le teak, c'était chic en soixante-dix

 This from the Ottawa Citizen, March 19 1970 —

"Genuine teak furniture is the choice for young moderns for today's hi-rise apartments. Perfectly at home in lower level apartments ... exciting in spacious top floor suites! Come in today! See our selection!"

Teak is derived from a tropical hardwood (Tectona grandis L.f.) of the Lamiaceae (Mint Family) native to Southeast Asia. Teak's high natural oil content and density allows craftsmen to build slim, lightweight furniture of striking durability. Teak furniture, especially of Scandinavian (Danish and Norwegian) design, was a signature feature of mid-century modern (MCM) interior design from the 1950s into the 1970s.

Scandia — The most literal and famous use of the word in mid-century furniture is the Scandia chair series, designed by the Norwegian Hans Brattrud in 1957 as a student project at the National College of Art & Design in Oslo.

Manufactured by Hove Møbler in the 1960s, the chair was a technological and artistic breakthrough. Brattrud used a revolutionary technique of high-frequency lamination to shape two-dimensional wooden slats into a curved, three-dimensional form that cradled the body. Favoured materials were teak, rosewood and walnut.

In a more general sense, "Scandia" would become a marketing term for Scandinavian-inspired furniture.

Arborite — A Canadian brand-name decorative laminate used on cabinetry, tabletops and countertops, established shortly after WWII and still in production and wide use today. It consists of multiple sheets of Kraft paper, impregnated with melamine resin (a thermosetting plastic) and bonded under heat and pressure. The original process was developed by Westinghouse in 1912 and marketed as "Formica."

Colonial Furniture was, of course Ottawa's premier furniture retailer, founded in 1933 by Max and Sam Cohen, with their showroom at 403 Bank Street (now the site of Staples/ Business Depot.) That flagship location closed in the winter of 1998-1999.