Coffee-stained walnut, cherry and birch veneers are used to craft Enora table from Magnussen Home.

Perform a few searches using HomeYet.com’s Retailer Locator, and you realize rather quickly that the furniture marketplace is filled with all types of woods and finish options. While the variations are many, the hues poised to dominate in 2011 are warmer, more casual and more natural than the topcoats you’ve seen in recent years.

 

Rather than hide the species of wood under layers of paint and finish, a new crop of furnishings is favored because it honors wood grain and naturally occurring markings.

 

Why the transparency? For starters, consumers are more cautious about how they spend their hard-earned dollars. As a result, there’s been a swell of demand—across many product categories, including home furnishings—for what’s real and genuine.

 

There is an environment-friendly theme to these products, too, as many are made from reclaimed woods, discarded byproducts of the harvesting process, and renewable plant-based materials such as bamboo.

 

In fact, according to a 2010 survey of recent home furnishings purchasers (by World Market Center Las Vegas and the Sustainable Furnishings Council) half of respondents said they would be “definitely interested” or “very interested” in buying green home furnishings, if they liked the style of the product and it cost about the same as other options.

 

The warmer finishes trend is most evident in the contemporary and transitional furniture categories. Gone are dark espresso and wenge finishes that begged for only chrome and polished silver complements. Instead, wood tones are softer, more Mid-Century Modern in color and shape—think “Mad Men” meets today’s modern loft. In both the contemporary and transitional style categories, walnut veneers guide the trend.