Some makers use both types of construction in building custom furniture and custom cabinets. Now lets look at these two options and their strong and weak points.

Solid wood furniture, this means all exposed parts are made of the same species of all natural wood, with no other materials included, such as plywood or particle board.

Advantages of Solid Wood:

Practical. The durability of solid wood furniture is high on the list. Scratches, dings, dents, water marks, stains can all be repaired. Obviously, the worse the damage the more expensive, but it is certainly easier and less expensive than veneer furniture.

Disadvantages of Solid Wood:

Split. When exposed to extreme atmospheric conditions, solid wood furniture will expand or contract, and may split along the grain of the wood. Some makers use a “floating case system” in which table and case-piece surfaces are attached using a bracket method or elongated holes for screws to slide. This enables furniture to respond to environmental changes without damage. As a rule, though, avoid exposing pieces to strong sunlight or direct heat sources.

Good quality veneer furniture will have a solid core and the legs, posts, doors or drawer fronts will be straight-grain solid wood.

Advantages of Veneer:

Beautiful. The best, most interesting logs are cut into veneer. This is largely an economic decision–sellers and veneer makers can make more money from a high quality log sliced into veneer than they can from sawing it into boards. And certain cuts, such as burls, are structurally unsound in ‘the solid’. These beautiful woods can rarely be utilized unless they’re sliced into veneer

Environmentally kind. Saw timber is typically sawn into 1″ thick boards. The saw cuts a kerf between boards 1/4″ thick that winds up as sawdust. Veneer is not cut from the log but sliced with a knife (like lunch meat) into 1/32″ leaves or sheets. That produces 32 veneer surfaces for every 1 that is gotten from a board and with no wood wasted as sawdust another 8 sheets where the saw blade would have gone. That’s 40 surfaces of wood veneer for every 1 of solid wood. 

Creates new design possibilities. Since veneer is so thin and is glued to a stable

Stable. Since veneer is glued to a stable substrate it produces surfaces not prone to warp or splitting or seasonal movement.

Substrates. Plywood and medium density fiberboard, the substrates used for some furniture, are made from low quality trees. This means a market is provided the landowner for these trees. This leads to better forests over time since the trees remaining grow better and faster with less competition for resources. Its like weeding your garden only a lot bigger.

Disadvantages Veneer:

Thin. This is more of a problem for the builder than the buyer. Sand-through in preparation for finishing is ‘touching the third rail’ of woodworking. Such pieces are almost impossible to repair and frequently involve ‘re-design’ (as in cutting off the sanded through area) or making a speculative, difficult repair which can be difficult to hide. Once the piece is completed thickness of the veneer is of no concern.

We at Berkshire Furniture believe that there are good in both kinds. It all depends on who is the manufacturer and how it is built. When buying your piece of furniture, always ask if it is real wood veneers or laminated imitation of wood. If the surface of table top or any wood case top looks Perfect and unreal, then it is most probably not a wood veneer. Pores, scuffs and wood knots can be easily found even on wood veneers if the veneer comes from wood. These pores, nicks and scuffs are the signature of nature and proves to the buyer that yes, this is a slice of real wood that is veneered over this top.

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Wooden Computer Desk

Sure, computers are modern and that have those snazzy metal and plastic or fake wood computer desks, but there’s something about having a quality made all wood desk to sit your computer on. Maybe it’s the contrast. Whatever it is, a wood computer desk is a good way to add to your home.

Wooden Couch

You obviously don’t want an all wooden couch – who would want to sit on that?! Finding a couch that has exposed wood is a good way to complement other things in your room’s decor or to follow an already established theme.

Wooden Rocker

Whether it’s inside or outside, a wood rocking chair can add style and comfort to your house. This timeless classic, in wood, is found in many good homes around the world.

Wooden Table

Some might prefer metal and glass tables, but there’s something about an all wood table, especially if it’s had any kind of craftsmanship done on it. From carvings to intricate table legs, wood gives furniture designers a lot of ways to add something special to the table of your dreams.

Wooden Playpen

While this isn’t necessary if you don’t have children or don’t ever take care of children, if you do, a wooden playpen is a great investment that you can hand down to your children when they have children of their own.

Wooden Swing-set

Again, this only applies if you have children or take care of children (nieces and nephews, grandchildren), but an all wood swing-set makes a favorite play area for a child a little more special. A wooden swing-set is also less of an eye-sore in your yard if you care about your landscaping.

Wooden Stools

Whether it’s a bar stool or a foot stool, a real wood stool is a great, inexpensive way to add a little bit of style to any room in your house. You’ll want to choose one of the hardwoods most likely, but you should have a wide range of color options available.

Wooden Chest

Who doesn’t love a good chest. Whether it’s at the foot of your bed holding extra blankets or in the garage storing mementos, there’s something about a solid wood chest that’s timeless and somehow comforting. You may have to hunt around some to found a quality one, but spend the extra money now and have something to pass on for years to come.

Wood Dining Chairs

Dining chairs are one of the items that really show off the workmanship and craftsmanship of some wood furniture. While the overall design is the same (a chair is a chair), different designers but a lot of effort into the small details of dining chairs. You’ll want to try to pick wood dining chairs that go well with your table.

Wood Entertainment Center

You can cheaply buy a metal or false wood entertainment center and save a few bucks, but as the old saying goes, you get what you pay for. Why pay a lot of money for a quality television unit then go with a cheap entertainment center to house it. Wood entertainment center design has come a long way over the years as technology changes. Don’t go cheap on this. You won’t be disappointed.

Classic

Wood furniture is a timeless classic. While metal tables have been around for a while, plastic is a relatively new invention used for the manufacture of furniture. Wood is something people have worked with for a long time, making it easy to work into wonderful creations for leisure and business.

There are reasons some things become classics. With genuine wood furniture, you’re buying into a sense of owning quality items, something that has been around since man began making furniture.

Value

Real wood furniture may cost a little more and seem like less of a value, but if you project into the future and add in how much longer full wood furniture will last, it’s a pretty sound investment. Most people are just looking to save a quick buck. The truly smart people pay a little extra to get something that will last them ten times longer than cheaper alternatives not made out of real wood.

If you only concentrate on short term gain, you might not think 100% wood furniture is a good investment, but you have to think long term. When you look at the big picture, spending a little extra to get quality and craftsmanship and durability makes a lot of sense.

Durability

Furniture made out of wood, when taken care of properly and not mistreated, lasts a very long time. The fact that antique furniture is so sought after by people around the world is a testament to its durability.

Stainless steel may be a little stronger and durable than wood, but who wants to sit on a steel chair? Granted, wood seats are kind of hard as well, they’re not as imposing or other worldly as metal furniture. There’s something comfortable about wood that adds to its sense of durability.

Environment

Plastic is made from oil. Metal is a finite resource on the planet not easily replaced. Wood, on the other hand, is very easy to replenish over and over again. For this reason, making furniture out of wood is good for the environment.

While this might not be important to a lot of people, it’s important to the planet. The more people who think about the environment think about wood furniture, the more it sounds like a sensible choice. For those others that don’t think about the environment, they can still help without even knowing they’re helping by buying wood furniture.

Why Wood Furniture

These are just a few quick reasons why you should consider spending the money to get high quality wood furniture. Don’t stop here. Search around the Internet and find other opinions. After you’ve done all your research, though, you’re going to find out that wood furniture makes sense. When you add it all up in the end, it just makes sense.