Down here, in my neck of the woods, life most of has been full of shades - both grey.  Finding clear black and white answer's is quite rare.  Whether a piece (of furniture, or art, or log) is spalted or rotten is sometimes clear cut.  Typically if you are buying it's going to be called rot, if you are selling, it's often called spalt.

What you call it is completely up to you.  When i can find a log or tree with just the perfect amount of rot, I sometimes sit back, and am amazed at nature's beauty. 

Tracing your fingers along the grain of your spalted oak desk, you feel the cares and worries of the day ease away. Your desk, unique and solid, is an escape  from a flimsy plastic world. At Robin Wade Furniture, it is understood that furniture, especially a desk, is about more than a place to write or work: it is a fortress. Solid and dependable, this desk will hold your heavy thoughts with ease and bring creativity and joy to your efforts. The beautiful spalted wood houses a story, a personality, that ensures this customized desk is more a friend than an inanimate piece of furniture. It is a living, sustainably sourced piece of art. Our honest, high-quality, and handcrafted pieces settle with ease into any home or office.

The story of your custom-built spalted oak desk is written into its very grain and begins with nature itself. Spalting is a natural process of decay in wood that creates wondrous patterns and designs. A phoenix of natural creation, the spalting speaks of life and rebirth and gives your solid oak desk an utterly unique complexion. Robin Wade Furniture embraces “imperfections”, seeing a world in a grain of wood.

We know that the trees used to build our furniture are our neighbors in this infinitely beautiful world. Each tree is selected with mindfulness and care in an effort to maintain a sustainable and peaceful approach to our art. Rest assured there are no facades or false promises here. Just as we embrace the natural “imperfections” of the wood, so do we rely on its natural strength, its beauty and its durability. There are no veneers, no paint, no fancy finishing techniques: just spectacular, unique, and natural spalted oak.