Pine, refined

For centuries, fir trees have been adorned with decorations in celebration of the winter solstice, and balsam has been bottled for earthy-scented creams and oils. Yet, when it comes to furniture, pine has been stuck with the status of unremarkable and unrefined since its hiatus following the late ’80s and early ’90s. Covering large swathes of North America and Europe, it’s a prolific and inexpensive wood, which consequently can devalue the final product. 

Honey-hued, knotty kitchens and glossy yellow varnish did much to swing the style barometer towards bad taste. But pine furniture has an undeservedly bad reputation that is now in the process of rehabilitation. 1stDibs, the antiques platform, has seen a 10 per cent increase year-on-year in orders of pine furniture, with a 40 per cent increase in late-20th-century chunky items by icons such as Afra and Tobia Scarpa or Charlotte Perriand. Anthony Barzilay-Freund, the brand’s editorial director, says the rise is due in part to a new enthusiasm for biophilic design: “Raw, highly grained pine evokes the tree even as it assumes the shape of a chair or table. Rough-hewn brutalist pieces and the simple forms of Shaker and Swedish Gustavian design are also reliable go-tos for a younger set of design aficionados.” 

Luxury design platform The Invisible Collection recently added two vintage pieces by the Swedish architect and designer Axel Einar Hjorth to its collection. Designed in the early 1930s, ​​the Lovö Pine Table (£24,025) and Utö Chairs (£5,460) exemplify Hjorth’s rural yet modernist aesthetic. 

Contemporary Scandinavian designers have a particular proclivity for pine. “Together with spruce, pine makes up 80 per cent of the Swedish forest,” says Per Nadén, co-founder of Nadén Studio, who together with his brother Pontus constructs buildings and furniture from wood that is grown and milled in a naturally managed forest an hour from their workshop near Gothenburg. “We have to turn to what grows locally because it is no longer possible to rely on the international construction market if we are to minimise climate change,” says Nadén. Pine is also a fast-growing tree, which means it can capture carbon relatively quickly and keep it locked up if used for long-lived items like furniture.

Nadén Studio works with pine that has become wet or waterlogged after felling, so is often overlooked. The moisture creates darker, bluish markings, which is evident on the oval-shaped stool (from £207) that the brand released this year. It has also launched a daybed (£1,375), table (£2,062) and storage unit (from €1,400), which are treated with organic soaps, wax and linseed oils. 

Artist-designer Didi NG Wing Yin, who began working with pine after moving from Hong Kong to Finland in 2020, says that attitudes towards the wood have shifted as more value is placed on local culture. “Pine infiltrates the soul of Finnish culture – including architecture and furniture design – and by using materials that exist around us, we are finding new methods to unearth their intrinsic value.” Yin points to Finnish furniture brand Vaarnii, which works exclusively with Scots Pine – a widespread tree in Finland. “Our mono-material approach really redefines what can be possible with pine and where it belongs,” says co-founder Miklu Silvanto. “We’ve shown it can go head to head with Italian marble and other traditional luxury materials.”

Since launching in 2021, Vaarnii has collaborated with a number of creatives, and this year showcased a new range of pieces with French designer Ronan Bouroullec. The Maasto series consists of a dining chair (€595) and armchair (€650) made from a combination of Finnish pine and plywood that “features an exaggerated psychedelic grain pattern, creating a super-pine aesthetic,” says Silvanto. Vaarnii also teamed up with British designer Faye Toogood to launch The Peace Outdoor Lounge chair (£1,650) and matching footstool (£390), which gives a nod to the classic Adirondack. 

Furniture company Ishinomaki Laboratory, which promotes the DIY concept, had been accustomed to using donated red cedar since it was established in the aftermath of the tsunami that hit north-eastern Japan in 2011. But for their exhibition at the Stockholm Furniture Fair this year, they invited seven Scandinavian designers to build pieces from sustainable ThermoWood. Anderssen & Voll crafted a sparsely constructed bench, Harri Koskinen created a task chair framed by vertical planks and Paul Vaugoyeau paid tribute to the sturdy stools found in onsen (Japanese hot springs). “Visitors commented that the pieces gave them the opportunity to rediscover the wood,” says founder Keiji Ashizawa.

In Helsinki, Yin experiments with carving techniques that “accentuate the uniqueness of the wood” through texture and tactility. His pleated series in fir features delicate grooves that ripple across the surface of a bench (€5,600, artsy.net) and vases (€2,200, artsy.net). He works by hand in the direction of the grain, creating fine indents by brushing away the wood that is softer and lighter. “When the outcome is unexpected, our perception of the material changes. We shouldn’t be bound by our existing knowledge of things, as there are always possibilities.”