The adequate materials for your furniture

Now a days, the contemporary art had shown us that when it comes to furniture it can be build out of many materials, but few things have defined it as constantly as wood.

There are two types of materials for furniture:

  • engineered wood (particle board, MDF and Plywood).
  • solid wood. Solid wood is usually lighter than engineered wood.

Engineered wood represents a creation of the modern era in need of a mass production solution for furniture, being a much easier solution to work by the furniture maker

It moves less with changes in humidity and temperature.

Some can be used successfully for good furniture with the advantage that allows also complex veneer patterns which cannot be created in solid wood due to seasonal movements.

On the other hand, solid wood furniture have played a huge role in human history.

Compared to the engineered wood, it is always a better choice with regard to structural resistances.

Wear and tear damage can be easily repaired for wood and somewhat for Plywood. No so, for any other materials.

As you can see, both categories presents advantages and disadvantages.

However, none of the engineered wood can compare with the beauty and feel of the natural wood.

Wood Guide

Particle Board

  • Made of soft & hard leftover wood chips and bark mixed with resin and pressed into forms.
  • Prone to splits and cracks. Not resistant to water and structurally weak.
  • Can be laminated with printed plastic or carboard, painted or veneered.
  • Lowest cost of all furniture materials and it comes in various degrees of quality which makes it a very poor choice for furniture.

MDF

  • Made of soft & hard leftover wood mixed with resin and pressed into forms.
  • Prone to splits and cracks. Not resistant to water and structurally weak.
  • Can be laminated with printed plastic, painted or veneered.
  • Good to build sides of cabinets and often used, pained, for kitchen and bathroom fronts.
  • Lower cost than Plywood and wood but higher cost to finish product as it is mostly included in furniture as painted panels.
  • Good for veneering.

Plywood

  • Made of soft and hard wood veneer (thin sheets of wood glued one on top of the other in a crossed grain pattern).
  • Resistant to splits and cracks, water and structurally resistant.
  • Can be laminated with printed plastic, painted or veneered.
  • A substitute for wood as it is much easier to process and keeps some of the exciting patterns of wood face grains as well as some it’s structural resistance.
  • More expensive that MDF. It is more resistant to ware and tear, and can be refinished.
  • Good for veneering

Solid wood

  • Natural occurring material, 100% regenerable and recyclable.
  • Comes in two general forms known as hard-wood (Oak, Walnut, Cherry, Maple, Ash) and soft-wood (Pine, Poplar).
  • Hard-wood furniture resist over a lifetime and with minimum care they become heirlooms.
  • Wood is not perfect and no two trees are the same, they have different stories which is woven into the grain. So every piece is unique.
  • Can be refinished indefinitely.