When considering the appearance of your furniture, it’s important to keep in mind that all wooden materials were once trees. As such, they were living, breathing organisms that worked to survive. As trees grow, they have natural variations that occur and make each one unique. The environment in which the tree grows, the way minerals are deposited throughout the tree, and where branches were connected all contribute to the color and patterns found within the wood. Many of these variations are what give wood its beautiful grain and coloring. In the same way that no two humans are exactly alike, no two pieces of wood will be either. 

Many companies use "A" Grade wood, which does not have any patches. Due to this, it wastes a lot of usable material. We use a combination of wood, including "B" grade, which has patches, because it is more eco-friendly.

Please note that not every piece of furniture will have the same number of patches or natural variations; some may not have anything noticeable or eye-catching, while others may have multiples. These variations do not affect the integrity or quality of the wood, only its visual appearance, and the wood is high-quality and completely functional! Every piece we offer will always meet our rigorous safety and structural standards, and each is visually unique.

A few examples of variation that you may find include:

• Patches, either oval or scalloped-shaped: These occur where a knot in the wood was filled during processing and are a completely normal part of our materials.  We do take special care to cut our materials with the least amount of patches on the surface. We examine each piece of wood and decide which should be the outside and inside of your furniture, so the bottoms of tables and insides of shelves may have a few more patches than the outward-facing surfaces.
• Mineral Streaking: This develops as the tree absorbs minerals from the soil. The streaks are most noticeable in light woods that are left unstained, like ours. 
• Color Variation: Finished birch can range in color from a very pale beige to light amber. Typically, it is somewhere between those two; however, it is possible to receive a product that is made with pieces from each end of the acceptable spectrum. 

 

A few visual examples of variations within our quality standards that may be found on your product: 

An example of an oval-shaped patch 

An example of a scalloped patch

An example of streaking within the wood  

 

Value-Grade items: Through our experiences working with these materials, we have found that some wood has excessive variations. In an effort to preserve its innate beauty while still providing an attractive, visually appealing piece of furniture, we have chosen to implement a standard range of acceptable variations.  The presence of patches does not mean that your product is Value-Grade; every piece of furniture will have some level of variation within the material. Value-Grade items are products that have an above-normal number of variations, but still meet our structural and durability standards.

If you have any questions or concerns about the variations on your piece, feel free to reach out to us! Please include pictures and our Customer Experience Team can evaluate the piece. If it is within our standards, but you are still dissatisfied, we can help you order a new part for a fee. Please reach out to us at support@sprout-kids.com

Additional note: If your furniture arrives with voids, chips, or scratches on the surface, please let us know! These are imperfections that don’t fall within our quality standards (although, your furniture may still be usable) and we are happy to replace that piece for you.