Picture this: you’re looking around a home supply store, possibly looking for a new study desk or hardwood floorings to change up the look of your living space. You see a lot of wooden furniture, but you’re easily able to lift most of them. They don’t look like the furniture you see in thrift stores and antique shops either, or like the furniture from your childhood home. This is because furniture building has evolved to accommodate commercial production with limited resources. Modern materials, such as plastic, have been incorporated into wood to make manufacturing easier.

Still, there are plenty of sturdier and heavier furniture pieces out and about. Most of what you see has been there for decades. These types of furniture are made from solid wood, which most people will tell you is the best furniture that money can buy. So what exactly is solid wood furniture?

Solid Wood Furniture

Solid wood furniture is any piece of furniture that is wholly made from either hardwoods or softwoods. These are pure lumber milled directly from trees before being built as furniture. The entire body is natural wood, with zero synthetic materials added.

Solid Wood Materials

Hardwood material comes from wood types such as oak, cherry, maple, walnut, and birch. Softwood material comes from pine, poplar, and rubberwood. Furniture made from hardwood types generally costs more than ones made from, say, pine. Oak and maple trees take a longer time to grow, and thus the output is limited. In comparison, pine grows quickly and makes it easier for builders to put out a higher supply of furniture made from softwood.

Hardwood types are the best wood materials for making furniture. There is no mistake about the durability of hardwoods. What kind of hardwood should be used, however, will depend on other factors. Aside from wood density, the wood quality and grain pattern make a difference. Many solid wood furniture pieces give off a classy feel because some specific types of hardwood excel in wood beauty by having rich, vibrant colors and exquisite grain patterns.

The type of furniture determines what kind of solid wood is used. For example, solid wood species are commonly used for solid wood cabinets, solid wood floors, dining tables, and office desks.

• Oak. Solid oak is one of the most durable as well as versatile and multi-faceted hardwoods that are commonly used to make desks and dining tables. It can absorb different finishes with various designs. It’s also relatively inexpensive compared to the other hardwood types.
• Mahogany. Mahogany has the strength of an oak despite being lighter in weight than other hardwood types. What makes it a common choice for furniture is its beautiful reddish-brown color. Furniture made from pure and genuine mahogany is now becoming a rare find.
• Walnut. Walnut is one of the toughest woods and ranks relatively high in the hardness test. It has an elegant color and sports a beautiful grain character that will class up a dining room.
• Maple. Maple is a popular choice because of its overall look. The color, a creamy white with a pinkish-brown tinge, also adapts well to the modern taste.
• Cherry wood. Cherry wood has an interesting feature: it darkens over time, giving it a richer and more antique appearance. It’s also notably resistant to scratches and dents, which is why some people prefer it over the other types.

Advantages of Solid Wood Furniture

There are several benefits of buying solid wood furniture. Here are they:

Appearance

Solid wood assures top-quality furniture. Many designers and homeowners prefer the classic look of solid wood furniture, which gives any room a warmer and more welcoming vibe. The versatility of various wood finishes can also complement other furniture and decor. Solid wood furniture, especially those made from hardwood types, carries a certain air of history about it. Antique sellers take pride in obtaining pieces that come from particular historical periods known for their impressive aesthetic.

Skill and craftsmanship

The modern way of making furniture has made it easier to produce more supply for the demand, but skill and craftsmanship are lost. Solid wood furniture pieces are hand-made by skilled artisans, and furniture designers take pride in carving original designs. Furniture builders that oversee the whole process from start to finish will care more about the piece than factories with groups that perform a single function in an assembly line.

Durability

Durability is the best quality of solid wood furniture. It can withstand everyday wear and tear. Even if it starts showing signs of age, solid wood can quickly be restored to make it look fresh and new again. Sanding, painting, and staining are some ways to change the overall look of the furniture piece. Some families have passed down solid wood furniture pieces as heirlooms because of how durable solid wood is. They retain their value throughout the years, and age makes the pieces impressive enough to be sold in antique shops.

Strength

The strength of solid wood comes from it being a homogeneous material. Wood builders assess how strong a specific wood material is from various factors because wood has different strength levels. The gravity, compressive strength, stiffness, and bending strength are also considered. Solid wood is a polymer with cellulose fibers, making it strong enough to withstand stress by spreading the pressure over its size.

Sustainability

Because solid wood furniture pieces are ensured to last for generations, investing in them is a sustainable choice. Tables, cabinets, and drawers made from solid wood, especially the hardwood species, are produced in limited numbers because their longevity reduces the risk of getting destroyed and limits the need to keep buying or replacing furniture.

Buying solid wood furniture should not be regarded as expensive and instead thought of as making a sustainable choice and investing in your future. You’ll never have to worry about replacing them in your lifetime (save for accidents and extreme situations, of course) and all you have to do is maintain them well.

Disadvantages of Solid Wood Furniture

While solid wood is decidedly the best choice for furniture, there are still a few but significant disadvantages that might deter some people from buying solid wood furniture. Here are they:

Vulnerability

Because the longevity of solid wood furniture is affected by what materials are used, softwood materials are vulnerable compared to hardwood. Pieces made from softwood are less fire-resistant and have a shorter lifespan, and are more susceptible to scratches, nicks, and dents. Even so, hardwood can also be vulnerable to certain conditions such as temperature changes.

Weight

For people who regularly move from one place to another, solid wood can be a hassle to take everywhere. The big pieces are not easy to lug around, and they can add up when you hire a moving company instead. Moving them around while cleaning, rearranging, or redecorating can be a pain. This is why it’s recommended for people to buy solid wood furniture only when they’re settling down into permanent homes.

Price

Solid wood furniture costs significantly more than the other furniture material options because everything at its core is natural. Simply put, solid wood furniture is expensive because it lasts. Nothing will peel or fall apart. Higher quality materials generally come at a high price, and supply and demand also come into play. The best solid wood furniture is usually made from hardwood, which grows slowly and limits the output of finished pieces.

Solid Wood Alternatives

Because of the high price point and the limited sale of solid wood furniture, people look for other options. The most popular types are laminate furniture and veneer furniture, a variety of composite wood.

Laminate furniture

Laminate furniture looks like wood but is not wood— it uses synthetic and manufactured materials to form a thin layer. It uses a printing process to get the wood grain appearance. Laminate sheets are attached to durable core material to make them more durable.

You might prefer laminate furniture because it’s made to resist heat, moisture, scratches and is comparatively easy to clean, which means they don’t have to be as careful with the furniture as they would have to be with solid wood. This is a practical choice, especially with lots of kids and pets around. Laminate is also the least expensive compared to solid wood and veneer.

Veneer furniture

On the other hand, veneer furniture has the same construction method as laminate furniture, but the thin layer is still made of hardwood. The base is made of lower-quality wood and covered with hardwood, making the furniture appear like solid wood but with a lighter core. Like solid wood furniture, it also scratches and dents easily. However, what makes it attractive is the low cost of getting an authentic wood grain look, resistance to warping, and because they require less time and less wood to make, there are more chances of finding a greater variety of furniture.

How to Tell if it Is Solid Wood?

Not all wooden furniture is made from solid wood. How do you know if it’s solid wood or just an excellent veneer job? Veneer and laminate wood can sport the same appearance as solid wood pieces, while solid wood furniture can use wood species that accommodate a more modern and minimalist finish. To tell if the furniture is made from solid wood or not, consider these things:

• Weight. Any authentic solid wood furniture should be considered heavy because of the natural materials. Simply lifting the piece is the easiest and quickest way to see if it’s solid wood or veneer.
• Carving details. No laminate or veneer furniture pieces will ever display any soft carving design. The making process presses several layers together and has to maintain the structure throughout. Solid wood furniture pieces often have intricate carvings on the edges of drawers.
• Joints. Veneer and laminate furniture pieces have nails, screws, and staples holding the parts together. They indicate that the furniture is easy to assemble and disassemble. Solid wood furniture parts are screwed or dowelled with round wooden pins.
• Finish. Veneer furniture has an even finish throughout the whole body. Solid wood furniture can have different types of finish and can leave the surface unsealed. The underside should be unfinished and also have a similar look and pattern as the surface.

Takeaway

Solid wood furniture comes with its pros and cons. Several factors have to go into buying solid wood furniture, such as the price, the nature of your living space, and your proximity to factors that might ruin the solid wood. While it may give your home or apartment a more elegant look and can last you for years, it will also be a huge inconvenience to lug around different apartments or rentals. If anything, solid wood furniture requires a certain kind of stability in life that you have to reach first before deciding to invest.

Looking to add items in your bathroom? Read ”7 Bathroom Essentials Every Home Needs in 2021” to learn more.