| wners shopping for furniture typically look for beauty, | | | | absorb stain beautifully. “Soft” woods, |
| comfort and quality. Furniture should look good in the | | | | like pine and cedar, will provide a different but equally |
| space for which it is intended, be comfortable to use, | | | | as beautiful look for furniture. The type of wood |
| and last for a long time. In addition to providing all of | | | | chosen depends upon the intended use of the |
| those qualities, solid wood furniture is timeless in | | | | furniture. A table made of pine will likely nick or |
| appearance can be handed down to future | | | | scratch from daily use, but a durable finish can make |
| generations. When looking to purchase solid wood | | | | even pine a feasible material for a table. |
| furniture, customers should understand what defines | | | | The color of a piece of solid wood furniture depends |
| a piece of solid wood furniture, consider the type of | | | | on both the type of wood and finish. Some woods |
| wood available for the furniture they need, decide | | | | give a pinkish hue, regardless of the color of finish |
| upon the finish available for the wood, and learn the | | | | used. Other wood types have green undertones. |
| care necessary to maintain the integrity of the piece. | | | | When considering solid wood furniture, customers |
| A piece of furniture is considered “solid | | | | should get a sample of the possible wood type and |
| wood” when it is completely constructed with | | | | experiment with using different finishes on the |
| boards of wood. Solid wood furniture will be free of | | | | sample to ensure they achieve the color needed for |
| wood products that are a composite of wood pieces | | | | the finished product. |
| combined with other materials. In other words, a | | | | Care of wood furniture is extremely important. Wood |
| piece of solid wood furniture will not be constructed | | | | is very susceptible to water damage, so it is |
| with particleboard covered with a thin layer of wood. | | | | important to make sure that a durable finish is used |
| To give the appearance of solid wood, furniture | | | | on any piece that may come into contact with water |
| manufacturers will often construct the inner parts of | | | | on a regular basis. Solid wood furniture can scratch, |
| furniture using particleboard and use solid wood | | | | depending on the hardness of the wood and the |
| boards on the parts of the furniture that can be | | | | finish on the piece, but scratches and nicks can easily |
| seen. Such construction is not considered solid wood | | | | be repaired with wood repair products. Cleaning |
| furniture. | | | | products specifically made for wood should be used |
| While oak is the type of wood known to most | | | | when cleaning wood furniture. |
| people for use in solid wood furniture, there are | | | | Each piece of wood furniture is unique, as each tree |
| many other types of wood that are used to make | | | | from which the wood comes is unique in its own |
| beautiful pieces. Cherry, walnut, mahogany, maple, | | | | right. Solid wood furniture is beautiful, timeless, and |
| and oak are considered “hard” woods. | | | | can enhance any home décor for years to |
| These types of wood tend to scratch less easily and | | | | come. |