Solid Wood Versus Wood Veneer

You probably have heard both terms: solid wood as well as wood veneer. You may have also heard negative connotations regarding wood veneer. You may have also shopped for furniture at one time or another and told the sales representative in the store that you don't want any furniture with veneer in it. Why is there a consensus that all furniture which has veneer should be avoided at all costs? What exactly is wood veneer? Is solid wood always better?

There is a certain old word charm with furniture constructed from solid wood. Solid wood is obviously the highest quality material for constructing furniture and is the preferred choice because of its beauty, durability, and reliability. Sometimes one or more pieces of solid wood are joined together using wooden dowels instead of using metal nails because metal and wood have different coefficients of expansion. With solid wood, most repairs are relatively easy to do since it's the same throughout. If damage occurs, it can be sanded down and the top coat can be re-applied. Veneer, on the other hand, can not be repaired as easily but there are other advantages to it.

So, what is veneer? It is a thinly sliced piece of wood, usually in thickness of 1/8 of an inch or sometimes even less which is then usually glued onto another material such as MDF, plywood, composite, or even another species of solid wood. However, when it is glued onto solid wood pieces, it can make for some the most attractive pieces of furniture you can buy. With veneer custom woodworkers can experiment with various thicknesses, angles of grains, and cuts which will never be possible to do with much larger pieces of lumber.

Wood veneer has been around for quite a while. Advanced civilizations, such as the ancient Egyptians, were the first to use veneer for the intricate decoration of furniture. Even King Tutankhamun's tomb had incredible ivory and ebony veneered work in it. Many classical looks were created in the 18th century using veneer. During the Renaissance period complex designs were created using exotic veneered pieces and the finest pieces of furniture in royal possessions employed lavish veneer construction to gain those gorgeous exotic grains. If you've ever seen a piece of furniture, such as a table top, for example, where left and right grain pattern mirror each other much like pages of a book, you're looking at veneered work. There are other stunning effects which can be accomplished, like quarter matching. You can not create intricate detailing like that with a large piece of lumber alone.

In theory, solid wood is great for constructing furniture; however, there isn't a huge difference as far as quality is concerned between all solid wood and a quality veneered piece. What most furniture shoppers are unaware of is that solid wood is more prone to cracking and warping than the veneered counterpart because of expansion and contraction. Wood is a natural product, which is porous, and as a result it expands and contracts due relative humidity changes.

Wide planks on larger pieces of furniture such as sideboards and wall units look magnificent but tend to warp as time passes. That is why grained veneer is glued to plywood or wood which is more stable. As far as aesthetics, the results are the same, but much more lasting with the use of veneer. Curved surfaces like those of a grand piano can only be done with veneer.

Over the years certain quality issues have led consumers to the negative opinion of veneer and many still hold it today regardless of the considerable improvements in how this product is used. With the advent of mass production after World War II, quality issues occurred with veneer such as bubbling and peeling due to poor techniques used. Veneered furniture does not necessarily mean cheap furniture. The Renaissance period proves that. Veneer can be cheaply done and quite a lot of imports from China prove that.

When you walk into most of today's furniture stores, you will encounter furniture which is constructed from a combination of solid wood and wood veneers. When selecting furniture, your priority shouldn't be whether it's made with solid wood versus veneer but you should look into the construction and overall quality. There has always been and there will always be inferior workmanship with veneered furniture and the same holds for solid wood furniture.

If you'd like to see examples of solid wood furniture and combination of solids with veneers, check out FOW and their selection.