Inside the ‘Cultlike’ Quest To Find the Rare Wood Needed To Restore Midcentury Modern Homes

When Sophia deDomenico moved into a historic Eichler home in Thousand Oaks, CA, the interior architect and designer knew she wanted to restore its original glory using authentic materials wherever possible.

What she didn't expect, however, was how the search for the lauan mahogany plywood panels and old-growth redwood used in these homes would connect her with an entire community of devotees on a quest for rare wood.

It's a dilemma faced by many owners of iconic midcentury modern homes, such as those from developer Joseph Eichler or architect Frank Lloyd Wright. To preserve the historic authenticity of these homes, some go to great lengths to hunt down wood finishes that are no longer widely available.

"Midcentury modern enthusiasts are a cultlike following and hold these houses in incredibly high regard," says deDomenico, who notes that many owners seek to keep these homes historically honest.

However, preserving midcentury modern homes is challenging because many wood products used extensively in the 1950s and '60s are no longer manufactured.

"A lot of the difficulty with these projects comes down to the fact that people aren't just looking for 'mahogany' or 'redwood,'" says Luke Zale, general manager of Rare Woods USA. "They're looking for the same material that was used 50, 60, or 70 years ago, and that's a very different proposition."

What happened to lauan mahogany and old-growth redwood?

One of the main materials used for interior siding in midcentury modern homes, lauan mahogany—also referred to as luan or Philippine mahogany—is no longer mass-produced due to logging restrictions on this Southeast Asian tree. It's also not a true mahogany.

"'Philippine mahogany' is a particularly confusing name," says Zale. "Historically, that was a trade name used for a number of Philippine dipterocarp species, commonly sold as lauan. It isn't the same thing as true mahogany."

There is also a big difference between finding "redwood" and finding old-growth, clear redwood that looks like what was installed on a 1960s house. Old-growth redwood comes from massive trees that grew over centuries in relatively undisturbed forests. Because these trees developed slowly under the shade and competition of larger trees, they formed tighter growth rings and denser, more durable wood.

Though there have been reforestation efforts for some of these rare woods, including efforts to restore native dipterocarp forests in the Philippines, Zale explains restoring the forest doesn't necessarily mean getting the same lumber that was being harvested from old-growth forests generations ago.

"Nature is hard to imitate. Plantation-grown trees will have subtle differences from trees grown in a natural forest environment," says Zale. "Another issue when looking for the original material used in these houses is that commercial milling has changed over the years, and larger pieces are increasingly relegated to specialty markets."

How the hunt for rare wood has evolved

In the absence of readily available sources, owners of Eichler and Wright homes have had to explore a variety of restoration and replacement options.

For some Eichler homeowners, like Kevin Saxon of San Jose, CA, who bought his home in 2023 and has been lovingly renovating it since, the search evolved into finding something that was close enough.

"When we moved in, only one room and a bathroom still had wood paneling up. The rest was either painted or sheetrocked on top—and while we tried to save what we could, we generally found it not worth it," says Saxon, who eventually settled on new meranti replacement panels, which are also from the Philippine mahogany family.

"The Aquatek product I found I would argue is as good or better, even if the wood is not exactly the same, and it was roughly $60 for a 4-by-8 sheet, which isn’t too bad compared to some of the more exotic alternatives," he says. 

For the baseboards, however, Saxon couldn't find anything readily available, so he basically had to "mill" his own.

"I bought a few boards of African mahogany and cut them into strips with a table saw, planed those strips so they’d be flat and equal thickness, routed edges, sanded, and finished with a durable polyurethane clear coat," says Saxon. "The color of the wood does not quite match our wood paneling, but that’s OK. At least in our experience, we were trying to keep the Eichler soul while modernizing the house to be livable for another 60 years."

For other midcentury modern home owners, such as deDominico, online communities play a key role in sourcing authentic wood products that are now virtually extinct.

When she and her family moved into their Eichler home in 2021, the kitchen, utility room, and dining room showcased lauan wood, and the ceiling of the house was made of tongue-and-groove old-growth redwood.

"As a designer set on restoring and artfully modernizing the house without detracting from its original intent, I immediately recognized the wood as a crucial component of the entire visual story," says deDominico. "So the goal became how much of this we could salvage, what needed to be replaced, and where we could find it."

In deDomenico's case, half of the dining room panels were unsalvageable as well as one panel in the kitchen.

"We searched high and low for an original lauan replacement, which we were able to snag off a Facebook midcentury modern group and utilize in the kitchen," says deDomenico. They had to opt for African mahogany replacements in the dining room, stained to match the originals, because the quantity of full panels they needed exceeded what was available. 

"While there are not new options available, the Eichler community is strong and actually one of the best resources," adds deDomenico. In fact, it's a regular practice for community members to offer up pieces they're no longer using.

"That’s why the Facebook groups, neighborhood groups, and Eichler preservation communities can be so useful," says deDomenico. "It's not uncommon to see people offering doors, paneling, light fixtures, hardware, and all kinds of other original pieces."

When deDomenico remodeled their Eichler home, she did just that with old the kitchen fixtures. While the cabinets were crumbling from years of neglect, the dining table attachment was in great condition, so she offered it up online and someone came by and took it. 

"There is almost an informal recycling system within the Eichler community," says deDomenico. "Someone remodels a house and saves the original doors or wood paneling, and a few years later another owner needs exactly that piece."

Another reason to get recycled wood from a similar dwelling is that the aging process is hard to replicate.

"You’re trying to match something that has a certain grain, color, veneer, and finish, and that has also aged for 60 or 70 years," says deDomenico.

"It makes me wish more people would stop before throwing original materials away during remodels— what looks like an old piece of paneling to one person might be exactly what someone else needs to restore their house," adds deDomenico. "Not only would we free up landfill space but have an opportunity to retain some of our history in a creative way."

Other options for replacing rare woods

If someone can't find a facsimile or a Facebook giveaway, the last resort may be a rare-wood dealer.

These dealers will stockpile rare-wood items, sometimes waiting decades for a buyer.

"I'd also call specialty lumber dealers rather than relying entirely on an internet search. Rare lumber doesn't always show up online," suggests Zale. "A dealer may have a board sitting on a rack that was purchased 20 or 30 years ago, and it may never have been photographed or listed on a website." 

Matching rare woods requires more than just color. As Zale notes, you must also consider grain, density, dimensional stability, rot resistance, and how well the wood machines and accepts finishes.

"If you're doing a historical restoration, I'd always try to match the original species first," says Zale. "If you're simply trying to re-create the appearance, then you have a lot more options."

In some situations, using a high-quality veneer offers a practical way to achieve the appearance of rare wood while conserving scarce solid timber.

Smart ways to manage rare wood in your home projects

When dealing with rare wood in a home renovation or restoration, it's important to take some precautions. And preservation is key.

"If you're remodeling a midcentury modern house and you have a piece of original paneling that is damaged or being removed, don't throw it in the dumpster," instructs Zale. "Even a small piece can be extremely valuable later for identifying the species and finding a match."

Ultimately, the best thing homeowners and preservationists can do is save what they have.

For example, if an electrician needs to make an opening through original paneling, try to remove and save the original material so it can be put back after the work is completed. 

"For historic homes, the wood is part of the history of the house," says Zale. "It's not only the species that's important. The lumber itself is a snapshot of the forestry, milling, grading, drying, and woodworking practices of that period. That's something that can't really be re-created once it's gone."