Perhaps you have in mind a specific piece of furniture, but you can't find
it within your budget. Maybe you are looking for furniture with a
certain finish or hardware style. In these situations, unfinished
furniture may be the best solution.
How does furniture go from unfinished to the piece of your dreams?
Basically, you supply the finishing touches, whether it be a particular
stain, a decorative paint job, or special hardware. The finishing
process not only protects the unfinished wood from dust and warping, it
also gives your furniture the look you're going for. If you want a
custom look for less, unfinished furniture is often the way to go.
Unfinished furniture, sometimes termed ready-to-finish furniture, is
available in a broad range of styles and woods to fit most budgets.
Produced both by national manufacturers and by local craftsmen, most
unfinished furniture is of solid wood construction, made primarily from
solid softwood or hardwood lumber. In this type of furniture, all
exposed furniture parts are made of solid board rather than veneers or
particle board. Solid boards used adjacent to each other are glued
together side by side along their edges. Unexposed backs of case
pieces and drawer bottoms may be constructed from plywood or particle
board, which is made from bonded wood chips.
Finishing furniture isn't difficult, but it's time-consuming if you want
the best results. First, you must remove any imperfections in the
wood by filling it with an appropriate filler. After you've filled
in the imperfections, the wood should be sanded to a smooth surface.
Once the wood is filled and sanded, it may be stained. Your local
hardware store or home improvement center should have several different
colored wood stains available. After staining, the furniture is
oiled or varnished to protect and beautify it. Lastly, the finished
furniture may be waxed and buffed with furniture wax to bring out its
natural luster.
Here is a sampling of unfinished, solid wood furniture items that are
available from unfinished furniture suppliers:
Armoires, entertainment centers, wardrobes, and wall units.
Coffee tables, end tables, and accent tables in various styles.
Dining room tables, dining chairs, sideboards and buffets.
Bedroom furniture, such as bedsteads, nightstands, bureaus, and dressers.
Kitchen furniture, including carts, butcher blocks, pot racks, and shelving.
Home office desks, workstations, printer stands, cabinets, and seating.
Children's indoor and outdoor furniture, toy boxes, toys, and accessories.
Patio furniture, Adirondack chairs, benches, and picnic tables.
Quality solid wood furniture is generally a good value because, with
reasonable care, it can last a lifetime. On UnfinishedFurniture.us,
you will find a good selection of pine, maple, oak, and cherry furniture
suppliers as well as furniture finishing resources. Browse the
furniture manufacturer websites and compare unfinished wood tables,
chairs, bookcases, and occasional
pieces in a variety of styles and sizes.
This New Jersey furniture retailer offers a good selection
of unfinished furniture. Some of the smaller items are shippable,
but most of the furniture items are available locally. www.GelcoFurniture.com
Features an unfinished furniture store locator plus a
variety of industry and consumer resources relating to real wood
furniture and wood finishes. www.UnfinishedFurniture.org