There's a moment in the workshop, right after the final coat dries, when you see the wood clearly for the first time. The grain lines emerge. Swirling patterns, knots, rings that tell decades of growth. Every piece is different. Every ring is unique.
Philosophy
Why Wood Grain Matters
Gold paint hides wood's natural beauty. Here's what you're missing when furniture covers up its most honest feature.
5 min read
And then you think about all the furniture out there where this beauty is buried under gold paint.
The Gold Standard (That Isn't)
Walk into a wedding hall in Kathmandu. Look at photos from a high-level political cabinet meeting. Browse a photography studio's backdrop collection. You'll see gold everywhere. Gilded frames, ornate golden sofas, thrones fit for royalty.
Gold has become shorthand for luxury. It signals arrival, success, status. When people furnish their homes, many reach for that same gold because it's what they've been shown. Wedding stages, reality shows, politician cabinets. These are the spaces where "making it" is performed. Gold is the costume.
"Why would you cover up something beautiful to make it look like something else?"
When we see gold-painted furniture, we see waste. Beneath that metallic coat is often solid teak. Wood with character, texture, history in every ring. Covering it feels like framing a painting and then painting over the frame.
What You Miss When You Paint Over Wood
Unique Patterns
Tactile Texture
Solid Sound
Decades of Growth
Run your hand across a well-finished piece of natural teak. You'll feel the grain. Subtle ridges, smooth valleys. Knock on it and you hear density, solidity. Look closely and you'll see lines that took decades to form, patterns no factory can replicate.
This is what makes wood special. Not the shape of the furniture. The wood itself.
Every piece of teak carries its own story in those rings. Monsoons survived. Dry winters endured. Years of slow, patient growth. When you finish it with a clear coat instead of paint, that story stays visible. It becomes part of your home.
Gold paint hides all of this. It turns unique into uniform.
Fashion vs Forever
Gold Paint
The uncomfortable truth: Gold furniture is fashion. And fashion changes.
What looks regal today may look dated in ten years. The gilded sofa that impressed guests in 2024 might feel tired by 2034. Trends move. Tastes shift. Gold, for all its associations with timelessness, is actually tied to a moment.
Natural Wood
The alternative: Wood is forever.
Wood was wood a hundred years ago. It will be wood a hundred years from now. The grain that looks beautiful today will look beautiful when your children inherit it. There's no trend to fall out of.
Furniture your family will keep forever doesn't follow fashion. It transcends it.
The Beauty That Grows With Time
Gold Paint
Chips over time
Flakes reveal deception
Damaged gold looks cheap
Degrades
Natural Wood
Develops patina
Scratches blend into character
Wear adds to the story
Evolves
The furniture that witnesses your family's gatherings, conversations, everyday moments? It should grow more beautiful with each passing year, not less.
Seeing What Others Miss
This isn't about judging anyone's choices. If gold speaks to you, that's your home to furnish.
But we believe there's something sophisticated about seeing beauty where others paint over it. About choosing character over costume. About trusting the wood to be enough.
At Regalwood, the philosophy is simple:
Let the grain show. Let the rings tell their story. Build furniture that doesn't need gilding because the material itself is the luxury.
Some people will always reach for gold. But perhaps you're someone who sees what others miss.
Curious about which wood holds up best in Nepal's climate? Read our guide to teak vs sisau. Already own natural wood furniture? Here's how to care for it.
