Gen Wright asked:


You may be fretting over the ideal piece of wood furniture for your home or office. Here is a simple guide to help you choose the right piece of wood furniture.

There are several things to consider when choosing a piece of wood furniture. Ultimately, your choice depends on what you need. So let’s start by considering your needs.

1) Indoors or outdoors.

First, consider whether you need the furniture for indoor or outdoor purposes. Wood furniture has different type of finishes, which make some ideal for outdoors, and others ideal for indoors. Generally, outdoor wood furniture have a stronger and more resistant finish on the exterior. So even when exposed to the sun and rain, it should still last.

There are many outdoor places that may need a good piece of wood furniture. For example, you may want to place a piece of furniture in a balcony, in the backyard, beside the swimming pool and so on. Fortunately, there are no lack of wood furniture for the outdoors. So you should be able to find what you need rather easily.

Next, ask yourself if you need the furniture for work or for leisure.

2) For work or leisure. / For home or office.

This has more to do with the overall setting of the location (which we will come to later). Usually, your office furniture or study room will look very different from your home furniture.

Wood furniture that is ideal for the work environment usually look more formal with ordinary shapes. They are also stronger and are expected to last longer. Observe the furniture in most study rooms. Often, people will choose strong wood such as oak or teak for study room furniture. They are ideal for tables and shelves, which are meant to hold strong items such as books for a long period of time.

In contrast, wood furniture in a more relaxed environment doesn’t have to be as formal. They can be oddly shaped, and created from a large variety of wood. You can easily find comfortable sofas, dining tables, and other home furniture made from wood.

In addition, when choosing wooden furniture, keep in mind the overall theme of your home or office. Sometimes, a piece of great wooden furniture may look perfect when standing alone. But when it arrives on location, it turns out to be a wrong fit. Nobody would like that to happen. So be sure to consider carefully how a piece of wooden furniture will fit before making a buying decision.

If you have a budget in mind, you may have to consider the type of wood as well. Different types of wood affects the retail price of the furniture. Mahogany, oak, walnut and cherry wood are examples of fine wood that will cost more.

Again, due to the wide of wood furniture available, there is always something for every theme you can think of. Wood can be made to fit into modern themes, fun themes, English themes, and many other popular and fashionable themes. So let your imagination run wild, and choose the right piece of wood furniture.



KENNY

Gen Wright asked:


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.



JORGE

Matthew Buquoi asked:


Wood exposed outdoors can last for centuries, But how? What kind of wood you choose and how you protect it makes a big difference in how long the wood lasts. Two conditions influence the service life of outdoor wood: weathering and decay.

Weathering is breakdown from the elements such as the sun, wind, debris, and moisture. If wood is not protected by paint or stain, the weathering process removes about ¼ inch of wood per century from softwoods on vertical exposures; even more wood is eroded in severe exposures.

But that’s not the worst of it. Sun exposure is an even larger problem that will accelerate the decay and rot process by allowing moisture and insects to invade the unprotected regions of the wood. One way to reduce the likelihood of decay is to use treated wood. However, treated wood is often green or has other potentially undesirable properties, such as a tendency to warp.

To prevent weathering you must block the sunlight. Finishes differ in their ability to protect wood from the sun. Paints can block sunlight completely, but they can trap moisture and encourage decay. Semitransparent stains are the next best way to block sunlight, followed by water-repellent preservatives, especially those that contain ultraviolet light inhibitors.

Heartwood is a good wood because it comes from the center of the tree where the wood is most compact and dense. There is consensus that some second-growth timber, even from a decay-resistant species, is not as durable as the old-growth timber. The durability of any wood decreases as rain or other sources of moisture remove the natural preservatives. Wood kept dry will not decay, although it may still be vulnerable to attack by insects.

Rot and decay resistant woods such as cedar and cypruss are ideal, but even they have a tendency to ***** if not kiln dried or protected with a strong finish. Treated woods also need to be finished to reduce the ability to weather, delaminate, and become unprotected. The penetrating finishes (stains and water-repellent preservatives) that are used on wooden decks can also be used for all wood discussed here. The best way to protect outside wood from weathering is to cover it with a roof. A roof also prevents decay as long as there is no other source of moisture, such as contact with the ground.

Contraction and expansion from sunlight exposure is the other problem that can open up the wood and cause it to twist, separate, and rot quicker. Avoid the use of dark paint colors if possible that will cause more absorption and problems from the sun.

Taking care of exposed outdoor wood may be tedious, but we have the proper instructions to keep you and your precious goods in great shape.

Outdoor furniture requires a durable finish that does not rub off on clothes. Paint can serve this purpose. Enamel paint provides a hard surface that wears well. Thin the paint for the first coat to increase ***********. A light sanding is desired to help rough up the surface for better paint adhesion and longer lasting paint. This will keep the paint from fading as quickly. If possible, paint the end grain before furniture parts are reassembled.

Fences probably have the most finishing options. Acrylic latex paints are better than oil-based paints, unless the fence is likely to be used for sitting. Highly colored woods such as redwood and cedar require a stain-blocking primer. Pretreating the wood, especially the ends, with a paintable water-repellent preservative (WRP) will increase the life of the paint.

So what tricks can you use to make your finish last years longer? Subject the wood to one or two wetting/drying cycles before you apply the finish; wet the wood (e.g., with a hose) and let it dry completely each time. Sand the wood before applying the finish, and apply paint to wood soon after that. And boom… you will help prolong the life of wood…

 



DAMIEN

Gen Wright asked:


Wood if one of the most versatile raw material in the world. Since the ancient times, wood has been used to create all sorts of objects - buildings, furniture, toys, etc. The possibilities are endless, and can only be limited by a lack of imagination. So whatever type and form of furniture you can imagine, you are sure to find them, if you know where to look.

Wooden furniture has been around for ages. They can be placed outside or inside the house. For a piece of wooden furniture to be suitable for the outdoors, this means that the wood has to be protected with weather resistant paint. For indoor wooden furniture, ordinary paint finishes will be enough. To enhance the durability of any piece of wooden furniture, the type of finish adopted is very important.

There are also many different types of wood. Of course, some will be of higher quality than others. Wood furniture that is carved out directly from big logs are generally more expensive. They require more skill to create, and the natural veins on the logs enhance the natural beauty of wooden furniture. Also, they tend to last longer.

Cheaper wood furniture are often made form wood shavings. Wood shavings are compressed together using a special process to produce planks. These planks are then joined together using various methods to become a piece of wooden furniture. The problem is, such furniture tends to break easily. So usually, poorer quality wood is relegated to manufacturing furniture like simple shoe or book cabinets.

There are many types of wood available for making furniture - teak, mahogany, oak, pine, and so on. Each type of wood has its own unique qualities. But mostly, when it comes to furniture, many prefer wood that is strong, durable and naturally beautiful. Hence the higher demand for teak wood furniture.

As we mentioned earlier, high quality wood furniture can be found easily if you know where to look. Visiting online wood furniture directories is a good way to start. Online websites not only offer helpful information about wood furniture, they also provide many different sources of contacts from all over the world. These are contacts of wood furniture manufacturers, specialized wood furniture retailers and wholesalers, and sometimes, you may even find contacts of wood furniture repair service providers.

You can browse the many types of wood furniture available on the website. There is antique furniture, bare wood furniture, classic furniture, office furniture and more. With such a wide range of furniture, you will never run out of ideas when deciding what type of wood furniture you want to place in your office or home.

Remember to bookmark the website on your first visit. That’s because wood furniture often contain direct links to the wood furniture suppliers in its directory. So you may find yourself leaving the website, and then never having a chance to browse through the other suppliers because you forgot the URL. Given the large number of suppliers listed in the directory, it could take up to a few days before you can finish your research. So bookmark the sites, and spend as much time as you like on each of the wood furniture supplier’s website.



CARL

Gen Wright asked:


I imagine the first furniture ever created was created from wood. Granted, it might have been just a lot of stump to sit on, but wood furniture has been around since the very beginning.

Even with all the modern advances and new materials to work with, wood furniture is still highly valued and a big seller. There’s a reason for this - wood furniture rocks.

With a lot of different types of woods available, there are a lot of different styles of wood furniture available to the consumer.

This brings us to our first reason to consider wood furniture - emotional comfort. There’s just something about walking into a room that has a lot of bare wood showing. It gives the room a homelike feel to it that’s hard to explain. Perhaps it’s because of the natural quality of wood.

Whatever the reason, wood furniture tends to put people at ease and make them feel at home. This is an added value when you purchase genuine wood furniture.

Another reason to consider wood furniture is durability. When you take proper precautions with your furniture, you can be sure they’ll last for years to come. Even with old wood furniture that may be ‘past its prime’ - there’s still the ability to clean it up and restore it to its original beauty.

Real wood furniture may cost a little bit more, but the added benefits of going with authentic wood furniture more than offset any additional cost when buying furniture.

Even if you decide to go with wood, there is a lot of cheaper wood furniture available out there. A careful buyer will investigate any purchase beforehand to make sure they’re getting their money’s worth.

When buying wood furniture, you’ll want to stay away from plywood and false wood materials as much as you can. It’s a little more expensive this way, but the furniture is bound to look good and last a lot longer than furniture made with cheaper wood materials.

Throughout the ages, wood furniture has been a wise investment and will continue to be a wise decision for furniture in the years to come. As with any other purchase, make sure you shop around and investigate your different options when it comes to wood furniture.

This is an investment for you, so take your time and make a wise decision. If you’re lucky, you’ll find great wood furniture that will last you for a long time - perhaps long enough to pass on to other family members like an heirloom.

Whatever helps you decide to go with wood furniture, know that you’re another person in a long line of humans that have decided to be interested in not only how their furniture works, but also what it looks like - how much style it has.



DEE