SOURCES
• Acacia: 800-944-0474 or www.acaciacatalog.com.• APF Munn: 914-665-5400 or apfmunn.com.• Crate and Barrel: 800-996-9960 or www.crateandbarrel.com.• Martha Stewart Collection for Macy's: 800-289-6229 or www.macys.com/marthastewartcollection.• Neiman Marcus: 800-825-8000 or www.neimanmarcus.com.• Pottery Barn: 800-922-5507 or www.potterybarn.com.• Smith and Hawken: 800-981-9888 or www.smithandhawken.com.• Tracy Porter: 866-388-7229 or www.tracyporter.com.Home interiors are lightening up. It has less to do with spare spaces than the hues of wood furnishings that these days often are left unstained.
On the heels of a love affair with rich espresso finishes as ubiquitous as Starbucks, and with the African wenge wood popular in high-end decor, suddenly medium and light tones look fresh.
Several trends coexist. Woods are going au natural, celebrating their grains and leaving unmasked their blemishes and knots.
Sometimes the grain is even brought up, scraped or wire-brushed to expose it to the max, then highlighted in limed finishes that have been so prominent in European furniture shows, such as the Maison et Objet in Paris, for the last couple of years.
This whitewashing ranges in shades from blond to taupe and dove-gray that resembles weathered driftwood to a medium cafe au lait.
A strong retro vibe also has been a catalyst. When Baker Studio unveiled a collection at North Carolina's High Point furniture market last fall, some modern pieces paid homage to Scandinavian and Asian design. With tables, stools and armoires crafted from quarter-sawn oak, the company says the grainy texture is reminiscent of coconut wood used in 1930s design.
Also from the same era are several French finishing techniques, such as light limed oak, which underscores pores and graining in creamy white and a dark limed counterpart contrasted with sable-colored grain.
The fascination with grains has even spawned translation into faux bois (French for ''false wood'') in accessories, ceramic or porcelain tiles and textiles that include bedding, bath towels and rugs.
When Martha Stewart launched her expansive home furnishings collection at Macy's, one category featured fetching faux bois bed sheets, towels and ceramic bath accessories, including a soap dish, toothbrush holder, lotion pump, covered jar and pitcher. Also among the designs were lamps for manufacturer Murray Feiss.
''Throughout Skylands, my retreat in the Maine woods, I've made vintage faux bois my major decorating statement,'' says Stewart on Macy's website. ``I find stylized wood can punctuate any room with character and wit. It's simple to add rustic sophistication to your home with its natural elegance.''
And furniture offerings have led to new wood contenders, alternatives to classic choices such as oak, cherry, mahogany, walnut and pine. Bamboo has been growing in popularity, both in flooring and furniture. A striking example featured in the Acacia catalog is an undulating screen that rolls into a 7-foot coil for storage.
There's teak, often considered an ''outdoor'' wood. In fact, it was a mid-century modern staple and an often-used element of 1950s and 1960s Scandinavian furniture. Today, many teak furniture designs are suitable for outdoor use. But with the growing sophistication of outdoor teak design, many homeowners are bringing those pieces indoors.
Now also surfacing are reclaimed materials such as Argentine cypress or plantation-grown woods such as shesham, a rosewood-like material used to craft a dining table at CB2. Made by hand with narrow slats spaced a few millimeters apart, its natural glow is maintained with light linseed oil.
Covering all the style bases, choices range from rustic -- lightened lodge to country -- to refined elegance that can team with more formal pieces.
A playful example is Lando's Gingerbread collection. The Italian-based company designed furniture inspired by Caribbean architecture. The pieces resemble cardboard cutouts, flat in some dimensions, in an unvarnished whitish oak.
In some instances, there's even an intriguing point-counterpoint. In designing a 66-inch-tall decorative wall mirror, one designer plays on the notions of natural and manmade. Long planks of myrtle or American sycamore asymmetrically frame the mirror from manufacturer APF Munn. But a subtle decoration is eye-catching as it adds sparkle and a surprising dress-up to the rough-hewn design. Filling ever-so-skinny cracks in the wood's surface are Swarovski crystals.
''The planks have been minimally processed to retain the inherent uniqueness and expressive qualities of live wood,'' says Lena Kim of the designing Rockwell Group. ``The natural cracks are filled with hundreds of tiny hand-applied crystals. We like the texture and feeling these materials bring to a space.''
A longstanding argument for introducing wood into an interior (with flooring, moldings, furnishings or window treatments like shutters or blinds) is for the warmth it brings.
''Wood is grounding for people,'' says Jennifer Sypeck, director of product trends for Smith and Hawken. ``There's also a backlash to disposable stuff, to plastics, to the shiny and new. We're looking for more tactile surfaces, something to touch and feel connected to nature.''
Current fare at Smith and Hawken includes a lightly distressed honey-gray ash farmhouse dining collection, which includes a buffet and hutch-console, designed for casual indoor or sheltered outdoor use and crafted in northern Italy.
Sypeck says more organic accessories made of mango and pumani wood are coming in the fall.
''Everyone wants something personalized,'' she says. ``That's the beauty of it. A single piece of wood has a specific grain and knot. Each is different. It's not purist to one style. It's more eclectic.''
Many of these newcomers are sustainable, which gives them cache as part of the ever-growing green movement. They're ecologically friendly, plantation-grown or reclaimed.
A Dallas-based company, Groovy Stuff, has developed an entire product line designed with reclaimed teakwood furniture from Thailand that is suitable for both indoor and outdoor use. Some borders on funky, with assemblages that feature antique farm implements, yokes, plows, sugar cane grinders and wagons repurposed into tables or benches.
Organic shapes also play into woodsy furnishing designs. That translates to furniture made of twisted vines, gnarly stools crafted from tree trunks, tables with log legs, and bowls with textured bark-like cladding.
It's a different take on the hippie generation's tree-hugging, especially in terms of design and price. A recent Neiman Marcus catalog featured a 78-inch-tall floor lamp with a base of twisted natural vines in a bleached finish. It sells for $1,275.
Another look just plucked from the forest is a pedestal table spotted in the Tracy Porter catalog. The grove table's base resembles a tree trunk with curvy roots wrapping around it. The table is 27 ½ inches in height and diameter and sells for $1,100.
''I love the rustic feel that natural untreated wood brings into my home,'' says designer Porter. ``I adore the fact that each one differs slightly, making it truly one of a kind and an absolute treasure. And, of course, I do like the slight imperfections. With four boys, slight imperfections are definitely welcome, as they tend to add their own layer.''
The more literal pieces may be too strong for some, or an acquired taste. But organic accessories can blend into a variety of decors. There are many uses for the sinuously shaped vessels offered by Pottery Barn in its spring catalog. Carved from a single piece of mango wood that's been hollowed out, the bowls have a ruffled or fluted appearance, and the craggy grain is clearly visible. It's a beautiful, natural container for apples or oranges or a fabulous potted plant.
And a footed Acacia wood salad bowl available at Crate and Barrel will never go out of style. With care, its glowing golden-to-walnut grain can be admired for generations.
