Bedroom Furniture Construction and How To Obtain The Best Buy Possible

Beyond selecting a style of furniture that is desirable, there are a number of issues that the consumer should be aware of when purchasing bedroom furniture. This article will address some basics of bedroom furniture construction that are important in making the best investment possible.

There are basically three types of bedroom furniture:

1. Fully assembled (free-standing) furniture pieces.
2. RTA (ready to assemble) furniture. Also known as KD (knock-down) furniture.
3. Built in (or “Custom”) furniture.

This article will address the first two types- fully assembled and RTA.

Fully assembled furniture is already put together and ready to go into your home. This type of furniture has three advantages over RTA (KD) furniture:

1. The consumer does not have to assemble the furniture which can be a time consuming and difficult task.
2. When furniture is assembled in a factory it is usually stronger and will last longer than RTA furniture.
3. If the furniture needs to be moved, RTA furniture can be very difficult to disassemble and re-assemble. Oftentimes, RTA furniture is almost impossible to move.

An important construction issue relates to an incorrect assumption that in order to purchase good quality furniture that it must be “Solid Wood”.  This is an incorrect. In many cases, a good quality veneer construction can outlast a furniture piece constructed of solid wood. The reason is that veneer is less prone to cracking. Furniture constructed of solid wood has a tendency to sometimes crack or split. This does mean that solid wood will always crack. It only means that bedroom pieces constructed with veneers should not be overlooked as purchase options.

Another misconception is that all high quality bedroom furniture is constructed with wood drawer glides (the track that the drawer glides on to open and close). The reason some consumers have this idea is that at one point in time, this was the case as most manufacturers of good quality furniture used wooden drawer glides because the other glides that were on the market did not work as well as the wooden glide. This situation is no longer the case. The best drawer glides now available are known as “Euro-Glides”. This is a metal track that is far superior to the old style wood system. In addition, these new style drawer glides have “Stops” that keep the drawer from falling out when fully opened. Many of the old wood style glides did not have stops and this was obviously a problem.

Another important construction element is “Dovetailing”. This is how the pieces of the drawers of the furniture piece are joined together. Dovetail construction is a critical aspect of how long a piece of furniture is going to last.

Poorly constructed or very inexpensive furniture does not use dovetail construction. The drawer pieces are stapled, screwed or glued together. Generally it is recommended that this type of construction be avoided unless the furniture is purchased only to be used on a very temporary basis.

The best quality furniture is manufactured using “English Dovetail” construction. This is basically a series of small “V” shapes that are cut from one surface (the side or back of the drawer) with the opposite surface (that is to be connected) with “V” shaped cut-outs of the opposite shape. These pieces then are locked together in such a manner that it almost impossible to separate them. Then they are glued and nailed or screwed together. The highest quality drawers are constructed using this method both for the fronts and backs.

Another dovetail method is the French dovetail. This construction uses a single vertical  “V” shaped cut out where the pieces slide together and then are then glued and then stapled or nailed together. This method is not as good as the English Dovetail but is superior to a non-dovetail construction. Some furniture pieces use English Dovetail on one end of the drawer and French Dovetail on the other end. Although not as good as having English Dovetail all the way around, it is a reasonable alternative.

Another feature in some furniture pieces is “dust-proofing” which is basically a horizontal layer of wood that is placed in between the drawers of a furniture piece. This was an important feature many years ago when wood floors were in most homes and dust was very prevalent. It was also somewhat important when wood drawer glides were used predominantly so that particles of wood would not drop down into the drawers below. This is basically a non-issue now so this feature really has no relevance.

As with any major purchase, it is important to know the “inside” of what you are purchasing. When purchasing bedroom furniture, take a few minutes to know how it is constructed.