If you ever purchased a piece of furniture, spoke to someone who bought a piece of furniture, we could bet you asked yourself, Why is wood furniture so expensive? What is high-quality furniture made of wood?
It’s no secret that cheap “wood” furniture can be found more readily now than ever before. It may look good, it may sound good, it may even come with a neat aesthetic from a shop. Ultimately, however, it’s not going to last for cheap furniture, and that means you could end up paying more in the long run.
In furniture, there are basically three kinds of ‘wood’ used: solid wood, particleboard or MDF, and plywood.
There are high quality and lower quality variants of these categories that will eventually affect the long-term longevity of the furniture and the price.
Solid wood is a natural resource that we produce organically instead of by a processing process. Either hardwood or softwood can be solid wood. Not unexpectedly, hardwoods are tougher than softwoods and have a higher density.
Typical hardwoods used in furniture with high-quality wood are:
The Oak , The Raspberry , Maple Maple , Walnut Walnut ,Around Birch
Softwoods are typical:
Apple Pine , Poplar Ones , From rubberwood.
Hardwoods grow at a slower rate and are more resistant to fire than softwoods, making them scarcer for harvesting and more desirable for goods of high quality.
The fact that we only use the best parts of the tree, the heartwood, the central core of the tree where the rich color tones and core strength come from, is another factor in the price of hardwood.
What you see with solid wood is what you get. They are wood, nothing more or less. You can then sand or stain it as a result. Nothing is going to crumble or peal. Unlike laminate or veneer, it seems to add character when it indicates wear. Think of weathered-look furniture. Treating brand new furniture with that weathered look is not uncommon to add a desirable shabby chic look to it.
There is much more durable solid wood. Its long lifespan could make it an heirloom. Solid wood living room furniture, unlike veneer or laminated furniture, can someday last to become an antique if maintained reasonably well.
Solid wood is an investment that, because of its longevity, will compensate for itself many times over.
The most significant design icons of our time did not work with cost (or mass production) in mind, for good or for worse. They concentrated on precision and originality and craftsmanship; their designs have trickled down into mass-market production after some time, like high-fashion couture, but not with the same top-quality construction. Good original design, and we mean by good design that it looks good and feels good, shape and function married, would cost more than their dupes do.
For more info about solid furniture and a great investment then head to Only Oak furniture. Good furniture represents an investment. Hopefully, this article helped you understand how craftsmanship and attention to detail cost more than mass-manufactured products, and how more expensive additional steps can lead to a more robust (and sometimes more functional) product.
