Being in the furniture manufacturing business in Adelaide for 3 generations and going on 7 decades, we’ve learnt a thing or two about timbers and the timber industry as a whole in Australia. The latest flooring trend to appear in species is Spotted Gum. Without getting into botanical names, let’s just says there’s 2 types and they’re very different. Known mainly as a bush timber, therein lies the surprises and they’re abundant as soon as the log is sliced for veneers or solid… Fist off, colour of the heartwood in the QLD variety is quite red and tends to get redder with time, a very unusual trait of timber. The NSW version is much lighter, so light we class it as a blonde timber like Oak. Both states share the same tree but grow very different looking products dependant on soil composition, locale and environmental factors. Being a very tough timber to work with in the solid form due to high wax content, natural twists and hardness, the veneers are the way forward with spotted gum and furniture. We’re seeing an increase in demand and price for spotted gum and a decrease in supply so it will become a rarity timber one day. Our experience and skills have allowed us to successfully craft solid spotted gum tables but the timber requires a few tricks of the trade to make it work. The veneers are a far better option for many reasons and as usual, cost effectiveness is the main one. So, yes its a good investment, it’s bad to work with and boy it’s ugly as…  just jks, the select grade NSW is some of the most beautiful timber you’ll ever see (when we can get it) -Matt