Buying Cabinet Furniture

“Buying cabinet furniture such as table & chairs or bedroom furniture is a major investment. To assist you in your choice we have put together a short guide of some of the things you may wish to consider. We are here to help you buy the right furniture for your home”.

Wood is at the heart of most pieces of furniture. But only in cabinet furniture is its true beauty uncovered. Every tree species has different characteristics in colour, grain and durability. Like a fingerprint, each tree is unique and this principle applies to your cabinet furniture. If you buy two or more items from the same range, they will be made in a specific style, but have variations in colour and grain. This is part of the unique charm of wooden furniture and only enhances the natural beauty of each item.

There really is nothing more beautiful than solid wood. It’s best to buy all your furniture in one batch if you want the colours to be as close as possible. However, you may still notice differences in grain pattern reflecting the differences between the original trees.

Some woods display different grain patterns depending on which way they are cut - for example the “medullary ray” which can appear on oak furniture is a mark of good quality timber. Small knots or burrs may be present even in the most carefully selected timber - these are just part of the natural beauty of the wood.

Generally, two types of wood are used in cabinet making:

• Softwood from quick growing conifers such as pine. These woods are more susceptible to bruising and marking than hard woods.
• Hardwood from slow growing deciduous trees including oak, ash, maple and teak. These timbers are much denser and have superb grains and lines when made into furniture.

There are a number of species which don’t fall into either group, such as beech which is described as a medium hardwood. Its flexibility means it is often used in the production of chairs.

Buying furniture can be a minefield of technical terms. We are here to guide you through how our furniture has been made. We have listed some of the terms you will encounter when buying furniture.

Dovetail joint: The classic way to make a join, with interlocking sections resembling the tails of a line of birds. Most commonly found on drawer fronts.
Breadboard ends: A method of construction often seen on table tops. A board or piece of wood is fixed at right angles to a series of timber lengths. This helps to control movement within the wood by restricting its natural tendency to twist and warp.
Butt joint: One of the simplest ways to join two pieces of wood. This joint is usually held in place by a small corner block or piece of dowel.
Finger joint: Another joint often found in drawers. Small ‘fingers’ or slots are cut into interlinking pieces of wood to ‘lock’ them together.
Mortise and tenon: Used on chairs and table legs, a router tool cuts a cavity in one piece of wood and a corresponding protrusion is inserted in it. This forms a very strong joint.
Mitre: A joint made by cutting a 45 degree angle along the end grain of 2 pieces of wood before fixing them together. Most often used on table tops, or in making the frame of a piece of furniture
Peg detailing: Fixing wood together by literally placing ‘a square peg in a round hole’
Grain: The pattern or direction of the fibrous tissue in wood. It generally marks the end of a year’s growth.
Knot: Indicated by an oval shaped darker area in the timber, this is the point at which either a branch or side shoot grew out of the main tree trunk. It is a natural characteristic of wood.
Solid wood construction: Furniture made from solid wood.
Laminate: A man-made product produced by bonding layers of wood to another material (again often wood based such as MDF, see below.).
MDF: Made by compressing wood fibres, resin and wax under high pressure into panels. This resilient man-made product provides a stable and highly durable base for plywood, particle board and solid timber.
Veneer: Veneer, a thin sliver of real wood cut straight from the log, enables our suppliers to make furniture which would be much more expensive in solid form, and it’s also much lighter in weight and so easier to move around. Technology and modern adhesives mean that veneered pieces can be stronger than solid wood, and there’s less risk of twisting or warping under unfavourable conditions. Veneer also allows distinctive patterns to be created on flat surfaces, such as table tops and drawer fronts, by the way the slivers are arranged. Environmentally too, the carefully considered use of solids and veneers reduces the demand on natural resources.
Particle board: Used to give furniture structure, this man-made product is produced by compressing wood fragments (like shavings and chips) together with resin.
Plantation grown: Usually refers to tropical hardwoods where the timber is grown for harvest and replanted.
Plywood: A number of layers of wood (usually three or five) are glued together. The grain in each successive layer is joined at right angles for greater strength and flexibility.
Recycled or reclaimed timber: Timber from old buildings or furniture made into something new.
Distressing: The cabinet maker uses various tools to create dents, scratches and even fake worm holes to give a new piece of furniture an aged and used look.
Stain: Natural or synthetic dye is used to colour wood and bring out its best features. Stains may be water, spirit or oil based.
Wash: A paint effect on wooden furniture.
Wenge: Wood that has been stained and finished in a very dark colour, often contrasted with a pale finish for a dramatic look.
Lacquer: A clear, durable, easy care finish that brings out the beauty of the wood in a matt or a gloss finish.
Oiled: A traditional and natural finish that requires repeated applications over time. It causes the wood to harden giving it greater durability and enhances the beauty of the wood grain.
Polyurethane: A transparent plastic coating which protects against general wear and tear. Easy to maintain.
Varnish: A resinous solution with pigments added to produce a coloured opaque waterproof finish. It is very tough and durable.
Wax: Another traditional and natural finish requiring repeated applications to enhance the beauty of the grain. Used on bare or stained wood, a wax finish often covers a lacquer finish for the perfect combination of feel and practicality.