual color make red oak a popular choice among customers.
White oak features a closed-pore grain structure, so patterns are much tighter. We offer both plain sawn and quarter sawn white oak, and the patterns differ greatly between the two. While both are the same species of oak, they are sawn differently.
Plain sawn white oak features similar patterns as red oak, but they are more uniform and straight. Quarter sawn white oak is more expensive because the sawing method is time consuming and produces less usable wood.
However, the grain pattern it creates is highly desirable and a staple of Amish Mission style furniture. Medullary rays create a ray-fleck pattern in the wood grain. This looks like shiny, ribbon-like streaks that run opposite the grain.
Durability and Hardness
Both red and white oak score highly on the Janka harness scale at 1290 and 1360, respectively. These numbers are the pounds of force required to embed a steel ball halfway through the wood. Both scores are generally high and make white and red oak good for furniture and even hardwood floors.
These oak species differ in that white oak is highly moisture resistant. This is because of its closed-pore grain structure. White oak is even suitable for outdoor furniture, unlike red oak. As for indoor pieces, white oak specifically is great for high traffic areas where spills occur often.
Our Favorite White Oak Furniture
We have a variety of dining, bedroom, and living room styles all available in white oak wood. Many of these are on display on our website.
A popular choice for many dining areas is our Monroe Mid Century White Oak Dining Table. This style displays classic MCM design with its clean, straight lines and simplicity. The tabletop meets the start of the legs exactly for a geometrically perfect look. Then, the legs taper from the inward facing sides for added detail.
Our Windsor, Laker, and Cordelle mid century modern chairs all pair well with this table. Other MCM tables include our Shaker Mid Century and MCM Round Table. Other styles of dining furniture are also available like rustic, traditional, and formal.
Our white oak bedroom furniture is also popular with customers. The Craftsman is a great choice for a classic Amish Mission bedroom set. Shown below in quarter sawn oak with a Michael's Cherry stain, it features simple, functional design.
For light oak bedroom furniture, we recommend choosing our Blissful Sand, Simply White, or Willowbend stains. Some bedroom sets that look great in lighter colors are the Hilton, Belmont, Weston, and Jackson.
Our Amish Red Oak Furniture
Every piece of solid wood made in America furniture online or in store is available in red oak wood. Add a unique, dramatic touch to any room with the unusual color and pattern of red oak.
Our Traditional Double Pedestal Extending Dining Table looks excellent in red oak with a Michael's Cherry or S-14 stain. This style features a rounded edge with ringed, turned bases and curved legs. The pinkish undertones of red oak add warmth to a piece with character and detail.
Red oak with our deep Asbury Brown stain looks excellent on more formal bedroom sets. These include the Belmont, Carrington, and Miranda sets.