Space and Size
If you’re having difficulty deciding whether your new furniture will fit, one idea is to make a floor plan the good old fashioned 'paper, pen and ruler' way - armed with all your room dimensions and new furniture sizes. See exactly the amount of floor space it takes up. Proportions are important too - remember that many ranges will carry more than one size of table. Make sure that whatever furniture you choose, it will not just fit the room but you are physically able to get it through your doorway – please remember there’s no such thing as a standard door! All Oakita tables have the top packed separately to help alleviate this problem. Some of our darker Oaks will give the illusion of looking larger in a small room whilst in comparison, paler Oak will give an increased illusion of light and space.

We have hand-picked our range of Oak furniture so that you may 'mix and match', however some furniture matches more exactly whilst others co-ordinate. Aim for unity if you have a small room, as style and colour co-ordinated furniture will give a  more consistent look to your room. Please telephone us for advice if you are unsure - we will be only too glad to help. Do take time to design in a generous amount of storage space, clutter makes a room smaller and looks untidy. We have a great selection of Oak sideboards and dressers that will match most arrangements and help bring together your new room.

Materials
 
Solid Oak
There really is nothing more beautiful than solid Oak and you will notice when you see our Oak tables, sideboards and cabinet furniture that there are differences in grain and texture - this reflects the differences in the original trees that they are built from. If you are looking for conformity, consider buying your furniture from the same batch which will minimise differences, however identical matches in real wood furniture are impossible.

Oak is chosen by our customers because it oozes quality and has an natural and therefore imperfect ambience about it. When you see small knots and burrs in our carefully selected Oak furniture they are part of the natural beauty of the wood and the timber from which our tables and  chairs are constructed are selected for this reason. The odd blemish is a mark of the furniture's origins and heritage and are a feature of this type of product. Please consider whether these traits are right for you when making your purchase. We are increasingly a generation of consumers of mass-produced, identical products - solid wood furniture is the antidote to this lifestyle and uniformity and exact matches are not possible in this arena.

Looking after your Oak furniture and Leather chairs
Your Oak furniture may have either a lacquered or oiled finish, or in a few products where the Oak is untreated, it may simply just be finished with a colourless wax. Oak furniture with a hard lacquer or wax polish finish should simply be dusted with a soft dry cloth whilst waxed furniture can be given a coat of beeswax a couple of times a year to help maintain its lustre.  Beeswax is recommended. Many spray polishes can damage the natural finish, and cause excessive drying of the timber, and should be avoided.
Both Oak and Leather can and will be damaged by heat. Make sure ll surfaces are protected from heat and liquids (hot cups of tea/coffee for example) by coasters and table mats. If you spill anything on your new furniture wipe it up immediately. DO NOT try cutting food stuffs on your furniture and when writing or drawing please place something beneath your paper as it is possible to leave impressions on the table's surface.

Take a bit of time thinking where you are going to position your beautiful Oak furniture - strong direct sunlight will 'mellow' the Oak's colour over a period of time, albeit it slightly. If you are buying one of our extending tables and intend to only use it extended infrequently, the extension leaves may not have faded at the same rate as the rest of your Oak table. We recommend that you turn or reposition your Oak furniture from time to time to avoid this natural occurance. 

Summer, central heating and changes in house humidity may all have an effect on Oak furniture causing the timbers to swell and contract accordingly. Table joints for example can appear wider and narrower with the seasons and are an unavoidable trait of natural wood.

Finally .. never drag your new Oak furniture ... it will strain the joints - always lift!