Solid wood, veneer, chipboard: reading a furniture page correctly
Three words appear on every furniture page and do not describe the same lifespan at all. Here is how to tell them apart.
“Real wood” means nothing on its own. Three families hide behind the phrase, with lifespans that range from five to fifty years.
Solid
The piece is cut from the mass. It can be sanded, repaired, reassembled after a knock. It is the only material that accepts several lives. Marker: the stated thickness is over 18 mm and the page names a specific species — oak, ash, beech.
Veneer
A thin sheet of fine wood glued to a panel. The look is genuine; repair becomes impossible once the layer is pierced. That is not a flaw in itself: a well-laid veneer on a dense panel holds up for twenty years.
Chipboard and MDF
Compressed chips or fibres covered with a printed film. Light, cheap, sensitive to damp. Best kept for lightly used furniture.
Questions to ask the seller
- What is the exact species and the thickness of the top?
- Are the joints screwed, dowelled or glued?
- Are spare parts available, and for how many years?
A shop that answers those three precisely rarely sells poor material. A shop that stays vague about thickness usually has a reason to.
This advice comes from the marketplace
Browse products from the shops our guides talk about.
