Weyerhaeuser Lyptus hardwood came out on top in a 2010 study that evaluated consumer preferences for select hardwoods. The USDA Forest Service, University of Wisconsin and Virginia Tech ran the joint study, surveying a total of 1,008 participants at shopping malls in Wisconsin, Maryland, Massachusetts and Virginia.
In the study, consumers were shown seven wood samples, Lyptus, black cherry, white oak, European beech, sugar maple, rubberwood and basswood, as well as three plastic laminate samples, cherry, maple and white oak. Participants were then asked to rank the aesthetic attributes of each hardwood, including color and color intensity, grain density and pattern, warmness and coldness, naturalness, and finish.
Lyptus had the best overall attribute mean at 2.11 (1 was the high score and 7 the low) and black cherry came in second at 2.41. Both of these wood species received high attribute ratings for their color and color intensity, indicating that consumers value a ‘warm’ look. In the survey, warmer appearing hardwoods had significantly higher ratings than colder appearing hardwoods.
Additionally, test subjects were willing to pay more for Lyptus and black cherry. For details about the study and individual wood specie results, including response breakdown by locale, gender and income-level, please view the report “Enhancing Utilization of Hardwoods in the Eastern United States” on the Glacierland RC&D website
Pictured: Kitchen by Crystal Cabinet Works
