Going With The Grain

 Sam Clarke, company director of Edmunds & Clarke Ltd, gives us five things to look for when buying oak, pine & painted furniture…..

A customer walks into our showroom and runs their hands along the top of a piece of furniture & then says “Doesn’t real wood feel nice” It has a satisfying tactile feel and smells beautiful.

1) LOOK FOR THE FSC SYMBOL -Wood is one of the few sustainable materials on the planet if managed correctly.  A solid wooden piece of furniture will not only last a lifetime, but it will not have a negative impact on our futures.  all of our furniture where possible is manufactured from FSC sourced timer, FSC stands for “Forest Stewardship Council” which helps take care of forests, the people and wildlife who call them home.

2)STUDY THE MAKING OF THE FURNITURE – Look at the finer details.  Do not forget, the wood is still “Living” it is breathing in the atmosphere around it and can shrink and expand.

Good quality furniture should use traditional methods of construction, thus allowing the furniture to breathe but also make it super strong and resilient.  Look for dovetailed drawers, tongue & grooved backs & drawer bottoms, mortice & tenon joints on doors & carcass construction. If in doubt, just ask us!

3) TRY PICKING IT UP-Feel the weight and how solid a piece of furniture is.  See if you can wobble or rock it.  An item made from solid wood (Even a light weight material like pine) should feel substantial and weighty and make the delivery men sweat when it is placed in your home! At Edmunds & Clarke we endeavor to supply as much real wood as humanly possible

4) IS IT GREAT VALUE? – Would you be surprised if we told you that a vast amount of furniture is manufactured in the Far East? Skilled craftsmen from native woods help us keep the prices low and affordable.

If you started looking at UK manufactured furniture, the labour cost goes up and the overall price rises too.

There is such a wide choice of furniture on the market these days, but you still have to remember the old saying “You get what you pay for”.

Image of Oak plinth on a oak bedside cabinet, shows the grain and quality of wood and grain. Image showing on Edmunds & Clarke Furniture Blog
Image of Oak plinth

5) THE FINISH – Perhaps the most important thing of all is how the furniture looks.  You can not rush the finishing touches.

We stock a large range of high quality furniture at fair and affordable prices. Search our wood types here 

Sam Clarke

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