Jim Oak Home Improvement

Joints You Might Find On Solid Wood Furniture

Solid wood furniture can be bought in many different outlets - it is a popular type of furniture. The type of joints used by furniture makers changes with personal preference and design and manufacturing constraints and there are a few you should know about. The more you find out about how furniture is made, the better a position you are in to choose the best pieces for your home.

Traditional furniture makers will use the wood itself to form the joint. High tech methods are at the opposite end of the scale and they need expensive machinery and glues. Factories lend themselves to the high tech joints because they can achieve mass production this way. Individual joiners are more likely to use traditional methods because they are strong, reliable and have been used for thousands of years..

Butt joints are probably the simplest type of joint because they just require two bits of wood to be butted up against each other and then fixed with nails, dowels, screws or glue. This is also the weakest type of joint though so should be avoided for anything that needs to withstand any significant load.

The most simple joint that requires cutting is the miter. It is really an angled butt joint with the two bits of wood that come together being cut at 45 degrees to create a 90 degree angle. It is fixed with glue.

Dovetail  joints are perhaps the most well known of any joint. It is used by many cabinet makers. You will recognise it because it resembles the tail of a dove and it is often found where two pieces of wood come together at right angles. The join requires no glue because the joiner must cut two perfectly locking shapes that will hold together and give strength to the furniture.

The mortise and tenon joint dates back thousands of years and is used by woodworkers all around the world. It has a lot of surface area that can be used for applying glue and it can be used almost invisibly if desired. The mortise part of the joint is the square or rectangular hole and the tenon is the wood projection that fits the hole. Usually it will have shoulders that sit flush to the edges of the mortise when the tenon fully enters the mortise hole.

Tongue and groove joints are common in wood panelling, for example on wardrobe fronts. It is also commonly used on florring because it is easy to fit together. The two bits of wood are cut so that they slide together. The tongue is the projection of wood that slots into the thin, deep ridge cut to take it (known as the groove).

Now that you know a bit more about joints, you will be able to recognise the basic different types whenever you are in furniture stores.

Buying Wood Furniture

Wood furniture looks wonderful and if looked after will stay that way for many years. It is a natural product and it suits any home. If you select the right piece you can end up with a family heirloom that will be treasured for generations to come.

Choosing good furniture is not that difficult if you know what to look for. At the lower end of the market you will find flat pack furniture which is made to sell at the lowest price point. This type of wooden furniture is OK if you want a temporary fix or if your budget will not stretch any further but you are not going to get a family heirloom here!

Wood veneered furniture is a mixed bag. Some of it is low quality - a thin veneer of wood over weak chipboard, but some of the best furniture available is veneered so remember this when shopping.

Solid wood furniture is built to last. It is durable and strong. It is an excellent choice.

Depending on what colours and patterns you like you will be drawn to woods. If dark colours are your thing you may like mahogany and if pale is more up your street you may like maple. There is a big difference in the price of woods though - more exotic and rare they are the more expensive. You should also be aware of the ethics involved with wood - it’s not all grown and harvested in environmentally friendly ways so you would do well to stick to FSA approved sources.

It is also worth noting that different woods have different natural strength. Oak is well known for strength and oak furniture is a great choice.

If you are purchasing drawers, a mark of good furniture is a dust layer to stop dust from an upper drawer falling into a lower one. Another good sign is the presence of dovetail joints because these are strong. The interlocking joints are what make dove tail so good.

You should also look at the finish of the wood. If it is sealed with a paint or varnish it will take more wear and tear than something with a light wax. Remember to look after it accordingly so find out what you need to do to keep your wood in good condition before you make a purchase.

Obviously when purchasing any furniture you will need to make sure that you can get it into your house once it is out of the shop so make sure you measure correctly…

Wood furniture is superb, so why not start check out your local furniture stores and get shopping today…

Reasons To Buy Pine Bedroom Furniture

Pine is a great choice for bedroom furniture because it is strong but relatively cheap. Beds in particular need to be strong because they get a lot of use and need to take a lot of weight. If you purchase all of your bedroom furniture in the same material you will get a coherent look and by going for pine you can do it all within a sensible budget.

Start with the bed because it is the most important piece in the room and the largest too. Once you have chosen a bed and got the dimensions you can see what room is left for pine wardrobes, chests of drawers and bedside tables. Remember that some styles take up more room than others. If you need under-bed storage, make sure the bed is high enough off the ground to get things underneath it.

Depending on how big your bedroom is it may be worth thinking about two wardrobes if there are two of you. This allows you to have one each and allows a bit of personal space. Check that it is wide enough to fit your widest hangers and think about whether you need any in-built shelving.

A chest of drawers is particularly useful in the bedroom because it is great for storing underwear and stackable clothes such as T-shirts and jumpers. If you are short on space you will definitely need to think about shelving in your wardrobe instead.

It is useful to have at least one side table to put a side lamp on. They are also useful for putting TV remotes and books on.

If you have the chance to buy all of your bedroom furniture at once you can probably make savings because most shops will give a discount for buying multiple items.

If your pine has already been finished you can leave it as it is. It is a lovely pale colour so doesn’t look too imposing in a room but you may want to still paint it in a pale coloured paint to create an even greater sense of space.

If your pine is unfinished you will have to do something to finish it and you can choose from varnish, paint or wax which are all simple to apply.

Pine furniture can often be bought in flat-pack which is great if you have plenty of time to put the furniture together or if you can’t get a ready-made piece through the door. Consider the size of all the doors your furniture has to go through it get it into the bedroom and if you have stairs in the house you will also need to consider how tight the turns are.

For a great look at a great price you will have to look long and hard to beat pine furniture for your bedroom.

What Is Designer Furniture?

Designer furniture is furniture that has been designed by a company or an individual to be very fashionable and contemporary in style. It is often custom made furniture and usually made from top quality materials. Because designer furniture is very stylish and made very well, it is usually more expensive than mass-produced furniture.

Some people are under the impression that designer furniture is uncomfortable and expensive but this is not the case. Admittedly sometimes pieces are uncomfortable and overpriced but most are designed with comfort as well as style in mind and most are priced to reflect the materials and workmanship and not just the label.

Throughout history there have been notable furniture designers that have made outstanding creations that are still very sought after. 

An example of a notable furniture designer is Charles Rennie Mackintosh. He was a Scottish designer and part of the Arts and Crafts movement. He is well known for his striking chairs with high backs. These were comissioned for the Argyll Street Tea Room. A more modern furniture designer is Terence Conran who founded Habitat.

A business well known for furniture design is Knoll. Their famous tulip chair, by Eero Saarinen was designed in the 1950’s but is still very much in demand today. It is made from moulded fibreglass reinforced plastic and aluminium and can be customised with a choice of coloured seat pads. The simple design is beautiful. They are also famous for the Barcelona Chair by Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe. This was designed in 1929 but has been copied widely since the 1960’s.

The designers of today could one day be in this league and so it pays to look after any pieces you buy.

When you look to purchase designer furniture you obviously need to make sure that you are getting the genuine article so look for makers marks. Also look at the quality of the workmanship and the materials used.

If you are wanting to make an investment in the hope that it will rise in value, make sure that you research the designer you are interested in and see how the value of their furniture has changed over the years. Also look at how well known they are compared to what potential you think they have. Buying the work of a young design graduate before they make the big time can net you a great bargain.

If you are buying designer furniture make sure that you really like the piece because they don’t always go up in value. 

Designer furniture is trend setting because it leads the way and the High Street follows. It is crafted from quality materials. If you love top quality goods and fashionable design then this type of furniture could be just for you.

Why You Should Consider Pine Furniture For Your Home

There’s many types of wood furniture available these days and it can be difficult to decide on what to buy. You could have anything from oak to maple, birch to mahogany, but there are some good reasons why you should think about pine furniture for your house.

Pine is a popular wood to make furniture from and you will find it used for all types of home and office furniture. It’s a versatile wood and that’s one of the reasons that it is so popular with people all over the world.

Pine is categorised as a softwood but that doesn’t actually mean that the wood is soft. The term simply means that the wood comes from a type of tree that sheds their leaves in the autumn.

Pine furniture is less costly than many other woods which makes it a good purchase in times of economic hardship. It can also be customised to give you almost any look that you need.

If you purchase pine without any particular finish you will have a lovely pale wood with attractive grain running though it. You may also have knots which are a naturally occurring feature of the wood. The knots are darker than the surrounding wood and can add to the attractiveness of the furniture. These features mean that every piece is unique. The overall pale finish is useful in smaller houses because the furniture doesn’t look too imposing.

If you don’t like the natural finish you can always varnish, stain or paint it. You can also remove any of these finishes at a later date and re-do the furniture with new ones. This is particularly useful for furniture in a child’s bedroom which will need updating every few years.

When purchasing pine you obviously want to look for something that is well crafted. Although pine is softer than woods such as oak it can last for many years if it is made well and looked after properly. Make sure the piece you buy doesn’t have too many knots in it because that could reduce the strength of the piece.

You can purchase new furniture from stores that sell ready made pieces, or you can buy it flat-pack. Obviosuly in terms of strenth, solid pine furniture is better so be aware of this when choosing what to buy. If you don’t have anything against second-hand furniture you can also look around to see what you can find.

If you protect your furniture from scratches, heat and moisture, it should look great for years to come and at a cost that is less than many other woods on the market.