At Loewen Design Studios we work with many different woods. One of those is Maple. Maple is an excellent hardwood for wood tables and is very plentiful in the northeastern parts of North America. Its clean, tight grain has been valued by furniture makers for centuries.
We’ve worked with many types of Maple - each with its own different characteristics. We currently work with Rock Maple and Rustic Maple.
Rock Maple
Rock Maple is one of the hardest woods we’ve worked with, and the hardest we would use for a Maple dining table. It’s a solid, very hard wood, like a rock. To damage Rock Maple you kind of have to try. About 8 years ago, we knew it was time to change the laminate counters in our kitchen and we thought that Rock Maple might work well - we have not been sorry at all.
Rock Maple has a 1,450 Janka Hardness rating, comfortably above even White Oak. It doesn’t scratch easily, it doesn’t dent easily, it’s very resilient, even when you compare it to other hardwoods. It has an even, fine texture and a generally straight grain with some waves to it. Rock Maple tables will cost roughly the same as Walnut.
Many of our customers have small people in their lives, whether they are children or grandchildren, and a common concern is how Rock Maple tables will stand up to the abuse our children will dish out. While we can’t dream up what all this Maple dining table may have to stand up to, we can comfortably say that a Rock Maple dining or kitchen table will stand up better than almost any other.
At the end of the day, we love Rock Maple and we’re sure you will too. If you’re interested in creating your own custom Maple dining table, contact our team today and we will happily walk you through the process.
Rustic Maple
These aren't just designed — they're crafted. The distinctive texture on the planks, a result of real saw marks, add a farmhouse charm. Even better, these marks still leave the table easy to use.
Our commitment to quality is present in every step. Each table goes through sanding and sealing more than once. This ensures a smooth finish, retaining the right amount of texture from the saw marks.
These marks absorb more stain, highlighting the wood's textured finish, showcasing the rustic-ness. Rustic-osity? Rustic-y nature? Farmhouse vibes? It makes the texture that's so wonderful in these pieces shine.
They still have the same strength as normal maple tables but with texture!
