This IKEA child chair bears the typical dents and scratches you would find on softwood If it is softwood, your nail will leave a mark. If you’re unsure whether a piece of furniture is made from softwood, try scratching a discreet area with your fingernail. Softer woods are more prone to scratches and dents, so if you see many, the furniture may be made from softwood. Most softwoods are conifers like redwood, pine, fir, spruce, cedar, etc. Inspect the wood for scratches and dents to know if it is softwood. Elimination #2: is it softwood or hardwood? 2.1 Check the density These planks are wood laminate, not actual wood 2. While veneer is a layer of (most often) high-end wood applied on cheaper, more common wood (e.g. And almost always applied on top of a particle or MDF board to make it look like solid wood. Typical patterns of walnut veneer on this wardrobe door 1.3 Is it printed to look like wood?Ī variant of veneer is laminate, vinyl, or more rarely, paint: they are a layer of plastic printed to look like wood. ![]() Repeated identical wood patterns are also a sign. A piece that looks to be made from a very large plank is a hint of veneering. Veneered furniture tends to have a very uniform appearance on all sides with large surfaces of neatly finished grain patterns.This burlwood secretary furniture is most certainly veneered Wavy or irregular gain patterns indicate burlwood, which is very ofter veneer (it’s expensive, so very few pieces are made of solid burl).Glue line residue on this veneered drawer front Look for glue lines that have another color or texture.Chipping damage is typical of veneered furniture:.Same as the MDF or particle boards, look at the back of the piece & the edges: if it’s veneered, the veneer is typically discontinued at the back, or the angle in the grain will reveal the veneer layer.1.2 Is it veneered?Ī veneer is a very thin outer layer of wood that covers a thicker core, making it look like a solid piece of wood. Note the edge is a small piece of actual wood. Well, no: it’s actually a particle board with a thin layer of oakwood veneer on both faces. Particle boards & MDF will show their typical pressed patterns.ĭoesn’t this nightstand top look like a piece of solid wood? If you see the wood grain it’s definitely solid wood. ![]() The easiest way to decide if a particular piece of furniture is actually solid wood is just to look at its edges or ends. They’re cheaper and more flexible in terms of shape, form factor, and finish. painted or printed to look like solid wood. It’s made from a combination of synthetic materials such as MDF (medium-density fiberboard), particle boards, chipboards, plywood, etc. Most recent “wood furniture” (post ’60s / ’70s) is actually not made from wood, or marginally. Elimination #1: Is the furniture actually made of solid wood at all? Elimination #2: is it softwood or hardwood? ![]() Now, elimination #1: is your furniture made of actual wood? The identification is mostly the guesswork of elimination. contrasting knots of pine), you cannot recognize a wood type straight away from grain, texture, or color. One important thing to note before we start: except for a couple of very straightforward distinctive patterns (e.g. There are thousands of them, even the experts can’t narrow down the exact species of wood you may be dealing with. But NOT really the particular species, which would be too complicated, and not really useful. This guide is aimed at helping you narrow down the wood type, or “genus”, which is most often what you need to decide how to handle the makeover or refinish. ![]() Identifying wood in furniture is not simple, to be honest, virtually all hardwood furniture is made of multiple wood types! Most often the body is made of cheap and durable wood, the back uses light and low-cost types, and the user-facing parts (top, drawer fronts, etc.) are made of the finer woods.īut we’ll try to keep things as simple as possible. For example, a wood that is very porous, like pine, should be finished with a matte or semi-gloss varnish, while hardwoods, like oak or mahogany, should be finished with an opaque or semi-opaque finish. Different wood types require different types of finishes, too. Identifying wood types in furniture will help you choose the right paint or stain, since different types of wood absorb paint and finish differently. When you refinish an old piece of wood furniture, it’s important to know the type of wood you’re working with.
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