The Home Improvement Blog

The term “unfinished” refers to pieces of wood furniture which are purchased without any finishing coat applied to them. The wood is supplied bare, without any paint, wax or varnish, ready for its new owner to apply the finish of their choice. Reasons for purchasing unfinished furniture are manifold. Here are a few ideas to get you started.

Cutting Costs – Unfinished furniture saves the manufacturer from having to finish the items themselves, cutting out a substantial and time-consuming part of the production process. This in turn saves the manufacturer a fair amount of money which is usually passed on to the customer resulting in far cheaper furniture for your home. These savings can become very significant when furnishing an entire home therefore many choose to purchase their furniture in an unfinished state.

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.

Furniture Matching – Perhaps the most popular reason for choosing to buy unfinished furniture is in order to match an existing piece or range which is no longer available. Simply choose a similar design and finish the furniture in the same way as your existing pieces and they will coordinate nicely. This also allows you to choose pieces from different ranges, even made from differing woods while still keeping an overall uniform look.

Quality – When choosing your unfinished furniture, it pays to think about what quality of furniture is required. Solid wood is usually far better quality than manufactured boards such as plywood but do cost more. Think about how long you are likely to keep the furniture, the finish you will be applying and where the furniture will be used. For example, if you are planning on using a dark stain on the furniture for your living room, we would suggest that solid wood would be the best choice however for a painted piece to be placed in a child’s bedroom, furniture constructed from man-made boards would be a cheaper alternative and would more than likely last long enough.

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.

Choosing a Finish – The possibilities for finishing your furniture are nigh on endless although there are a few common choices you may wish to consider: Tinted or clear varnishes, paint, polyurethane lacquer, oil based clear or stain finishes such as Danish oil, wax finishes such as beeswax and shellac. Whichever product you choose, be sure to read the application instructions thoroughly and if required, test on an inconspicuous part of the wood before covering the entire piece.

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.

This enjoyable article is written by James, who is a regular author for prestigious furniture websites such as Walnut Furniture. James has a passion for furniture and interior design and also authors periodically for great websites such as Mango Wood Furniture amongst others.

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