Most of our furniture allows you to choose between different surface treatments. We mainly use “open” furniture treatments that allow the wood to continue to live and breathe, such as egg oil tempera, soap, oil and white oil. These surfaces need a certain amount of maintenance but if you follow our care advice your furniture will continue to bring you joy for many, many years to come.
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Surface treatment & furniture paint
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Our different surface treatments
Soap
Soap as a surface treatment brings out the natural lightness in the wood. A piece of furniture treated with soap tends to be slightly lighter/whiter and takes on a greyer tone.
Wood samples
The surface treatments below can be ordered as wood samples. These make it easy to compare and match the surface treatment with the rest of your decor, check the texture and feel and ponder your choice in your own time. This makes for a much more well-founded, thoughtful decision. Sustainable & beautiful!
Soaped birch
Soaped oak
Soaped beech
Day-to-day maintenance
Your piece of furniture will be soaped when it is delivered so you can use it immediately. Small tables that are not intended for meals only need to be re-treated with soap when necessary. Usually all that is needed is dusting with a dry cloth. Dining tables ideally need to be treated with a soap solution at least once a week initially. This sounds more labour-intensive than it actually is – use the soap instead of washing up liquid on a cloth when wiping the table down. Keep a container of ready-mixed soap solution handy under the draining board. A well-soaped dining table will become easy to look after over time. Compare it with a traditional wood floor, for example.
We are sometimes asked questions about soap as surface treatment and how sensitive it is to marks and stains. In our experience, marks from red wine, coffee, tea, etc. are easy to remove while grease marks can take many more treatments and in the worst case you may need to use fine sandpaper. Read more in our care instructions.
Contents & the environment
Paint and unperfumed soap flakes. Mainly made from vegetable-based raw materials – products from nature herself.
Oil
Oil brings out the sheen and the grain of the wood and adds a darker tone. Because an oiled surface is already saturated with a fat, it does not acquire grease stains as easily. This makes oil a good surface treatment for perfectionists and families with small children.
Wood samples
The surface treatments below can be ordered as wood samples. These make it easy to compare and match the surface treatment with the rest of your decor, check the texture and feel and ponder your choice in your own time. This makes for a much more well-founded, thoughtful decision. Sustainable & beautiful!
Oiled birch
Oiled oak
Oiled beech
Day-to-day maintenance
Your piece of furniture will be oiled when it is delivered so you can use it immediately. If you spill something on it, wipe with a cloth or kitchen towel. Liquid can leave marks if it is left too long on an oiled table. An oiled piece of furniture is easy to look after. When the surface looks dry, it can be re-oiled quite easily. Once a year is usually enough. Furniture that is wiped with a damp cloth frequently, e.g. a dining table, may need more maintenance by sanding and re-oiling as the water will cause the fibres to emerge and dry out the wood. Read more in our care instructions.
White oil
For a slightly colder and whiter tone, you can choose white oil treatment for most of our furniture. The surface feels slightly smoother compared with soap.
Wood samples
The surface treatments below can be ordered as wood samples. These make it easy to compare and match the surface treatment with the rest of your decor, check the texture and feel and ponder your choice in your own time. This makes for a much more well-founded, thoughtful decision. Sustainable & beautiful!
White oiled birch
White oiled oak
White oiled beech
Day-to-day maintenance
Your piece of furniture will be white oiled when it is delivered so you can use it immediately. If you spill something on it, wipe with a cloth or kitchen towel. Liquid can leave marks if it is left too long on an oiled table. The furniture is just as easy to care for as a piece of furniture oiled with natural oil but takes a little more work to be restored to its original condition. Furniture that is wiped with a damp cloth frequently, e.g. a dining table, may need more maintenance by sanding and re-oiling as the water will cause the fibres to emerge and dry out the wood.Read more in our care instructions.
Brown oil
Brown oil brings out the sheen and the grain of the wood, while the pigment adds a wonderful deep, dark tone. Surface treatment with brown oil gives your piece of furniture a classic, sober look. It’s a perfect choice when you’re looking for an eco-friendly alternative to dark, tropical woods. Because an oiled wooden surface is already saturated with a fat, it does not acquire grease stains as easily.
Wood samples
The surface treatments below can be ordered as wood samples. These make it easy to compare and match the surface treatment with the rest of your decor, check the texture and feel and ponder your choice in your own time. This makes for a much more well-founded, thoughtful decision. Sustainable & beautiful!
Brown oiled oak
Day-to-day maintenance
Your piece of furniture will be brown oiled when it is delivered so you can use it immediately. If you spill something on it, wipe with a cloth or kitchen towel. Liquid can leave marks if it is left too long on an oiled table. The furniture is just as easy to care for as a piece of furniture oiled with natural oil but takes a little more work to be restored to its original condition. Furniture that is wiped with a damp cloth frequently, e.g. a dining table, may need more maintenance by sanding and re-oiling as the water will cause the fibres to emerge and dry out the wood. Read more in our care instructions.
Egg oil tempera
Since the start in 1993, Norrgavel has painted furniture in egg oil tempera, a paint that has in many ways become something of a signature for us. Painting in tempera is a time-consuming process that takes a lot of work by hand and takes a long time to dry/cure.
The surface is completely matt and reflects the light in a particular way; the same colour can be experienced in different ways depending on how the light hits it. The surface gains a patina and an eggshell sheen over time.
Paint samples
The colours below can be ordered as paint samples. These make it easy to compare and match shades with the rest of your decor, check the texture and feel and ponder your choice in your own time. This makes for a much more well-founded, thoughtful decision. Sustainable & beautiful!
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Graphite 94 (9-869)
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Grey 09 (9-867)
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White 93 (9-601)
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Light grey 98 (9-722)
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Forest Green 16 (5-690)
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Green Grey 16 (5-670)
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Grey Green 93 (5-452)
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Storm 16 (4-190)
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Ochre 16 (6-290)
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Beige 94 (6-331)
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Brick 20 (7-670)
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Grey Mist 14 (K2)
Day-to-day maintenance
Egg oil tempera does not dry by evaporation. Instead it oxidises with the base. This is a slow process which makes surface treatment of furniture very time-consuming. Initially, the paint is sensitive to knocks but it will continue to oxidise over a long period of time, finally becoming virtually indestructible. Once fully cured, surfaces can be cleaned with a mild, neutral cleaning product, e.g. washing up liquid, soap or olive oil soap, available to buy in all Norrgavel shops. Read more in our care instructions.
Contents & the environment
Here at Norrgavel, we have been painting furniture with egg oil tempera right from day one because it is the most environmentally friendly paint we have found. It is completely at one with the natural ecocycle. It contains no substances harmful to the environment. Egg oil tempera contains: organic egg*, linseed oil, water, earth and mineral pigments, preservatives (approved for food) and drier. *The eggs used are left-over eggs from grocery stores.
Water-based lacquer
Lacquer produces a more modern look compared with egg oil tempera, which suits some of our furniture better. Lacquer is also more hardwearing. The surface is semi-matt. Norrgavel’s lacquer has a sheen value of 20.
Paint samples
The colours below can be ordered as paint samples. These make it easy to compare and match shades with the rest of your decor, check the texture and feel and ponder your choice in your own time. This makes for a much more well-founded, thoughtful decision. Sustainable & beautiful!
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Dark grey 15 (NCS S 7500-N)
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Light grey 17 (NCS S 2500-N)
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White 12 (NCS S 0500-N)
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Warm grey 17 (NCS S 2002-Y)
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Green grey 17 (NCS S 5005-B80G)
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Steel blue 17 (NCS S 7005-B20G)
Warm green 20 (NCS S 5010-G70Y)
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Black 12 (NCS S 9000-N)
Greige 20 (NCS S 4005-Y20R)
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Pink 17 (NCS S 1510-Y50R)
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Oat yellow 17 (NCS S 2020-Y20R)
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Warm white 11 (NCS S 0502-Y)
Day-to-day maintenance
Where necessary, the furniture should be wiped with a moist cloth and a mild, uncoloured cleaning product. Read more in our care instructions.
Contents & the environment
For a number of years now, lacquer colours have been available that meet stricter environmental criteria, which has meant that Norrgavel is also able to offer lacquered furniture.
The lacquer we use is water-based.