• Legacy carousel
    • Leaving a Legacy

      "With environmental challenges very much in our minds, any new objects we create should be enduring. They should also be beautiful, each in their own way, so their appeal stands the test of time. What our group of brilliant designers and cultural leaders has brought to life, using a sustainable natural material, is a collection of imaginative and wholly unique designs that will, we hope, be used and admired for generations." - Sir John Sorrell CBE

  • Stammtisch carousel
    • Stammtisch

      One of the nine designs for Connected, a project that explores how creatives and craftsmen have adapted their practices with the onset COVID-19. 

  • Legacy book
    • One material, many stories

      Discover the story of Legacy - a joining of London's top cultural institutions and some of Europe's leading creative thinkers to explore the properties of American red oak and create a piece of design that will last through generations with a design that will stand the test of time. The Legacy storybook is free to view online and special hardback editions are available to order.  

  • bloomberg carousel
  • blushing bar carousel
    • BLUSHING BAR

      A deep pink circular bar is set to take centre stage at the Wallpaper* Handmade X: With Loveexhibition, designed by architects Chan + Eayrs and made out of red oak by Sebastian Cox. This experimental piece has been created to answer the brief of X set by the team at the magazine to celebrate 10 years of its showcase in Milan.

American red oak

American red oak is the dominant species in the U.S. hardwood forests – with distinctive grain, and wood that is not always red in colour. The name comes from the leaf colour in the fall. Red oak may be sold on the basis of ‘northern’, ‘southern’ and ‘Appalachian’.

Latin Name

Quercus species, mainly Quercus rubra

Other Common Names

northern red oak, southern red oak

American_red_oak_big

Red oak trees grow only naturally and almost exclusively in North America, although planted elsewhere. They are widely distributed throughout most of the eastern United States in mixed hardwood forests. The trees are very tall. There are many sub-species, all within the red oak classification, which grow from north to south; some high in the mountains and others on low land giving rise to different characteristics. Thus there are significant variations in red oaks depending on location, in particular between the slower grown northern and faster grown southern trees. Red oaks are regarded as highly sustainable for both domestic and export consumption and, being the largest species group, are more abundant than the white oaks.

FOREST GROWTH

FIA data shows U.S. red oak growing stock is 2.62 billion m3, 18% of total U.S. hardwood growing stock. American red oak is growing 60.6 million m3 per year while the harvest is 31.9 million m3 per year. The net volume (after harvest) is increasing 28.7 million m3 each year. U.S. red oak growth exceeds or is in balance with harvest in all states except Texas. 

Alabama Arkansas Arizona California Colorado Connecticut District of Columbia Delaware Florida Georgia Iowa Idaho Illinois Indiana Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Massachusetts Maryland Maine Michigan Minnesota Missouri Mississippi Montana North Carolina North Dakota Nebraska New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico Nevada New York Ohio Oklahoma Oregon