Home : Miscellaneous : General tips : Purchasing Wood Furniture

Wood Furniture. Tips for Purchasing Wood Furniture

Purchasing furniture for your home is something that you want to get the most for your money. You want furniture that is going to last at least a few years if not longer. You don’t always have to pay the most for your furniture to get the most for your money, but what you really need to look for is quality craftsmanship and a good piece of furniture that is going to stand up to what you put it through in your daily life!

Before heading out to buy any type of new wood furniture there are a few things that you will need to ask yourself. How much can you afford to spend right now, and how much is this furniture going to be put through. For example, if it is a desk for your room, as an adult you are much more careful with your things than a desk that is put in the children’s playroom. 

Knowing how much you can afford to spend on furniture is going to be a deciding factor on where you are going to shop for your furniture. If you don’t have a lot to spend, you might want to consider searching through the local newspapers for second hand good quality furniture. You can also find inexpensive used furniture at auctions, at yard sales or through friends. Thrift stores and second hand stores sell quality used furniture if you can find one that has something in stock at the time you are there. 

Different retail stores are going to offer sales on wood furniture during different times of the year. One of the best times to find great deals on furniture is over the holiday seasons and during the summer. Because consumers are spending so much money on holiday items, they are less likely to purchase furniture, which is why the largest sales happen during this time. 

During the summer months, consumers are spending less time indoors so they are less likely to find a need to purchase furniture so this is also a good time to find a good deal through your local retailer. 

As you have your budget in mind and the type of furniture that you want to purchase to fit that budget you can head out to the stores. Some of the things you may want to keep in mind is how are you going to get your purchase home? If you are purchasing a large item that is in stock, you are going to want to take a truck with you. Most retail stores do deliver while smaller stores do not. 

Many times in larger retail stores, you can place an order for the furniture that you want, and it will be delivered to your home in a few days. But if you are purchasing from a thrift store, second hand store, auction or a friend, you most likely need to take the item with you when you leave do you have to be prepared for this. 

When you are looking at a particular piece of wood furniture that is used, you will have to keep in mind that sometimes there will be scratches or other types of marks. With a good wood cream you can take most all scratches and water marks out of the wood. If the item is not a finished piece you can sand the furniture down to get a good fresh wood look and then seal the wood for better protection. 

If you are looking through furniture at a retail store, keep in mind that often the display pieces are offered at a sale price because so many people have looked at or touched that particular piece of furniture. If you are going to purchase a display item, you can get a great deal, take it home, clean it up and save yourself a lot of money. Don’t be afraid to ask for an additional discount if there is some type of deep scratch in the wood on a display piece. 

While looking at wood furniture that you are going, to purchase from any source you need to look at how stable that item is. If the item seems wobbly or uneven, you might not be getting such a great deal. Wobbly wood furniture is going to fall apart faster. Possibly, you are a handy man and can add a brace, a screw, or some wood glue, but you should not have to do this if you are purchasing a new piece. 

Are the corners pressed together tightly on the piece you are looking at? Are there gaps where the wood comes together and meets? All corners of any type of wood furniture, drawers, desks, entertainment stands and the like should be a solid piece of furniture that you can trust to set your electronics on, or you can use in your home without worry of it being shaky. 

When you are looking at a piece of furniture that will be used to hold many items such as an entertainment center or a hutch in the kitchen, you want to make sure that the braces are tight. These types of items are going to hold many valuables in your home so you want them to be as sturdy as possible. You will not want nails used in the construction of wood furniture because nails can loosen and slide back out. You should look for wood furniture that is put together using screws as the construction of this type of furniture is going to last much longer. 

If you are purchasing a piece of furniture that includes a drawer of any type, look for dovetail joints on the backs and the fronts of the drawers. Wood that is joined together in this manner are going to last longer and be sturdier in the end. Dovetail joints are similar to your putting your hands together and locking your fingers. The wood intermingles with the wood from another piece of the drawer for a solid fit that is sturdy. 

When purchasing a wood table that includes a removable centerpiece, you want to make sure that when you put that centerpiece in that it is well supported by the other portions of the table. The centerpiece of the table is called the leaf. Extending your table using this centerpiece of wood is a great idea for the growing family or for when you occasionally have more people over for dinner and you want a bigger table. 

Supports for this center leaf on the table should be from both sides of the table and they should be a part of the table that is not removable, the supports should be glued into place.