Anyone looking for a unique and natural way to add a refined sense of elegance to their home would do well to look for some tiger maple furniture. Granted, it will not automatically go well with any setting, but the look is a classic, American look that can hardly be paralleled.

If you are not familiar with the term “Tiger Maple,” there are two likely scenarios. One is that you have genuinely never seen it, and the other is that you have simply not heard it called by this name. The effect of wood growth across the fibers of the grain that produces this optical effect has given rise to several different names. Tiger Maple may also be variously called Flame Maple, Flame Grain, Curly Maple, Ripple Grain or Maple, or sometimes even as Tiger Stripe.

Although it is not well understood what causes this distortion within the growth of the tree, it’s image is recognizable enough. Tiger Maple is a unique patterning of the wood’s luster that looks a lot like what would be called “brindle” on a fur coat. The wood shows an alternating streak of light and dark colors that are reminiscent of a flame or of a tiger’s coat, resulting in the name used in the title of the article.

This type of maple was used fairly prominently in early colonial furniture and this type of wood is highly intertwined with the image of Americana. Adding to this mystique is the fact that many early American rifles were stocked with this type of wood. Anyone familiar with colonial gunsmithing (American flintlock rifles are some of the best in the world) would immediately recognize this pattern on a stock. Interestingly enough, this pattern actually runs perpendicularly to the grain of the wood and so does not compromise the integrity of the stock although it might appear at first sight that it does.

Tiger maple wood was also used heavily by the early settlers in the production of furniture. There are many fine examples of colonial furniture and colonial-esque furniture that are made from curly maple, but even if it was not for this, these examples of furniture possess enough objective beauty in their own right to be highly esteemed.

Therefore, whether your interests are in tradition or solely in the natural allure of this beautiful type of wood, you would do well to accent your home with a unique accent of tiger maple furniture. You’ll be surprised to see that the influence is not entirely antiquated whatsoever and many fine pieces of curly maple furniture are still being produced today.

If you want to see what some look like and get inspired for design ideas that you can use in your own home, make sure you check out what’s in stock at Ohio Hardwood Furniture at OHFInteriors.com. Their online catalog is impressive enough, and they produce many of their own bench-made pieces of furniture in house from sustainably sourced hardwood stock. It just might be the place where you find your next piece of flame maple furniture. Visit their website today and if you want to learn more, give them a call at 330-657-2095.