subject: How To Buy Oak Furniture - An Insider's Guide [print this page] If you've decided to buy oak furniture for your home, you've made a very smart choice. Oak furniture offers a rare blend of beauty, resilience and functionality and will give you a lifetime of use and satisfaction. So if you're planning to furnish your whole house with dark or light oak furniture or just plan on picking up an oak TV unit for your living room, here's you buyer's guide to oak furniture.
First, let's look at why you should buy oak furniture.
Firstly, oak is one of the most attractive materials available. Its gorgeous grain brings the warm glow of nature into your home. It's the most attractive of woods with a deep sheen that seems to draw light to it.
Secondly, oak is a very strong and resilient wood. In fact, oak is virtually indestructible when it matures. Along with this strength, oak also has the properties of resistance to water and other stains.
Thirdly, oak furniture is a very easy material to take care of. Once lacquered, it's easy to maintain with just a monthly polishing.
Finally, oak is also an easy wood to work with meaning that craftsmen can produce items in a wide range of styles, designs and finishings. For example, bedroom oak furniture can range from those with straight lines such as in the Shaker style, or they have rich carvings as in a Colonial look. This means you're sure to find the style of design that complements your home.
Now let's look at your options when you buy oak furniture.
Regarding colour, you have the choice between dark and light oak. Dark oak has that rich dark brown lustre that you usually associate with this wood. Dark oak furniture has a heaviness that's attractive but can be too strong in smaller rooms.
Light oak furniture is made from wood that has longer rays than that from the red oak. A light protective lacquer finish is all it needs to show off its inner beauty. The result is furniture with a cooler look that fits well in smaller rooms. You'll need to get some idea of the shade you want by considering the sizes and colours of your rooms and the existing furniture.
Light oak comes in a variety of types, one of the most popular being Orly. Orly light oak furniture includes the full range of dining, living room and bedroom pieces.
When looking to buy oak furniture, one key consideration is whether to get solid oak items or those made from a veneer. The latter are formed by attached a layer of genuine oak over a panel of a softer wood such as pine, plywood or particleboard. The result can be very attractive though lacking the strength of solid oak. Oak veneer furniture can warp and bubble over time and can also crack. However, veneer oak furniture is, of course, much cheaper than the solid oak items.
You also need to consider how the items are put together. This craftsmanship plays an important role in determining how solid the furniture is. For example, an item crafted with joints will be far more solid than one simply glued together.
So whether your just picking up an oak tv unit or looking to buy oak furniture for your whole home, you can see you're acquiring objects that will give you a lifetime of value and pleasure.
Oak furnishings are a major purchase but you should look on them as an investment. Buying quality oak furniture for your home will bring you decades of use and pleasure and you'll be joining a tradition that dates back centuries.
When looking to buy oak furniture, you can find an array of retailers with their showrooms online. You can get great deals here as the vendors costs are lower. And you can browse the full range of products on their website catalogues to find pieces you like.
Look for an established retailer with a wide range of products with detailed descriptions and a long history of customer recommendations. Bear in mind that oak furniture is heavy so check for any additional delivery charges.
