Textured Finishes for Wood Pieces

With its organic grain patterns and malleability, wood can be sculpted, distressed, wire-brushed, and treated to produce finishes that range from rustic to refined. Textured treatments on wood can create dynamic plays of light and shadow, camouflage imperfections, and add the finely crafted detail that epitomizes luxury.

Distressed Finishes

Whether the furniture is made from reclaimed wood that is naturally aged or if the look is artificially achieved through skilled techniques, a distressed patina imbues wood furnishings with a rich, time-worn beauty. Distressed wood’s warmth and tactility can act as a counterpoint to sleek, modern design elements.

Wire-Brushed Wood

Wire-brushed wood finishes straddle the line between rustic and refined. Wire brushing delicately abrades away the wood’s soft grain, leaving the more rigid grain lines raised in layered grooves that offer an invitingly tactile feel.

Sandblasted Wood

Sandblasting offers an organic, naturally distressed look with contemporary appeal. This treatment blasts the wood surface with a high-velocity stream of sand. The result is a highly textural surface that appears wind-swept and weathered as if the wood spent decades being casually eroded by blowing desert sands.

Reeded and Fluted Wood Patterns

While many textured wood treatments aim for an organic, naturally distressed aesthetic, reeded and fluted patterns provide a structured, geometric pattern. Crisp, linear grooves imbue furnishings with a look reminiscent of fluted architectural columns and vintage detailing.

Cerused and Limed Wood

Cerused and limed finishes create a sense of depth, dimension, and movement that engages the eye. These unique textural treatments celebrate wood’s innate character rather than trying to mask or distress it.

Cerusing is the process of filling the pores and soft grains of wood with pigmented wax, typically in dramatic shades like ebony, framing the harder grain lines in stark relief. Liming is similar, but it uses a lighter-colored pigment, like white or off-white, to accentuate the raised grains against a darker background stain.

Natural and Synthetic Leather

Genuine leather is soft and cooling. Its naturally occurring grains, pores, and character markings create innately compelling surfaces to the eye and the touch. However, it can also be susceptible to scratches, staining, and fading.

Advances in manufacturing have produced highly realistic and durable synthetic leatherette options that mimic leather’s nuanced textures at a lower cost. Both genuine and faux leathers provide fertile creative ground to explore distinctive finishes to elevate casegoods and seating. These textures include:

• Full-Grain and Top-Grain Textures
• Distressed and Antiqued Leather Finishes
• Embossed and Printed Textures
• Woven Looks
• Pebbled Textures

Textured Metal Finishes

A smooth, flat sheet of metal can be transformed into a highly tactile, visually striking surface. From the organic textures achieved through hammering and patinating to the crisp linear details of reeding and fluting, metal’s structural integrity allows for creative textural treatments not possible with other mediums.

Hammered and Dimpled Metal

The simple act of hammering creates wonderfully organic, free-flowing textures across metal surfaces. Randomized dimples, divots, and undulations make the metal surfaces appear malleable and soft despite their rigid composition. Hammered metal textures provide a handcrafted character when used for hospitality furniture like dining tables, desktop accessories, or architectural details.

Patinated and Weathered Metal

Patination and controlled weathering techniques etch unique patterns directly into the metal’s surface. Chemical applications, heat exposure, or intentional rusting and oxidation produce nuanced textural effects with an aged, naturalistic finish.

Reeded, Fluted, and Carved Metal Patterns

Linear reeding, fluting and carved patterns showcase metal’s ability to be precisely shaped and sculpted. Using lathes, engraving tools, or even intense water jets, deep grooves can be machined into metalwork to create channeled textures that are simultaneously contemporary and reminiscent of vintage detail work.

Woven and Mesh Metal Surfaces

Translating woven textures typically associated with natural materials like rattan, wicker, or rope into durable metal creates eye-catching surfaces that are visually distinctive and incredibly strong.

Captivate Your Guests

Textured surfaces can be an artistic way to add a welcoming sense of comfortable luxury and beauty to any hospitality space. Whether exploring distressed wood’s time-worn beauty or precision metalwork’s contemporary appeal, richly textured finishes elevate furnishings and invite people to linger.

With over eight decades of experience, our team has the expertise and capacity to fulfill your design vision. We can execute projects of any size and complexity. Connect with our team today to find out more.