| Real wood furniture is the most popular furniture | | | | lumber that has beencustom milled to a pattern or |
| inexistence. It's been around for hundreds of years | | | | otherwise surfaced on all foursides. |
| andprobably existed when the cave people got tired | | | | Composites are the cheapest form of wood and are |
| of squattingon the dirt floor of their caves and | | | | literallymanufactured, rather than grown. |
| looked around for abetter way. | | | | 1. Plywood: multiple layers of thin wooden sheets are |
| The woods that are fashioned into furniture fall into | | | | gluedtogether and pressed. Plywood is strong and |
| threecategories: | | | | resistsswelling, shrinking and warping. There is some |
| 1. Hardwoods | | | | furnituremade directly from plywood, but generally it |
| 2. Softwoods | | | | is only used asa support when incorporated into |
| 3. Composites | | | | furniture. |
| Even the term 'hardwood' or 'softwood' is deceptive. | | | | 2. Particle board: sawdust and small wood chips are |
| Hardwoods aren't necessarily harder, denser material. | | | | mixedwith glue or resin which is then shaped and |
| Forexample, balsa wood is one of the lightest, least | | | | pressuretreated. When used for inexpensive |
| densewoods there is, and it's considered a hardwood. | | | | furniture, particle boardis usually covered with |
| Technically,lumber is classified based on how the tree | | | | laminate or veneer. This isnecessary because particle |
| reproduces. As ageneral rule, though, softwood trees | | | | board splits easily and thelaminate prevents splitting. |
| are evergreen yearround while the hardwoods create | | | | However, the downside is thatthe laminate may |
| the gorgeous autumn foliagethat we all love so much. | | | | separate from the wood because the particleboard |
| Hardwoods are considered the highest quality and are | | | | responds to temperature and pressure changes |
| themost expensive. Their natural colors vary from | | | | byswelling and shrinking. |
| the darkestwoods to the lightest ones and and they | | | | 3. Hardboard: is made like particle board but it's |
| can be stained orpainted for even more variety. | | | | placedunder higher pressure so it's stronger. |
| Hardwood furniture is leastlikely to warp or bend and | | | | 4. MDF or Medium Density Fiberboard: wood particles |
| is prized in all high qualityhomes. The five woods | | | | arebonded with resin and compressed. It is harder |
| most commonly used in furnitureproduction are | | | | than particleboard or hardboard, and can be cut like |
| cherry, walnut, oak, maple and mahogany. | | | | plywood although itisn't as strong as plywood. Some |
| Softwoods are less expensive than hardwoods, but | | | | MDF is covered withmelamine which is a durable |
| theyrequire extra care. Because they are less | | | | plastic in a variety of colors. |
| durable, it's mucheasier to scratch or dent softwood | | | | The exposed edges of MDF are rough and need |
| furniture. In addition,they often don't have the | | | | covering withmolding or some other decorative |
| beautiful grains of a hardwood,and therefore don't | | | | material. |
| stain as beautifully. | | | | Technically, furniture made from all of these wood |
| Pine is an example of a softwood that is commonly | | | | productsis "real" wood furniture, even the |
| used forfurniture. These woods are often used in | | | | composites. Prices andquality range from the |
| construction aswell so the choicest pieces are | | | | hardwoods down to the composites. |
| reserved for furniture. Inconstruction, knots and splits | | | | The higher you go up the spectrum, the more you |
| are common. Lots ofconstruction lumber will not | | | | can expectto pay for your wood furniture. The good |
| accept paint and this kind ofwood is used for shelves | | | | part, of course,is that with proper care hardwood |
| or packing crates. | | | | furniture will last fordecades or even generations. If |
| The softwood used in furniture is designated as | | | | you can afford it, alwayschoose hardwood furniture. |
| "Appearance"lumber and includes most softwood | | | | |