HOW TO BUY QUALITY FURNITURE

Selecting quality furniture is a bit difficult task. Judging whether a piece is likely to last one year or ten just by looking and touching it, is really a harder stuff. Let’s make it a bit easy – 

Wood furniture

Generally people think that hardwoods are hard and softwoods are soft. But it’s not right, hardwood means ‘wood from a deciduous tree’ and softwood means ‘wood from a coniferous tree’. In furniture you mainly want it to be scratch resistant. You can test this very easily just by drawing a thin line with your fingernail on wood. If your nail makes a dent over it which is visible then you shouldn’t buy it.

To determine a quality wooden furniture piece, joint construction is essential. Anything seized together with staples or nails is careless construction. Similarly, if it is glued and glue is visible then avoid buying it. The best joints are either fit together or mortise and tenon. Corners of furniture should have strengthened block attached at an angle.  

Upholstered furniture

For a sofa or chair with detachable cushions, unzip the seat cover and look inside the piece. You must check the block of foam enfolded with Dacron, cotton or down, if at all possible then with a protective internal cover. Detachable back cushions may have foam as well but are more repeatedly loose-fitting.

A Quick Checklist for Quality Furniture

To select the furniture pieces easier, below is a basic furniture shopping checklist. 

Wood

·         Solid wood or 9+ layer plywood is a good option.

Avoid:

·         Thin plywood, particleboard, pressboard, fiberboard

·         Knots, cracks

·         Soft, easily scratched surfaces

Joints

·         Dovetail, mortise & tenon

·         Strengthen corner blocks

·         Dowels, screws

Avoid:

·         Staples, nails, noticeable glue

Drawers

·         Dust panels, floating bottoms

·         Metal glide rails, stops

Avoid:

·         Wood-on-wood sliding

Frame

·         Even, level with floor

Avoid:

·         Twists, creaks, wobbles

Springs

·         Hand-tied coil springs

·         Close together, even resistance

Avoid:

·         Any springs more than a few inches apart

Cushions

·         firm foam wrapped in padding

·         protective inner cover

·         reversible cushions

Avoid:

·         Bare foam

·         Loose fill without internal sectioning

Upholstery

·         Aligned patterns

·         Skirts with lining or weights

Avoid:

·         Skimpy padding along arms and back