What Is Unfinished Furniture?
Unfinished furniture means any items of wooden furniture that are sold to the end user without having received a finish or coating. Unfinished items...
Unfinished furniture means any items of wooden furniture that are sold to the end user without having received a finish or coating. Unfinished items are supplied in their bare wood state ready for its new owner to apply their own choice of finish. There are a great number of reasons for choosing to buy unfinished furniture for your home, some of which are listed here.
Saving Money – Unfinished furniture, by its very nature, cuts out an expensive and time-consuming part of the furniture production; the finishing process. As the furniture makers save a fair amount of money by leaving out this step, these savings are generally passed on to the customer resulting in significant savings, especially when furnishing an entire room, or indeed an entire home.
Choice – Whether you prefer your wood furniture to have a dark stain, a painted finish, a clear polyurethane finish or even an oil or shellac coat, it doesn’t matter. The choice of finish you apply to your unfinished furniture is entirely up to you. This allows a lot more freedom of choice in the design of furniture you choose for your home as all you need do is choose a design you like and then finish using your own preferred method.
Matching Existing Furniture – One of the most popular reasons for choosing unfinished furniture is when the need to match an existing furniture collection arises. As you are free to choose any finish you desire, it is simple to mix and match pieces from different ranges, letting your choice of finish tie all of the pieces together. This is especially useful if you intend to build up a collection of furniture over time yet wish to keep the overall feel of your collection uniform.
Choosing Unfinished Furniture – The first thing to consider when purchasing unfinished furniture is the quality of furniture required. Do you require solid wood furniture if you intend on painting it? If you are buying for your own home, intend on keeping the items for many years or intend on finishing with anything other than paint, we would strongly recommend solid wood furniture as it is far more durable than anything made from man-made boards such as MDF or plywood. If the furniture is to be painted and will be replaced regularly, or is to be placed into a student rental property, MDF or plywood furniture will usually suffice. Just be sure you know what type of furniture you are buying before making your decision.
Before Finishing – Unfinished furniture is generally supplied ready to receive a finish. All that will be required for most finishes is a wipe with a tack cloth or moistened rag to remove any dust. The only finish which requires any further preparative work is a painted finish which will first require a few coats of a water-based primer to improve adhesion for the final coat.
Finishing – The range of different finishing options available when completing your furniture is almost as vast as the different types of furniture itself. We are unable to list all of the different types of finish in the scope of this article but a few worth looking at are: oil finishes such as Danish oil, varnishes, paint finishes, shellac and waxes such as natural bees wax. Head over to your local hardware store and check out their range of finishes to see what suits your needs best.
This article has hopefully provided some useful information about unfinished furniture and its uses in your home. Whichever way you choose to decorate your home and furniture, if you are unsure about anything, please talk to a professional or at least someone competent at DIY before starting any projects.
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