Your First Oak Coffee Table

An oak coffee table can be around for as long as you take care of it. The care of an oak table is pretty basic and knowing the ways to keep it free from damage is the number one way to make it a permanent fixture in your house and your life. You might think that as long as you keep the table in a visible and convenient spot, what could happen?

Caring for an oak coffee table is like anything else you are interested in trying to preserve. While maintaining such a table is easier than a pool or a car there are things you should be on the lookout for. An oak coffee table will take a lot of physical abuse and this might make you think that it can withstand anything but you would be wise to keep things away from it that will chip, scratch, or damage the table in any way.

You have to remember the stain and finish are just as delicate as a piece of glass and if you are placing things on top of it or around it that have rough and jagged edges it is going to mess up the finish. This is the weak point in having an oak coffee table.

Of course, one of the great things about an oak coffee table is the fact that you can repair it quite easily and affordably. However once the table is re-sanded, re-stained, and re-finished you will need to do this to the entire table should there be noticeable scrape or chip.This is not a humongous chore but it is very annoying if you are forced to do it in a repetitive fashion.

The other aspect to maintaining such a table is making sure that is has little or no contact with water. If something is spilled on this dark oak coffee table it will not ruin it, this is one of the reasons you have a finish on it, but over time it will warp and misshape the wood if it happens consistently and is not cleaned up immediately.

Water will always work against wood no matter if its hardwood flooring, cabinets, or an oak table. Coasters will become your best friend and even if you run the risk of sounding like your mother when you say “Make sure you use a coaster” it will be well worth it when you are still using the same oak coffee table you purchased all those years ago.

The only other factor that should be taken into consideration when caring for your oak coffee table is having any kind of animal that likes to chew on things. No wood product can survive this no matter what kind of wood it is.