What is the difference between panel furniture and solid wood furniture? How to distinguish them?

Many homeowners are also worried about buying furniture while decorating their homes. Many people have been wondering whether to buy solid wood furniture or board furniture.

So how do you distinguish between panel furniture and solid wood furniture? Which one should you buy? Today, let me analyze it for you.

Panel furniture

The basic characteristics of panel furniture are that it can be disassembled, the shape is varied, and the shape is fashionable. At present, a large part of the furniture on the market is wood grain panel furniture. Panel furniture covers more and more reality, has good gloss, is well made, and the price is relatively high.

Common man-made boards include plywood, blockboard, particleboard, medium-density fiberboard, etc. Among them, the most precious and most commonly used is medium-density fiberboard.

However, there are tricks to choosing and purchasing panel furniture. The easiest way to identify paper-covered or wood-covered panel furniture is to observe the pattern, color, and grain of the veneer versus the natural material. Also, be mindful of uneven edge banding and any signs of clogging. Natural, bright colors, light, and compact structures are key design principles for panel furniture. Modern people prefer a simple and elegant aesthetic, and modern furniture and panel furniture particularly reflect this. A significant portion of this furniture features simulated wood grain. Some panel furniture currently available on the market has increasingly realistic finishes, a lustrous finish, and a pleasant feel, but also comes at a premium.

Disadvantages of panel furniture: During the production process, due to the use of excessive glue and other adhesives, the board contains formaldehyde. In addition, some businesses use paints with formaldehyde, which is harmful to health. It is sensitive to temperature and humidity and cannot have large temperature and humidity changes. The service life is short. The service life of general panel furniture is 5-10 years, which is shorter than that of solid wood furniture.

Non-natural: The biggest difference between the materials used in panel furniture and solid wood furniture lies in the naturalness of the materials. Most panel furniture uses veneer design, with repeated patterns, and lacks the natural feel of natural materials.

How to buy

1. You should know that the thicker the board, the better the quality. Some boards are very thick, but they feel light in your hand, while high-quality boards give people a sense of thickness. Although in theory, the heavier the board, the higher the strength and the better the nail holding power, but for consumers, there is no need to excessively pursue the thickness and weight of the board. For example, as a wardrobe sliding door, a board that is too heavy will put too much burden on the hardware accessories, which will affect its service life over time.

2. There is another way to test the quality of furniture on the market, which is to scratch the board back and forth with a key, or smear it on the surface of the furniture with a pen to see if the stains can be easily removed. In fact, this method only tests the performance of the board surface, and cannot explain its quality. If you want to test its anti-fouling performance, you might as well try applying soy sauce or lipstick on the surface of the board and check the effect after a while.

solid wood furniture

1. One of the advantages of solid wood furniture is that it has its own unique style and personality. The raw materials of solid wood furniture come from natural wood, which integrates the essence of nature. It combines the long-standing Chinese traditional culture with modern fashion and integrates it into the design of furniture, giving new connotations to furniture and making furniture design more humane, practical and modern, creating a new style of solid wood furniture and leading a new trend in furniture.

2. Natural and environmentally friendly This is the biggest feature of solid wood furniture. In the process of processing and manufacturing, solid wood furniture uses much less glue than those made of artificial boards. The amount of glue used affects the environmental friendliness of the furniture. Moreover, solid wood furniture is made of natural wood, which makes it more environmentally friendly.

3. Long service life, generally about 5 times that of other panel furniture, and can be used for about 15 to 20 years.

Solid wood furniture is expensive because wood resources are becoming less and less, so good furniture has collection value.

The main problem with solid wood furniture is that it is susceptible to deformation due to changes in moisture content. Therefore, it should be kept out of direct sunlight and the indoor temperature should not be too high or too low. Excessively dry or humid environments are not suitable for solid wood furniture. Furthermore, solid wood furniture components are typically joined using tenon joints and adhesives, and finished products are generally not disassembled, making them inconvenient to transport.

How to distinguish them?

One key to identifying solid wood furniture is the wood grain and knots. For example, if a cabinet door appears to have a pattern on the outside, look for the corresponding pattern on the back of the door at the location where the pattern changes. If the pattern matches perfectly, it's a solid wood door. Knots are also a good way to identify pure wood: look for the location of the scar on one side and then look for the corresponding pattern on the other side.

Ordinary solid wood furniture is usually made of beech, white oak, ash, elm, catalpa, rubberwood, and oak, while valuable mahogany furniture is mainly made of rosewood, wenge, and red sandalwood. The solid wood furniture market is quite chaotic, with inferior products and mixed wood species often appearing. It is best to buy branded products. At the same time, be aware that wood prices are rising, and too cheap is definitely a scam.

The panel surface should be pressable to feel its firmness. One side of the material should have a crisscross pattern to secure it. If the pattern is too sparse, the surface will feel hollow and unstable, and the panel will vibrate violently. Drawer bottoms should be pressed by hand to test their strength. Generally, partitions are made of plywood, and large partitions should be made of five-ply wood. Doors and drawers should open and close flexibly. When veneer or other materials are used to cover the panel, the color should be similar to the complete product. The paint film should not be wrinkled, sticky, or leaking.

Solid wood furniture and panel furniture each have their own characteristics. From an environmental perspective, solid wood furniture is definitely more environmentally friendly. It is made of logs and is definitely more environmentally friendly than panels. Panel furniture is made of melamine board, which is relatively simple to process and has strong scratch resistance. In terms of price, panels also have price advantages. Solid wood furniture is relatively high-end, closer to nature, more noble, and more expensive.