Resources
Care and Maintenance
Loughlin Furniture recommends the following product care instructions to extend the life of your handcrafted timber products:
- Spills or moisture on timber products should be wiped off immediately
- No chemical cleaning product(s) should be used directly on timber products or surfaces including glass and mirrors
- Always use a soft damp cloth to clean down your timber products
- Products should not be installed or placed in direct sunlight
- Continuous moisture in the air may cause damage to the product. Appropriate room ventilation is recommended.
Our timber products are finished in a polyurethane lacquer which can protect mildly against scratches however take care when placing ceramics or heavy items on the surface. We recommend always using coasters and placemats or a protective layer between any items you wish to place on top of the product.
- Do not leave any wet items on any timber products.
- Do not put hot or cold products on the surface of timber products.
Outdoor products have an exterior finish specific to Loughlin Furniture. We recommend yearly reapplication of our Outdoor Finish to both freshen up and protect your product. This can be purchased here.
Timber Characteristics
At Loughlin Furniture our responsibly sourced Australian and American timbers are full of character.
We take great care in selecting each piece of timber, looking for consistent grain and tone to achieve the very best finish.
Every knot, grain, grub hole, gum vein, borers, fiddle back, wave, split or shake, end check and growth ring mark are all considered naturally occurring features of timber.
These features mean you get something that is truly unique and can’t be replicated.
We love timber and we want to celebrate its natural features – show and celebrate its natural beauty.
Timber Selection
At Loughlin Furniture, we work with both select and feature grade, responsibly sourced Australian and American timbers—each piece naturally unique. Our master craftsmen hand-select timber boards for every commission directly from our on-site racking, carefully considering grain, tone, and consistency to ensure visual harmony across the finished product. While we take great care to meet customer expectations, we also embrace the individuality of timber—no two pieces are ever exactly the same, and that's part of their beauty.
Indoor Finish
Our signature indoor timber finish is a refined three-day process, developed and perfected over many years to preserve both the durability and natural beauty of the wood. We use a premium polyurethane lacquer, enhanced with a custom-blended formula that protects the timber while maintaining its tactile and visual integrity—highlighting, rather than altering, its natural tone.
Outdoor Finish
We also offer a finish specifically designed for outdoor use. While different from our indoor treatment, it provides robust protection for external applications. However, due to the nature of timber and weather exposure, we cannot guarantee performance over long periods outdoors. For best results, we recommend reapplying the finish annually. Our Outdoor Finish is available for purchase in-store—please contact our team for further advice.
A Guide to Timber Characteristics
We work within a guide to ensure each finished piece of furniture is expertly colour and grain matched to the highest level. Because we work with real hardwood imperfections and markings in the timber are unavoidable. Natural occurring timber characteristics are not ‘defective’ pieces of timber.
You should be aware that your Loughlin Furniture piece may in fact have such characteristics in it. In this Guide our aim is to break down the terminology and offer details or reasons for such characteristics. After all, we believe this is the inherent beauty of the material we work with.
Timber Knots
Knots in timber are a natural characteristic of the very material. All trees have branches and when sawn these areas will show as knots. Knots are the remnants of branches that have been captured by the growing trunk of the tree. Logs of timber are machined into long boards of timber at a timber mill. One natural knot in the tree (depending on the depth) may show on multiple boards as it is processed through the logging machine.
Knot Hole
A knot hole is simply when the knot falls out of the piece of wood and leaves a hole behind it. Common woodworking practices are to fill these holes with resin during manufacture so that the surface of the furniture is solid, level and usable without losing the beauty of the characteristic. Rest assured that this is expertly done to the highest standard.
Burn Marks, Grub Holes ‘Borers’ & Tree Growth rings
Environmental conditions like drought, fire, wet seasons as well as animals like adult beetles and larval grubs can all contribute to the individual tree’s markings and in-turn the timber boards of your furniture piece.
Growth ring patterns, pin holes and injury scaring are all common markings in timber.
Watermarks ‘waves’ in timber
This is another common timber marking. Sometimes it is caused by the blades when cutting at the timber mill, other times it’s a naturally occurring feature in the inner membrane of the log.
Gum Veins
In most Eucalypt Trees like Blackbutt and Spottedgum, a gum is formed as the trees protective response to the environment. Fire, insect attack or mechanical damage in forestry can cause this to happen. However it can also just be the natural state of the tree.
Shakes, End Checks and Splits
Shakes are naturally occurring marks in standing trees caused by a bacterium in the tree roots.
Checks occur during the drying process. The Tree is under tension as the outer part or ‘shell’ of the timber dries but the core remains wet and swollen, this causes changes in the wood perpendicular.
Splits are caused by separation of the wood cells, also commonly during the drying process.
These are usually visible on the ends of finished timber products like dining tables. You should be assured these are not ‘defective’ or lower grade timber pieces but simply part of the material.
Fiddleback
Fiddleback is a rare and naturally occurring feature in timber that is distinguished by small, tight wave marks that usually run against the grain.
Natural Grain Variation
Real timber can be unpredictable in grain formation. Natural lines, features, variations can be both dulled or enhanced during the finishing process. This is out of our control as it is a naturally occurring feature within the material.
Movement Through The Seasons
Timber being a natural product it may change with the Seasons. You might notice slight variances in timber including movement and expanding & contracting depending on the Season.
At Loughlin Furniture we work ‘with the grain’ to ensure movement of the timber is minimal.
For longevity we recommend keeping your timber product out of direct sunlight and in a well ventilated space.
Mirrors
Our bathroom mirrors are made with high-grade glass; however, erosion of the silver will still occur if harsh chemicals are used on the mirror, or if salt air exposure or excessive moisture sits on the mirrors.
Rattan
We work with real rattan. Rattan is a natural product much like solid timber, and will patina (age) over time resulting in slight change of colour and appearance.
Natural rattan might also slightly warp depending on the Season and likewise will naturally tighten up in others.
In natural rattan there could be both light and dark features and marks on the weave which is common place and commercially acceptable. This is not considered faulty.
Depending on the product, the rattan panels need to be pinned into a timber frame. At Loughlin Furniture we follow best practice and wax any obvious pin holes on the inside of the panel to take the focus away from these. This is not considered faulty.
For information on what to expect from your Loughlin Furniture product as well as Care and Maintenance tips, click the link below.
Construction
All Loughlin Furniture timber products—including wall-mounted and freestanding bathroom vanities, furniture, doors, and timber joinery—are handmade on the Central Coast of NSW, Australia, by our team of experienced and qualified cabinetmakers and woodwork specialists. We apply traditional joinery techniques, such as mortise and tenon joints, to ensure our Crafted for Life ethos is carried through every piece we create. Only the highest quality local and imported materials are selected to ensure both the aesthetic and structural integrity of each Loughlin Furniture piece. Each product undergoes a rigorous, multi-stage quality control process, with checks and sign-offs at every stage of manufacturing to guarantee exceptional standards before it leaves our factory.
Installation Guides
Freestanding Bathroom Vanity
Wall Mounted Bathroom Vanity
Wall Mounted Mirrored Cabinet
