This buying guide investigates purchasing traditional furniture in solid wood. To begin with, if you really like preserving furniture, you ought to ask yourself a few questions before you start the hunt:
1. What is the particular style you are looking for?
2. How long do you wish to keep the furniture?
3. Does it require regular maintenance?
4. Is it too fashionable to be out of vogue say ten years from now?
5. Would you get bored looking at it some years from now?
Most of us like to preserve furniture for the value it holds, whether it’s the style, theme or something from the era that makes all the spending worthwhile!
Solid wood or Hardwood furniture:
It is important to know the difference between hardwood and softwood. Hardwood is sourced from non-needled tree like maple, cherry or mahogany. The wood is reputed for its robustness and durability, but is difficult to carve or detail in terms of woodwork. Make sure solid wood furniture actually has solid wood on all furniture parts and pieces. Also, solid wood expands and contracts with temperature and humidity changes, so furniture composed of plywood and framed in veneered solid wood can also be a good idea to purchase.
Solid wood is dried slowly in kilns until it retains about six percent moisture content, then it is cut and shaped into pieces that provide the structural integrity of the furniture. Such solid wood pieces may include legs, casing and details that support the furniture. The joints are often given additional strength with bonding glues. To ensure a quality job, and that furniture is properly joined, lift it by one corner to see. Upon lifting, the furniture should stay firm and retain its shape without racking or twisting.
Softwoods: Derived from needle-bearing trees such as pine or cedar, softwood is great for carving and its surface can be carved, but the wood may look weathered due to its soft surface that can easily be marked and blemished.
Plywood and Particle Board
Use of non-solid wood to construct furniture is a very misunderstood concept. As solid wood can expand and contract with humidity, it is important to use plywood or ground wood to help achieve a stable and user-friendly product. Particularly in door and table construction, solid wood needs to have a flat base to reinforce the required stability. Plywood products manufactured from ground up wood are robust and less prone to warp or split. These large flat panels are usually framed in solid wood and covered by veneers to recreate the look of one large piece of wood. Veneering is a process in and of itself, and is explained below.
Veneers
Veneering is a process that allows the natural grain to emerge beautifully on the surface. Traditional bedroom furniture and dining tabletops and dressers used veneering with a thin slice of wood selected for its outstanding character. Veneering has been used for centuries, dating back to ancient Egypt and Rome in the 17th century. One can find wood veneers in different types of furniture and pricing today. The advantages are many: in covering the core panels, veneers are often applied to create patterns that actually enhance the beauty of any furniture piece by many folds. Usually, more expensive woods that would be too costly or fragile to use as structural parts are used as veneers.
The Finish
Finishing plays a vital role in the appearance of any furniture. The finest furniture sold usually involves an intricate finishing process to achieve the flawless look. Involving different steps, once a furniture piece is ready, it is thoroughly sanded or wiped. To highlight the wood grain, sometimes steel wool is used. For traditional designs, fly specking or distressing is undertaken to bestow the piece with antique looks. A sanding sealer is applied during final finish, and a final sanding is done prior to the application of the top coat. Lacquering is used as a last step, giving the piece its finished appearance. Whether done in matte, flat or glossy texture, finishing can endow a piece with great beauty and also make it waterproof and durable for the long run.
Engraving or Printing
Veneering is a costly process and to cut the cost, there is another option to reproduce the wood grain. The wooden image is applied on top of flat panels like look alike. If you are looking for the original style, check the surface closely; when engraved, the grain will look even and uniform. It is almost flawless with no texture variation, a sign that it wasn’t created from a piece of wood. Engraving and printing is normally done on the insides of a furniture piece that makes the finish less expensive. However, one of the major drawbacks of such an alternative is that it is not resistant and the grains may easily come off when exposed to water or any solvent.
For solid wood furniture like cabinets and storage units, you may want to make sure that the drawers are jointly secure and dovetailed for easy gliding. Also, pay attention that the doors swing open easily without squeaking or rubbing, and that long doors are attached with sturdy hinges. Practical details should help you check out with the manufacturer before you make the move.
