“It’s ecologically sound, and the whole tree is used” Why unfinished? Although unfinished furniture has been around for years, many homeowners are opting for the pieces these days for a variety of reasons. First, the pieces are all wood (no MDF or particle board); second, there are countless options when it comes to finishes and design. The customer gets exactly what he or she needs or wants for the same price or less as something off the showroom floor. Ed Vincent, general manager of Wood Quarters on Kildaire Farm Road, says customers like the fact they can see what they’re getting: real wood. Most pieces in his 8,000-square-foot showroom are made of maple, oak, pine and parawood, the latter also known as the rubber tree. “It’s very much like oak or maple as far as the density of the wood,” says Vincent, who says a lot of people have never heard of parawood. “It’s a beautiful wood. It has a nice even grain and takes a stain very much like mahogany or cherry.” Customers often ask questions about how the wood is harvested. Parawood makes the grade. “Rubber trees are grown in Southeast Asia,” says Vincent. “Once the tree dies, they harvest the tree and make it into furniture. It’s ecologically sound, and the whole tree is used. Nothing is cut down, in terms of rainforest or anything, to make furniture with.” Vincent’s biggest seller lately is bookcases. “We can customize bookcases to any width, height or depth that you need,” he says, noting the store’s Made to Measure program. Existing pieces are modified through the program, not built from scratch. Wood Quarters sells the supplies needed if customers want to stain a piece themselves, as they often do with smaller pieces like plant stands or end tables. For some pieces, a factory finish can be ordered and the piece will be stained and then shipped. The third option is to get a custom finish from Torrisi, an independent contractor. Torrisi takes what he would normally charge for an antique piece and cuts that price in half when he’s price-quoting for unfinished pieces. An 84-inch bookcase, for example, would cost $210 to finish; a coffee table would cost $100. His process takes about ten days. “Everything is done with the exact painstaking care and caryliving.com | XX
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