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The Complete Guide to Buying New
(Or Old) Furniture
by Pamela Cole Harris
If you are like me, your investment in furniture has to last! It has to
be durable, beautiful and a good buy for my money. You all know that a
good buy doesn't necessarily mean cheap, but it does mean that the value
in years of problem-free use. I want to know that the furniture will
last at least as long as it took to make the money to buy it! (And in
some furniture I have seen, it was a distinct possibility that it
wouldn't survive the trip home!)
There are two types of furniture, upholstered furniture and case goods.
"Case goods" refer to furniture that is not upholstered, but has a basic
box or case construction (with many elaborations and variations!). Case
goods are usually used for storage or display. Upholstered furniture has
fabric-covered cushions or padding and is usually used for seating.
When buying case goods:
1. Make sure you know the difference between hardwoods and softwoods.
Hardwood comes from a broadleafed, or nonneedled tree, like maple,
cherry or mahogany. These woods have strength or stability; but those
qualities can make hardwoods difficult to work with for intricate
carving and detail work. Softwoods come from needle-bearing trees such
as pine or cedar. They are easily carved or worked. Since their surfaces
are often soft, they are more susceptible to marks and dings, which may
result in a weathered or worn quality that is appropriate or appealing
in certain pieces.
2. Make sure you know what "solid wood" means. "Solid wood" means that
all exposed pieces of the piece are solid, but those areas hidden from
view may be something else.
3. Make sure you know why using plywood may be your best bet! Solid wood
has a tendency to expand and contract as the humidity changes and does
not offer the needed stability when constructing the large flat panels
(like table tops or cabinet sides). Plywood or particle board (made of
ground up wood) is significantly more stable and less apt to warp or
split. These panels will often be framed in solid wood and covered by
veneers to recreate the look of one large piece of wood.
4. Make sure you know what "veneering" is. Veneer is the use of thin
layers of highly decorative woods on top of plywood, particle board or
medium-density fiberboard (MDF). Veneering makes it possible to match
grain patterns or use inlays to create designs that mother nature can't
produce in solid wood. But beware of cheaper furniture which reproduces
wood grain photographically. If it is photographic, the grain will be
perfect, with none of the flaws of nature, and the grain will have no
natural variations.
5. Make sure drawers are dovetailed and jointed securely, have glides
and stops, glide easily when, have dust panels and are smooth and snag
free inside.
6. Make sure doors swing open easily without squeaking or rubbing and
that long doors are attached with study hinges.
7. Make sure tables have a heavy balanced feeling when rocked, that the
leaves fit properly and that the leaves match grain and finish of table.
When buying upholstered furniture:
1. Make sure that the piece has adequate padding with no harsh
underlying wood edges, especially on the arms. If the fabric is directly
touching the wood with no padding, the piece will quickly wear at that
point.
2. Make sure the patterns are matched at the seams, on front edges and
on back cushions. Matched patterns are usually a sign of higher quality.
3. Make sure the stitching is tight and that no areas are separating
(and no stuffing is hanging out!).
4. Make sure the frames are constructed of a kiln-dried hardwood for
durability.
5. Make sure the frame is joined using dowels as well as corner blocked,
glued and screwed together.
6. Make sure you check the type of springs. Eight-way hand-tied springs
are used in the base of better quality pieces. These springs are
three-dimensional coils attached to webbing on the bottom of the
upholstered piece and tied with twine at the top to each of the eight
adjacent coils to keep them from shifting. The result is an even comfort
level which never "bottoms-out" even when your linebacker friends sit on
it. Sinuous springs are two-dimensional "S" shaped wires that are
fastened to the top of the front rail and run down the back of the piece
every few inches apart. The result is a somewhat "mushier" seat and is
less costly.
7. Make sure that you chose fabrics that will wear well if you have a
family. Keep in mind that, as a rule, tightly woven fabrics wear best.
For durability, chose a high thread count fabric - meaning that the
number of threads per square inch is high. Another general rule is that
fabrics which have their pattern woven in wear better than printed
fabrics.
8. Most important, make sure you sit in the piece. It may be beautiful,
but can you bear to sit in it for any period of time?
Before buying furniture:
1. Make sure you know how it will be used and how long. You don't want
to spend a lot of money on a baby crib you will use for only a short
time, while budgeting just a little on table that will be used for many
years.
2. Make sure you know how much space you have. Don't chose furniture
that will overwhelm a small space or get lost in a large one.
3. Make sure you decide what style you want. Casual (overstuffed sofas,
earthy colors, and softwoods, such as pine); contemporary (bold colors,
sharp lines, metal and glass); country (soft cushions, floral prints,
distressed and painted wood); traditional (damask and chintz, cherry and
mahogany woods); or a combination of all.
4. Make sure you know how much you can spend. (This is always where I
trip up!)
5. And make sure you do some planning before you go shopping. Decide
what colors you like, what texture would work best for your family and
whether you want patterns, stripes, checks or solids. Look at design
websites such as http://www.homeandgardenmakeover.com for tips on what
furniture would look best for your room size and lifestyle.
Buying furniture should be fun and creative! Just make certain that you
know what you are buying and why! And another tip: Ask yourself if you
will still like this piece ten years from now? If not, it will probably
not be worth the investment today. Now, I'm off to follow my own advice!
Hmmm...will I like that purple velvet plaid with the orange trim in
2014?
About the author
Pamela Cole Harris is a writer with over 35 years experience (Gosh! Has
it been that long?). Her expertise on decorating on a budget comes from
her own experience (Is Early Graduate Student a style?). Visit her
website, http://www.homeandgardenmakeover.com, for her unique view of home
decorating and remodeling (and a free monthly newsletter!). Or for free
syndicated content for your website, visit:
http://www.homeandgardenmakeover.com/content
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