No other material brings that touch of magic to your home that oak does. With its dark gleaming lustre and famed durability, oak furniture is an asset that will bring you a lifetime of pleasure and functionality. Why is oak such a magical wood?

When buying oak furniture for your home, you're tapping into a tradition that goes back many centuries. Oak furniture was first made back in the 16th century and the amazing thing is that items of furniture made in those days are still around today - now as prized antique items. Carpenters in those days would have been amazed at today's furniture creations - such items as a Brooklyn dressing table mirror, for example, of the light oak furniture available nowadays.

The fact is that oak is one of the most durable of hard woods and with just simple maintenance will last you a lifetime and be fine heirlooms long into the future.

Oak is also a highly versatile material. It comes in many colours and grains allowing considerable choice to match various interior designs. For example, you can get loose grains and tight grains, with a different appearance and mood.

You have a choice of tones, too, ranging from light to dark and creating warmer and cooler atmospheres as you desire. You can get oak as golden brown or a vibrant shade of auburn. Just one item of oak furniture brings warmth to a room. And if you don't want the classic heaviness of regular oak, you can opt for light oak furniture.

The actual colour of oak varies considerably from light golden shades to medium browns. You can get oak furniture in a wide range of popular finishes with such evocative names as golden oak, cinnamon, cognac and tobacco.

Of one oak's magical properties is that is can be fashioned into furniture of any style for any setting. While oak is best known as a material for classic and traditional furnishing, it can be used to create pieces that complement any environment. For example, for the ultimate in relaxation you can opt for lounge oak items which feature smooth solid oak furniture in a range of stylish designs for the laid back lifestyle. Many of these modern furniture items, which include cabinets, coffee tables and wall shelves and shelf units, are multi-functional.

One way to transform you home with the magic of oak is through the use of oak bathroom furniture. Perhaps you never gave much thought to the furniture in your bathroom. But your bathroom is a special place where you spend much of your time. This means you need to give as much thought to its furnishing as you would to any other room.

Adding some choice oak furniture such as vanity units with sinks, bathroom mirrors and bathroom cupboards and cabinets in a variety of sizes, can transform your bathroom into an attractive functional space. You can get great results by incorporating sophisticated sink units into oak frames. Another option to get a chic bathroom is to use floor standing cabinets with marble tops.

As for the living room, one way to add magic is with an oak TV unit. As the focus of your home entertainment, you need to give a lot of thought to your TV unit. You need one large and strong enough to bear your TV, wide enough to contain all your accessories and home theatre, and having enough storage space in the form of shelves and draws.

Another factor that makes oak magical is the ease of looking after it. How you look after your oak pieces depends on the finish. Your furniture may have a lacquered or oiled finish. Sometimes, you may have untreated oak finished with a colourless wax. For the former, just dust your furniture with a soft dry cloth. For the latter, you should add a coat of beeswax a few times a year to help maintain its lustre.

Oak furniture has a warm inviting feel that allows you to create a home of classic beauty that will draw admiration from all who visit. Oak furniture is not cheap but you should regard it as an investment that will give you a lifetime of service and beauty. That’s the magic of oak furniture.