NATURAL MATERIAL: CHERRY

February 13, 2013

Anyone who has ever stood beneath a cherry tree, in full bloom, knows that beauty really can grow on trees. Every year in Japan, people hold a special celebration — the Sakura — to greet the arrival of spring, when the parks are filled with people picnicking under the cherry blossoms.

Cherry is a hard, often reddish, stylish wood species. This wood species has a fine pattern, with a straight grain. The heartwood varies from deep red to reddish-brown. Few wood species undergo as great a colour shift as cherry. The wood darkens dramatically to give a dark reddish-brown colour. Kährs cherry floors create a warm, homely feel.

Family: Rose (Lat. Rosaceae)
Size: 15-30m. The trunk can grow to around 1.2m in circumference.
Origin of Kährs cherry flooring: USA
Hardness: Essentially as hard as oak. Hardwearing. Brinell value: 3.6
Colour change: Undergoes a strong colour change and darkens dramatically to a dark reddish-brown tone with age.
Random fact 1: Every year, the World Championships in Cherry Stone Spitting take place in Skara, Västergötland. The record is 15.94m!
Random fact 2: Cherry is known as a pioneer tree – growing after storms, forest fires or deforestation.