Materials

All Little Colorado products are made from real wood— absolutely no plastic or laminate. Our complete focus is on safety for your toddler and heirloom quality products. We’ve tested and procured only the finest materials that are CARB-2 compliant and contain no VOCs.

We use three primary wood types: Knotty Pine, Birch Plywood, and Medium-Density Fiberboard (MDF).

Knotty Pine is our premium material that appears in most of our traditional designs. The stability and decorative finish of Knotty Pine is ideal for building toddler heirloom quality furniture. It resists warping and the pine reveals a lovely grain that is easy to paint or varnish. In recent years, the availability of Knotty Pine has reduced and so this material is not considered the affordable option anymore. If you are not bargain hunting and your main concern is about the quality of the wood you are getting, Knotty Pine is your best choice.

In the past few years blue stain or beetle kill pine has become ubiquitous in our industry. You will occasionally see a blueish streak on some of our pine furniture. This is not a defect or anything to be concerned about, these streaks are caused by a common fungus spread by the mountain pine beetle that have infested many forests. Blue stain is a non-destructive fungus that has little or no effect on the structural integrity of the wood, so you don’t need to be worried about strength. On finished product the blue streak is invisible, the aesthetic of the blue streak is only something to consider if you are ordering an Unfinished or Natural product.

Our Adirondack Rocking Chair, Chair, and End Table are made from a lesser grade of knotty pine that is consistent with the rustic design. In the lumber industry, it is called “lodgepole pine,” and we source it from SFI (Strategic Forest Initiative)-certified forests, primarily in Montana.

All our birch plywood is also CARB Phase 2-compliant, and it is harvested from sustainable forests. Birch is indigenous to the Baltic Seas area in northern Europe and has traditionally been used to manufacture cabinetry. It has a beautiful, light color with a fine grain. Because it contains multiple layers, compared to other plywood, its strength and flexibility are superior, and it runs less danger of warping than does other plywood.

MDF is made from post-industrial recycled wood shavings and chips that result from cutting wood into lumber; this process allows wood manufacturers to derive the greatest use from every tree. Wood fibers and scraps are then fused together with a binder, under heat and pressure, to create sheets. Our MDF products are made from CARB Phase 2 (California Air Resources Board)-compliant materials, and we only use Plum Creek brand MDF, the best in the industry and certified for no added formaldehyde. We observe the highest standard of current regulations, requiring that emissions of formaldehyde to be less than 0.05 parts per million (less than 0.000005%).

Each wood type has its own strengths. MDF produces the best, smoothest surface for painting and personalization. On the other hand, if you love to see the natural grain of wood, Baltic Birch and Knotty Pine are beautiful.