Oak veneer is popularly applied in interior projects of flooring and furniture production. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks while we will focus on the most popular 2 of them – American Oak and European Oak.
American Oak (Quercus alba) is predominantly found in Eastern North America and European Oak (Quercus petraea) is native to Europe, mostly from sustainably managed forests in France, England and Germany.
Typically, American Oak has a pinkish hue with some brown tones to it while European Oak generally displays a darker tone with a naturally rich and warm golden honey hue.
American Oak shows greater contrasts between lighter and darker shades, especially in the grain pattern while European Oak has an even color tone from board to board.
American Oak commonly has clean, uniform appearance and straighter, subtle grain patterns while European Oak tends to present a distinctive variation that contributes to its uniqueness and charm, showcasing varying wavy grain patterns and a display of mysterious ribbon-like marks across the grain known as ‘medullary rays’.
American Oak has a lower tannin content and more sapwood while European Oak is on the contrary. When subjected to reactive stains, fuming or aging processes, American Oak doesn’t have an obvious result while European Oak absorbs stains consistently and is perfect under the above processes.
Compared to American Oak, European Oak is considered hard, heavy and strong and less likely to expand or contract when combined with a strong, engineered core.