Australian Jarrah Furniture: Where to See and Buy It in WA

People walk into the gallery with a question they don't quite know how to ask. They want a jarrah piece. They've been to a few showrooms in Perth. They've seen prices ranging from $1,800 to $18,000 for what looks, on the surface, like the same kind of table. They want to know what they're actually looking at, and where to find the real thing.

This is the post I wish I could hand them on the way in. Four decades of working in jarrah, an honest map of where to look in WA, and the questions I'd ask if I were buying.

Photo: Lasthib, CC BY-SA 4.0 · via Wikimedia Commons

Jarrah is Eucalyptus marginata. It only grows in the South West of WA, nowhere else on earth. The Forest Products Commission WA manages most of the public-forest supply, and the rest comes from private holdings, salvage from old buildings, or recycled timber out of wharves and bridges.

Because the supply is limited and managed, real jarrah furniture in 2026 sits at a higher price than imported hardwood lookalikes. If a piece is being sold cheap and called jarrah, it might be jarrah-veneered MDF, it might be a darker hardwood (often Asian rubberwood) stained to look like jarrah, or it might be old growth jarrah genuinely priced low because someone didn't understand what they had. The first two are common. The third is rare.

jarrah and marri compared

Roughly speaking, jarrah furniture in WA falls into three tiers. I'll be honest about all three.

You see these in the big chains and budget furniture stores. Often labelled "jarrah" or "jarrah-look" or "WA hardwood" without specifics. The construction is usually MDF or particleboard with a thin jarrah veneer, or a solid-but-cheaper timber (rubberwood, mango, pine) stained dark.

Prices: $400 to $2,000 for a dining table.

These pieces are not heirlooms. They'll do their job for five to ten years. There's nothing wrong with them if that's what you need, but don't pay heirloom prices for them.

There are a handful of WA manufacturers making solid jarrah furniture at a production scale: machined components, factory finishing, standard designs in volume. The pieces are real jarrah, mostly regrowth, well-made for what they are.

Prices: $2,500 to $7,000 for a dining table.

These are good pieces. They'll last decades. You won't get the design or the figure that comes from a one-off maker, but for solid WA hardwood in a known design at a known price, this is where you look. The reliable names are well-known in Perth.

This is where the one-off makers work. Pieces designed for the client, milled and dried from selected boards, hand-finished. Small studios, often one or two makers. Includes my workshop and a small number of others across the state.

Prices: $5,000 to $30,000+ for a dining table depending on size, timber, complexity.

This is where jarrah does its best work. Old-growth or recycled boards with deep colour, figure that you can read across the room, joinery that will last a hundred years if it's cared for. These are the pieces that go to families and stay there.

Real jarrah furniture in 2026 sits at a higher price than imported hardwood lookalikes. If a piece is being sold cheap and called jarrah, look closely.

A geographic rundown, said honestly. I know most of these makers. I have nothing bad to say about anyone making real solid hardwood furniture in this state. There aren't enough of us left to be precious about competition.

The South West is where the timber comes from and where most of the gallery-based makers work. The drive from Perth is three hours each way, but you'll see more genuine work in two days down here than you'll see in a week in Perth.

• John Streater Fine Furniture, Yallingup: the workshop on Blythe Rd. I built the building in 1988, jarrah walls and southwest limestone. Pamela runs the gallery, I'm usually in the workshop behind the viewing window. The work is custom and one-off, jarrah and marri, designed for the piece's life. (I'm not going to pretend to be neutral here. You came to my blog. But the gallery is open six days and you can judge for yourself.)
• Margaret River township galleries: a small number of group galleries in town show solid hardwood pieces alongside other makers' work. Quality varies. Ask who actually made each piece.
• Other South West studios: there are a handful of solo makers working in jarrah from sheds in Cowaramup, Margaret River and Augusta. Most don't have walk-in galleries. You find them through word of mouth or through Margaret River Open Studios in the spring.

Open Studios in September

• Subiaco and Mount Lawley: a small number of design-led furniture retailers carry solid jarrah alongside imported and Australian work. Useful if you're shopping while in Perth.
• Production manufacturers: several established WA furniture brands make solid jarrah pieces in production volumes. Showrooms in Perth's industrial north and Cannington. Good for tier 2 buyers.
• Fremantle Arts Centre and other community galleries: occasional shows by individual makers. Worth watching the calendar.

I should mention this because I get asked. JahRoc was a long-running Margaret River jarrah furniture business that I knew well. As of recent years their retail presence has changed substantially. Check current status directly before planning a visit. The South West gallery scene shifts over time and any current list goes out of date quickly.

Genuine jarrah dining tables come up regularly on Gumtree, Facebook Marketplace and at estate sales across WA. Decades of furniture making in this state means there's a lot of good gear out there in older homes being sold for a fraction of what it cost to make.

If you go this route, the things to check:

Ask the maker directly. These are the questions I'd put to them. When the seller can't answer, you're probably in a tier-1 showroom that doesn't really know what they're selling.

1. Where did the timber come from? A real maker will know: a specific mill, a specific salvage source, sometimes a specific tree.
2. How was it dried? Air-dried then kiln-finished is the right answer. Kiln-only from green is a red flag for cheap production.
3. What's the finish? Hard wax oil, Danish oil, polyurethane: each has trade-offs. None is wrong, but the maker should know exactly what's on the piece.
4. How is the top fixed to the base? "Sliding battens" or "slot-fixings" or "buttons" are good answers. "Screwed down" is a bad answer for a solid top, it will crack.
5. Is there a maker's mark? And on a custom piece, can it be made to your dimensions, and what's the lead time and deposit?

For genuine solid jarrah, rough guide, finished pieces:

A quote well below the low end for a custom solid piece, ask hard questions. A quote at or above the high end should show its working in the timber, the joinery, and the finish.

The gallery on Blythe Rd in Yallingup is open six days, 10am to 5pm. You can sit at the tables, open the drawers, look at the joinery, and ask anything. Google Maps sometimes misdirects via Wildwood Rd — stay on Bussell Hwy, turn at the Carbunup store, then Blythe Rd.

Jarrah isn't the only WA hardwood worth your money. Marri is its close cousin and often the better choice for certain pieces. Tuart is excellent and rarer. Sheoak shows up occasionally in smaller pieces.

A good jarrah maker will usually offer you marri or a mix of timbers if the piece calls for it. Don't assume jarrah is automatically the answer. Answer the question of what the piece needs to do, then choose the timber.

the five WA hardwoods worth knowing the buyer’s guide to WA timbers

Photo: David Stanley, CC BY 2.0 · via Wikimedia Commons

If you're serious about buying jarrah, the right thing to do is drive south for a weekend. The makers are here, the timber is here, the context is here. You'll spend more on a piece you've seen in person than on a piece you ordered from a website, and you'll be happier with it for the next forty years.

You don't have to come to my gallery. You can come to any of them. But come.

Photo: Lasthib, CC BY-SA 4.0 · via Wikimedia Commons