Solid Wood

Pine

Pinewood is a light, versatile softwood with a lively grain and natural charm. It is easy to work with and is ideal for furniture, wall panelling and interior design. The colours range from light yellow to reddish brown and it takes oil and coloured glazes well.

What does pine wood look like?

Pine wood has a warm, natural appearance with clearly visible grain and sometimes prominent resin channels. The color palette ranges from pale yellow to reddish-brown and tends to darken over time.

As a natural material, pine can vary in appearance. Especially with solid pine wood, each piece of furniture shows an individual structure.

Unlike knot-free pine, more rustic versions intentionally use wood with knots and livelier grain patterns. This creates furniture with a distinctive, natural character.

How is pine wood treated?

Pine is often oiled, waxed, or glazed. It absorbs oil and pigments well, making it suitable for colored or more opaque finishes. However, some glazes may allow resin from knots to bleed through over time, causing visible stains.

Lacquered surfaces provide high protection but often appear less natural. Oiled pine can breathe and absorb and release moisture. It is easy to maintain and can be re-oiled or sanded if necessary – ideal for everyday use and long-lasting beauty.

Scandinavian collection made of white-glazed pine wood

Environmental footprint of pine wood

Pine wood is a renewable resource and one of the most sustainably available softwoods in Europe. It grows quickly, is locally available, and causes low transport emissions – a clear environmental advantage.

1. Sustainable sourcing

Pine trees grow in large parts of Europe, especially in Germany, Poland, and Scandinavia. Sustainable forestry with certifications like FSC and PEFC ensures controlled use and reforestation.

Monoculture pine forests have been criticized – where large areas are planted exclusively with pine, often for economic reasons. These forests grow quickly and are easy to manage but are ecologically problematic: they offer little habitat for wildlife, are more vulnerable to pests, storm damage, and fires, and store less water than diverse mixed forests.

In Germany and Central Europe, there are ongoing efforts to convert such forests into mixed woodlands – especially to make them more resilient to climate change.

2. Processing and energy efficiency

Pine is particularly energy-efficient to process. It is easy to saw, plane, and dry – ideal for resource-saving production. Local sourcing also significantly reduces the CO₂ footprint.

Pine cones and the characteristic long needles

3. Durability

Pine wood is long-lasting when properly treated. It is softer than hardwoods but easy to maintain and repair. With an oiled surface, it remains functional and beautiful for many years.

4. Reusability

Wood can't be fully recycled, but pine can be easily repurposed, reworked, and reused. It can be sanded, glued, or re-oiled – perfect for long-lasting furniture and creative upcycling projects.

5. Biodegradability

Pine is a fully biodegradable material that breaks down naturally within a short time. In waste processing, it is usually thermally recycled – burned CO₂-neutrally to generate energy.

Technical properties of pine wood

Property	Value
Wood type	Softwood
Density (raw)	0.45 - 0.55 g/cm³
Compressive strength	35 - 50 N/mm²
Bending strength	70 - 90 N/mm²
Brinell hardness	12 - 23 N/mm²
Modulus of elasticity	8,000 - 10,000 N/mm²
Durability	Adequate for indoor use
Weather resistance	Low, suitable for outdoor use only with treatment
Color	Pale yellow to reddish-brown
Workability	Very good, easy to saw and plane
Uses	Furniture, interior finishing, paneling, moldings, DIY projects

Pine wood at ekomia

Pine is lightweight, sustainable, and among the most affordable solid woods. Our first furniture collection (Scandinavian Collection) was made from pine with the aim of offering affordable, ecological furniture. To this day, it remains one of our best-selling lines.

We use exclusively Swedish pine from responsibly managed forests with FSC certification. Nordic pine grows more slowly, making it denser and lower in resin than Central European pine – ideal for furniture making.

For aesthetic reasons, we always finish pine with a white ecological glaze that is semi-transparent and allows the grain to subtly show through.

Wardrobe Enorm made of white-glazed pine wood

Questions & answers for Pine

Here we answer some questions about Pine that are frequently asked by other users.

Pinewood comes mainly from the temperate climate zones of Europe and Asia. Particularly large deposits are found in Germany, Poland, Scandinavia and Russia. The pine is undemanding, grows quickly and colonises both dry sandy soils and barren sites – ideal for sustainable forestry and widely used in European timber construction.

There are several types of pinewood used in timber construction. The Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) is particularly common in Europe. There is also the Austrian pine (Pinus nigra), which has darker wood and a higher resin density, and the Swiss stone pine (Pinus cembra), which is softer and more fragrant. In international trade, you can also find Nordic pine, which grows particularly slowly and finely.

Pinewood is one of the more affordable types of solid wood. Depending on quality, origin and processing, the price for sawn timber is usually between €400 and €800 per cubic metre. Finished panels or furniture components cost around €30 to €80 per square metre. This makes pine an economical choice for sustainable, natural furniture and interior design.

Pine naturally darkens over time, developing a golden-yellow to reddish-brown tone. To maintain its light appearance, it is often treated with a white-pigmented oil or a more opaque glaze. These surface treatments protect the wood from light-related changes and maintain a light character over many years.

Pine goes particularly well with calm, natural wall colours that complement the warm tone of the wood. Ideal choices are white, beige, sand and cream colours or soft pastels such as sage green, light grey or blue-grey.

If you want to keep things simple, go for a light or white-glazed pine. White furniture blends harmoniously into practically any environment.