Proudly built on Vancouver Island, British Columbia.
Wood & Finishes
The name Tree Fever Design is partly a reflection of the fact that we’re passionate about woods!
We have access to a huge variety of hardwoods and softwoods for our custom cabinets and furniture, including kiln-dried live-edge material, reclaimed wood, and custom cuts.
Choose from clear alder, knotty alder, eastern and western maple, pine, Douglas fir (including vertical grain), hemlock, red and white oak, walnut, ash, birch, beech, cherry, hickory, red cedar, and more, including exotic woods.
Nature creates, but never duplicates, so no two pieces of wood are exactly alike, even if they come from the same tree.
Each piece of wood reacts differently to the finishing materials used. You may notice a slightly different colour between several pieces and or even in the same article. Mineral marks, sound knots, and slight surface cracks are true characteristics of solid wood and veneer wood products.
Our trusted wood suppliers work sustainably in the protection of the environment and are FSC certified: Hardwoods Specialty Products, Reimer Hardwoods, and Blacktail Enterprises.
Wood Process and Types
Once we receive a delivery of lumber, although all our woods are kiln dried, we let the lumber climatize (acclimate) to our shop conditions before working it. This ensures that products meet our high quality standards. These are our favourite woods we most often work with. In addition to what you see below, other available woods are cherry, beech, hickory, African mahogany, walnut, rift-cut walnut, clear pine, and knotty pine.
Eastern Maple
Ideal for: Cabinets
Eastern maple is a popular, affordable choice for cabinetry, strong enough to stand up to the daily hustle and bustle of a busy kitchen. It’s a durable, straight-grained hardwood that can be stained, painted, or clear coated. And it resists scratches and dings!
Red Oak
Ideal for: Cabinets & Custom Furniture
This native of North America features a distinct wood grain characterized by straight lines, arches and points. It’s very well known for its strength and hardness and for its coarse and uneven texture.
Western Maple
Ideal for: Custom Furniture
This broadleaf maple, which can have a wavy or straight grain, is readily available in the southwest corner of mainland BC and on Vancouver Island. Ranging from light to dark reddish-brown in its natural state, it stains evenly.
Vertical Grain Douglas Fir
Ideal for: Cabinets & Custom Furniture
“Vertical grain” simply means the lumber has been sawn perpendicular to the growth rings of the tree. The wood is naturally a warm, pale yellow colour. It stains well and is stable and durable, with a very clean look.
Rift-Cut White Oak
Ideal for: Cabinets & Custom Furniture
Timeless! Used in cabinetry, furniture, flooring, shipbuilding, and — more importantly — wine barrels, it’s known as one of densest and strongest hardwoods, with a medium to coarse texture. “Rift-cut” means the lumber has been sawn radially perpendicular to the growth rings of the tree to produce straight, long, linear grain patterns.
Clear Alder
Ideal for: Cabinets & Custom Furniture
A versatile, pale wood with no knots and a straight, subtle grain. This light hardwood takes stain easily and evenly and can be hard to distinguish from more expensive cherry wood. Impressive once stained, with a beautiful sheen.
Ambrosia Maple
Ideal for: Custom Furniture
Also termed “ghost wood”, this wood comes from eastern maples that were once home to the ambrosia beetle, which leaves behind oblong tapered dark shapes/stains running with the grain and “tunnels” that appear to look like eyes! (Unlike “beetle kill” pine, the structural integrity remains.) The slightly rustic decorative effect, even in unstained wood, is nothing but natural beauty! We love maple cabinetry paired with ambrosia-maple furniture – a terrific combo.
Knotty Alder
Ideal for: Cabinets & Custom Furniture
We often call knotty alder “rustic alder.” This wood boasts irregular knots, small cracks, and a more dramatic grain than its clear cousin, but is also lovely to work with and stains beautifully. Knotty alder lower cabinetry is a great contrast/complement to painted white upper cabinetry. Another striking combination is clear and knotty alders for both cabinetry and furniture.
Douglas Fir
Ideal for: Cabinets & Custom Furniture
Douglas fir from the Pacific Northwest is one of the sturdiest and most densely grained woods available, popular for timberframe building, flooring, and window frames as well as cabinetry and furniture. When the bark is left on, it creates a beautiful effect in our live edge Douglas fir tables.
Wood Effects
We are pleased to offer three customized special effects for our wooden furniture. Different effects look different depending on the wood used. Please contact us to see a sample of the effect you like on your preferred wood.
Reclaimed (New)
This is where rustic & smooth effects meet! These pieces have a new look and textured effect with features like knots, small cracks, grain variations, light markings, and pinholes. Some natural distressing. Suggested for both pine and maple.
Smooth
No saw marks, no edging. Suggest this for maple.
Rustic
Tops are edged/hand-hewn with a drawknife; there are saw marks on legs and drawer fronts. If Pioneer or Coastal Collection, legs are edged. Some distressing. Suggested for pine.
Stains & Paint Finishes
We use the highest-quality spray-on, wipe-off stains for our custom cabinets and furniture. The wiping creates an even colour tone. Once dry, the wood is sealed with a high-quality conversion varnish sealer for extra moisture resistance. Conversion varnish sealer offers excellent durability and protection for your cabinetry and furniture. After the sealer dries, we hand-sand the sealer, then apply two coats of a post-catalyzed conversion varnish for even more lustre and durability. For painted cabinetry, we use high-quality Benjamin Moore and Cloverdale paints.
Our stain selections
Please note: Photos are for reference purposes only. Digital and print catalogue images will vary from the colour in real life.
Some of our furniture colours:
Oyster Bay
Granite
Slate
Chestnut
Victoriaville
Mocha
Hickory
Antique Black
Victoriaville Black Glaze
Chestnut Black Glaze
Granite White Glaze
Oyster Bay Black Glaze
Oyster Bay White Glaze
Piquant Red Antiqued/Shabby Chic
Piquant Red
Cottage White Antiqued/Shabby Chic
Cottage White
Some of our cabinet colours:
Cottage Grey
Coconut
Goldstone
Granite
Hazelnut
Irish Coast
Opaque Shale
Sage
Bourbon
Blue Heron
Honey
Old Growth
Whitewash
Cinnamon Butter
Honey on Walnut
Book a Free Consultation
Contact us today for a free 30 minute phone consultation to discuss your plans.