Mahogany: Still Classy?

Once cavemen were able to cover their floors with something other than skins of freshly-killed animals, they wanted something that would not leak, grow mold, or rot on them. Over the centuries, cavemen became civilized, and were deeply concerned with building floors, which were designed for the purpose of having an even ground to walk on that didn’t run the risk of suddenly changing shape on you, like developing a huge hole due to burrowing animals, or icing over due to cold weather. Eventually, it was discovered that floors made of wood worked the best in houses because of how easy it is to care and maintain a wooden floor. You can’t sweep a dirt floor without digging up more dirt, and stone floors are very, very cold against bare feet. And, while rugs made of yarns or skins of the past are cozy, they are difficult to clean and, even when they become worn and threadbare, can still hold on to long-accumulated odors. Wooden floors are even superior to tile or brick-styled floors because, while a tile floor is easier to set up with minimal warping, the floor can still suffer from grit and excessive foot traffic. Wooden floors, while having the same malady as a tile floor, is easier to clean because you don’t have to worry about sweeping between the tile grouting.

There are many different types of wood that are used for flooring. Hardwoods, such as cherry, beech, and mahogany, are preferred over softwoods, such as hemlock or balsa, because a hardwood floor would still keep its shape, despite all the constant foot traffic that takes place in a typical house. The reasons why hardwoods are able to keep their shape better then softwoods are because of the way that the wood is set up in the plant. Hardwoods have a series of pores, called vessels, which are used to transport water throughout the plant, whereas softwoods don’t have a series of huge vein-like tubes running through their trunks. While this is the fundamental difference between the two types of wood, floor choice is everything about durability; if a floor can keep from wearing down over the years, or even showing wear marks from foot traffic, then it will make for a better and lasting floor.

One of the best hardwoods to consider for your floor is mahogany, a straight-grained wood that is usually chosen because of a general lack of voids and pockets, essentially gapes and empty places in the wood that would weaken the fundamental structure of the wood, allowing a warping of the wood over time. Mahogany flooring has all the classic touches of an elegant home; a deep, reddish-brown color that adds warmth to any room, can age well, and easily polished with a dry mop to a beautiful shine. It is a very hard wood, durable to heavy amounts of foot traffic, with a low chance of warping if laid correctly, as well as a lack of splinters. Also, mahogany has a higher resistance to wood rot than the average hardwood, making it last longer and helps it not fall prey to termites and ants so easily, and, because the mahogany tree can grow up to 100 feet in length, wider boards can be cut out to line the floor, making the floor look like an endless sea of firm, red water.

Mahogany has a long history of being used for all sorts of wooden furniture, instruments, and boats. With the discovery of the Americas, came the discovery of mahogany, which was used mostly for furniture making in the 1700s. Many chairs and tables made with mahogany almost 300 years ago are not only in good condition, but are still durable enough to actually sit on and eat off of. The most common form of mahogany used during this time is the Swietenia mahogoni, also known as the West Indian Mahogany, and its cousin, the Swietenia macrophylla, or the Honduras Mahogany, used because they are considered the highest grades of mahogany for durability. Since quality is usually preferable over quantity, it’s easy to understand why this is such a desirable wood to have in your home. However, due to the popularity of mahogany, there has been too much deforestation leading to the West Indian Mahogany to no longer be used for export since the 1950s. Today, if you were to import mahogany to cover your floors, you would be using the Honduras Mahogany.

Because of over-harvesting, all species of Swietenia are protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which puts a restriction on the importing and exporting of endangered and threatened plants and animals. It is no longer so easy to find yourself a mahogany tree, and cut it down to make your dining room table anymore. Nowadays, you need to have export papers, and the amount of mahogany you can import is strictly regulated. Because of this, many companies that offer mahogany flooring might instead offer wood from the mahogany family of Meliaceae, but necessarily true mahogany itself, making the wood used of inferior quality.

Keep in mind what you are going for when choosing mahogany as your hardwood flooring choice; if you decide to go with true mahogany, either of the Swietenia or the Khaya (mahogany which comes from Africa) variety, you may have to pay a high price to help cover the export costs, and the rarity of the wood in general, but you will have a beautiful floor that will last you a lifetime that will only age gracefully over time. Or, if you decide to save money, you can go for any other members of the Meliaceae family, but you will have a floor that will be more susceptible to wood rot, warping, and not be as aesthetically pleasing. Unfortunately, when it comes to mahogany, one must choose between quality and affordability, but ask yourself: Do you want a floor that lasts forever?

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