About Indian Furniture

Mango and Sheesham are both beautiful hardwoods indigenous to India and make wonderful timbers for furniture manufacturing. Each wood carries its own identity and exhibits unique properties.

Mango

Mango furniture is fast becoming a very popular choice for solid wood furniture in all types of home. It is the perfect timber for furniture manufacture; a solid hardwood which is easy to cut and shape, beautiful natural character and easy to stain in a variety of colours.

Most commonly found finished in a dark brown or a rich “honey” stain and finished with wax or a protective clear lacquer, to showcase the wonderful natural character of the wood.

Our mango furniture collections include Dakota Mango (available in three colours), Tenali Mango (available in two colours) and Shimla Carved Mango.

Sheesham

The richer brother of Mango is slightly heavier, slightly denser and exhibits more pronounced grain, knots and other natural characteristics. These wonderful natural markings are the hallmark of Sheesham wood and every piece exhibits something a little different.

Sheesham’s distinct character deserves to be seen so is often found finished with a medium brown or honey stain, as found in our Mandir Sheesham furniture collection. The Mandir range is also available in a matte, stonewashed finsh, and we offer more traditionally styled items in our Jali Sheesham collection.

Although not considered particularly rustic in a traditional sense, buyers of handmade Indian furniture should not expect machine-finished, perfect pieces with a mirror-like shine. The very nature of handmade wooden furniture is an imperfect item, cut, joined and stained by hand, giving each and every piece an individual and slightly rustic charm. Natural, hand cut and finished pieces are used exclusively, so slight imperfections should be expected and are not considered faults.

We are absolutely confident in the quality of our furniture and our pictures show real examples of the item that you can expect to receive. We take our own photographs to ensure that you can see the furniture in as much detail as possible, and we make every effort to try and replicate the authentic colour of the item to avoid disappointment.

Fair Trade Manufacturing

All of our Indian furniture is hand-made from natural materials by skilled local crafstmen, working in a family-run factory in Jodphur, Northern India. Furniture manufacture is a family trade in this region and the woodworking skills are passed down through generations.

We are very passionate about our ethical responsibilities and we strive to ensure that as much of our supply chain as possible is environmentally responsible. Solid wooden furniture doesn't have to have a large carbon footprint. In-fact, the environmental impact of manufacturing solid wooden furniture is far less than that of the factories used to make laminate and veneered furniture. The key issue for solid wooden furniture is the source, and we work with our factories in India to ensure that the raw materials we use is sourced from government managed, renewable plantations or local farms.

Caring for Real Wood

Every piece of natural, solid wood furniture that has been handcrafted using traditional methods will be completely unique to its owner; no two pieces are ever exactly the same.

Indian furniture is a wonderful, natural product to have in your home, but it is important to look after your purchase to keep it looking its best. Please see the following simple guides for caring for your furniture from Satara.

Wax Your Furniture

We recommend that you wax your Indian furniture around twice per year to keep it looking lustrous and enhance the beautiful natural colour and grain of the wood. Use of natural wax prevents the wood from drying out, which can ultimately cause cracking or warping after some time.

Using natural (clear) bees wax, available from any DIY shop, simply follow the instructions on the tin to apply the wax to your furniture. Always clean the furniture beforehand and make sure it is dry and dust free before waxing. It is usually applied like car wax; spread a thin layer of wax over the surface of the wood using a lint-free cloth, finishing in the direction of the grain, leave for 15 minutes, then buff off with a clean cloth.

Avoid sources of heat

As with any solid wooden product, strong sources of heat such as radiators or direct sunlight should be avoided. Excessive heat could cause drying, and ultimately warping or cracking of natural wood products.

Use coasters!

All natural wood furniture is susceptible to water damage, so be sure to use coasters to avoid ring marks caused by hot mugs, plates or wet glasses.

Natural characteristics of real wood

Natural wooden furniture items transported from the Indian climate and stored in warehouses are quite sensitive to relative humidity - this can cause the wood to swell or shrink; some unevenness, flex in timbers and small cracks may occur. Quoted measurements may also differ by +/- 1cm.

Wax and lacquer are relatively soft finishes and therefore can become easily scratched if care is not taken. Caution should also be exercised with grease and other liquids; avoid spillages as excessive moisture can cause the wood to swell.

Knots are a completely natural characteristic of wood, and are not considered to be a defect. Sapwood (light streaks, spots or marks) is also completely natural and not considered a defect.

Any spills should be wiped up immediately with a slighty damp cloth.

Take care when moving furniture – always lift properly (two people are usually required) to avoid dragging the furniture on carpet or floors that are not smooth, to avoid damaging the furniture joints.

Our furniture is waxed before being packed at the factory, and therefore your packaging may leave slight marks on the surface of the furniture. These marks should easily buff out with a dry cloth once the furniture has ben allowed to reach room temperature in its new home. It may be necessary to use a very mild abbrasive, such as 0000 grade wire wool, to remove any stubborn packaging marks. If your furniture feels dry when unpacked, we recommend that you immediately apply a coat of wax before using the item.