In addition to secretary desks made of oak, walnut, and mahogany, you can also find many antique secretary desks made of other woods.
Here are a few woods that are commonly found in antique furniture, especially secretary desks, that are just a bit softer.
Cherry wood is moderately hard, with thin, straight grains in its fibers. It is also well known for its ability to be sanded very very smoothly – almost like glass! Without a stain, cherry wood takes on a pinkish tone – from the light pink of the sapwood to the reddish color in the heartwood. A stain and varnish can bring out these red tones to make a beautiful finish.
Rosewood can refer to any number of richly colored woods that are brownish with darker veining, but can be found in many different tones. Rosewood is generally strong and polishes very smoothly. While it makes beautiful furniture, especially secretary desks, you might also recognize it as being found in guitars, pool cues, etc. One plentiful, rosewood is now quite rare due to over harvesting, particularly in large pieces. That is another reason you may find only being used currently in pieces that require small amounts of wood, like in musical instruments, rather than in entire desks. So you can see – a rosewood desk is a rare treat.
Maple, more than many other woods, describes a large variety of species that have very different aesthetic characteristics. In general, Maple is a hard wood, used for bowling alleys and butchers blocks – so it is very durable, and like those bowling alleys, can shine beautifully. But, Maple wood is graded based on each piece’s physical and aesthetic characteristics. From low to high, here is the maple wood grading scale:
- #2, often used for unfinished craft projects
- #1 used in commercial and residential buildings
- Clear used for woodworking
- Select used for fine woodworking
Maple secretary desks are most likely of a Clear or Select grade. Additionally, Maple wood can have a highly decorative grain. While it is not always known until the timber is harvested, some different types of maple grain that are sought after include flame maple, quilt maple, birdseye maple, and burl wood.
These are some of the main types of wood that you will find in an antique secretary desk.
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We mentioned previously that secretary desks are typically made of wood – and that wood can give the desk very different characteristics based on the choice of wood used to construct the secretary desk.
While there are many different types of wood for an antique secretary desk are made of, here is a list of some of the more commonly found types of wood found in antique secretary desks:
Oak is a very strong and hard wood. It is particularly good for use in pieces meant to last a very long time as its high tannin content makes it resistant to insects and fungi. It has an attractive grain pattern, though it is not as straight as mahogany or walnut. Oak has been used in building since the middle ages and continues to be in wide use in furniture construction today. A secretary desk made of oak is sure to last a long time.
Walnut can describe many types of walnut tree, all known for their tight grain with many burls, butts and curls that can polish to a very smooth finish. Natural walnut wood can vary from a whitish color in the sapwood to a dark brown color in the heartwood. Some pieces can take on a lovely purplish-brown hue. You may recognize walnut from your gun rack as it is one of the most traditional woods for rifle and shotgun stocks.
Mahogany has a fairly straight grain and is often free of pockets and large whorls in the wood. It has a naturally red-brown color that shines reddish when polished. Mahogany is a hard wood known for being very durable. In the 1700’s, mahogany was used as a standard in quality furniture construction. However, since then, mahogany wood supplies have been depleted, so while it is still used in fine furniture construction, it is more costly.
Read on to find additional types of wood that are often found in an antique secretary desk.
Now that you have a good idea of how and where you’re looking to use your secretary desk, you can start to think about its style. A secretary desk can come in many different styles. A simple search on ebay can turn up antique secretary desks that are hundreds of years old and artisans on etsy are selling modernized (and customized) versions of the same hardware. There are many possibilities.
Antique secretary desks are made of stained wood, often in walnut, cherry, mohogany, or other hard woods. As a result, more traditional secretary desks are made of wood (or made to look like wood – like nice plywood). However, modern secretary desks can be made of any variety of materials – from wood and plywood to pressboard or even lucite! (Though if your secretary desk is constructed out of clear plastic – there is no longer the guarantee that you can hide your messy desk by closing the top.)
Like so many other things in life – it is the little things that can set wooden secretary desks apart from one another. You may find some with a very minimalist, shaker-type styling. These will have very straight edges and little in the way of curves or detail work. Some Amish woodworkers in eastern Pennsylvania continue to make secretary desks in this manner today.
Other wooden secretary desks are more ornate. These can have beautiful inlaid woodwork – where very thin pieces of different types of wood are individually cut into intricate shapes and laid into the surface of the piece like a mosaic. Inlaid woodwork that uses several types of wood can bring out the unique aspects of each of them – from color to grain and knottiness. These mosaics can be used to make pictures in the surface of the wood – flowers and leaves are commonly inlaid elements, but any image that can be constructed out of mosaic is possible to include.
In many cases, it is possible to personalize your secretary desk. My favorite way to personalize mine is to choose a set of drawer handles (also called drawer pulls). Often times these come in standard sizes (and can fit many older desks, too) and take just a few minutes to install. So you can use poinsettia styled drawer pulls at Christmas and change them to Easter Eggs in time for the spring.
As you can see, secretary desks are truly versatile.
Secretary desks are so versatile that it is important to know what you want before looking for a secretary desk for your office space. There are 4 main questions to think about when making your choice.
1. Is it important that your secretary desk be functional as a piece of office equipment?
This is, perhaps, the most important thing to consider. While many older secretary desks are beautiful, they may be fragile or in need of refinishing or repair before they can really function as an everyday desk. You also want to consider whether you would want to use a very expensive antique secretary desk as an everyday writing place. Will you hyperventilate when an enthusiastic small child colors off the page and all over your beautiful writing surface?
2. What room is your secretary desk going to go in?
Secretary desks might traditionally be in a home office, but anywhere there is space, you could put one. In the living room, a bedroom…I have seen secretary desks live off of kitchens (where parents can supervise homework while fixing dinner), and even and old beaten up secretary desk in my grandfather’s workshop shed (all those drawers and shelves made perfect storage places for his tools!).
3. What size do you want your desk?
Once you know where you want to put it – measure out the dimensions for your desk. Do you want one that is very wide for a large writing surface? Now is the time to think about whether you want to have a storage armoire that traditionally sits atop a secretary desk. If your room has particularly low ceilings, this will make the desk seem even larger than it is.
4. What type of style do you want for your secretary desk?
From very ornate to minimalist shaker styles to modern lucite secretary desks, there is a style to fit every décor.
Read on to the next posts for more information on some of the different styles of secretary desks available.
The secretary desk is an antique style of desk that (to the untrained eye) does not look like a desk at all. However, in terms of maximizing space, the secretary desk is tough to beat. While secretary desks can come in many different types of styles, they are generally made up of 4 distinct parts – a base, small desktop storage units, a hinged writing platform, and the over-the-desk storage armoire.
The base (part 1) of a secretary desk is often a set of wide drawers much like a small clothes dresser that reaches to the seated height. Sitting atop the base are desktop storage units (part 2), which can include small drawers, mail sorting slots or other useful organizational features.
Attached between the base and the desktop storage units is a hinged writing platform (part 3). When the hinged writing platform is open, the secretary desk looks most like a desk – you can pull up a chair and comfortably write on the flat surface. When the hinged writing platform is closed, it folds up to hide the small desktop storage units. (It is easy to keep a clean desk with a secretary desk as you can simply close the writing platform!)
Finally, the classic secretary desk also has an over-the-desk storage armoire (part 4). It is generally a set of bookshelves (sometimes drawers can go here as well), that have doors to close when they are not in use. Often, modern and commercially available secretary desks omit this over-the-desk storage armoire. The inclusion (or exclusion) of this storage area can be a matter of personal preference. A secretary desk with a large top part may seem imposing in a room with low ceilings, or someone with large storage needs may appreciate the extra space the top storage can provide.
Though it has many variations, the classic design of secretary desks is a very clean look that is both aesthetically pleasing and very functional – especially in tight spaces!
