The best furniture materials: overview, types, characteristics and reviews

The choice of the right furniture is a pledge of a cozy home and a long-lasting repair. This collection is especially difficult now because of such an abundance of proposals in the construction market. This article will help you determine the materials for bathroom furniture, living room and bedroom, children's room, kitchen and bathroom, as well as choose the perfect upholstery and fillers for beds, sofas and armchairs.

General requirements for furniture materials

So, what qualities should the materials for furniture manufacture have:

• Ecological compatibility. Whichever style your interior is made, in any case it will not be spoiled by natural, environmentally friendly wood and MDF. As for plastic, it can be safe for a person only if it has the appropriate quality certificates. Otherwise, it can be toxic.
• Durability. Furniture is rarely bought for a year or two. Good quality materials should serve for decades.
• Wear resistance. Those. Resistance to scratches, mechanical damage, pollution. Especially this applies to furniture, which is subject to the greatest wear and tear. For example, a kitchen top or bed in the bedroom. Ideally, furniture should not lose its appearance and color.
• Waterproof. It is especially important for rooms with high humidity - kitchen and bathroom.
• Resistant to dry cleaning and abrasive agents. As a result of contamination, which will eventually appear, furniture materials should be easy to clean without losing sight. Here it is worth noting one more requirement - easy care.
• Safety - especially this quality concerns children's furniture, because poor-quality material can cause health to the child.

These are the key requirements that should be followed by materials and furniture fittings. Now let us dwell in more detail on what is best to use for each particular room.

Furniture materials for bathroom

In addition to the above requirements, materials for the manufacture of furniture in the bathroom should have at least a minimum protective coating against moisture and temperature changes. Otherwise, after some time, the shelf or cabinet will be covered with mold, cracked, swollen and rotted. It is best to use plastic and glass. A colored and impregnated natural tree is often used. In this case, you need to evaluate the quality of the paint so that it does not crack with time.

Also, the surface texture should not collect streaks and drops of water, otherwise you will constantly have to clean it.

Great importance is played by handles, hinges and other fittings. They must be waterproof and not subject to rust.

Do not use chipboard and MDF.

Furniture materials for kitchen

Similar characteristics should have materials for kitchen furniture. In addition to resistance to moisture, corrosion and temperature drop, they must be immune to mechanical damage, grease penetration, chemical cleaning. Especially scrupulous you need to choose material for countertops - in the area of the sink there is a risk of water ingress, in the area of the plate - fat, and on the table you can forget to put a hot frying pan and leave a trace on it.

It is undesirable to use chipboard, except for doors of lockers. For countertops, natural or artificial stone, wood or MDF, or postforming (this is a chipboard, processed according to special technology) is the best. Glass can be used for dining table, as well as for finishing the kitchen façade.

Furniture materials for living room and bedroom

Unlike the previous two rooms in the living room, furniture materials do not have such strict requirements. It is suitable for glass, metal, wood and chipboard, it all depends on the style and design of your apartment. For example, in most styles (modern, classic, provence, loft, chalet, Japanese and many others), the most universal material is natural wood - an array of oak, alder, pine. Pretty rarely used plastic, except in the interior of high-tech. In the same style, special hardened tempered glass is often used . But metal forged parts are more applicable for modern, baroque, art deco.

It is important to choose the right materials for furniture upholstery and fillers for sofas and beds, where the inhabitants spend a lot of time.

Fillers and upholstery

In addition to the cabinet furniture, a safe and durable should be the filling, namely the materials for the upholstery of furniture and its fillers.

Most often as packing is used polyurethane foam, laid in several layers - it is safe, does not cause allergies, keeps the form and does not lose it in due course. The only drawback is that it is harsh, so for its softness, feathers and down are also used, treated with sterilization from ticks and other parasites.

As for the upholstery, the known materials for the furniture waist-up are linen, cotton, natural wool. The first - more often used in its natural form without staining. The second - is bleached, covered with special compounds or impregnation to repel moisture, wax, paraffin. Often painted in different colors. Natural wool is less applicable, due to its sharpness and rapid wear.

More popular skin and its budget option - dermantin. Sometimes silk is used, for example, for padding.

Furniture materials for children

To this choice, parents should be approached with special responsibility, as often children's chairs and cribs are checked by the baby for taste. The best materials for children's furniture are certified plastic, natural wood, covered with special impregnation (for example, linseed oil), MDF. Glass and metal surfaces are not recommended because of their insecurity for the child. Particleboard with time emits toxic fumes.

And of course, furniture for the nursery should not have sharp corners, sticking sharp objects, beating surfaces.

Fittings

What concerns the furniture fittings? These are various handles, supports, legs and wheels, fasteners, retractable systems, accessories. In their choice is also worth to rely on the authority of the manufacturer, durability and reliability of materials. Otherwise you will get shattered furniture with creaking doors.

Furniture handles should not only be aesthetically beautiful, but not interfere with walking past the cabinet or chest and be comfortable to use. The best are metal and wooden mortises, staples and invisible handles.

The best quality hinges are chrome plated. It is important that they work easily and silently. Some have a built-in door closer, which allows you to smoothly close the doors.

All kinds of sliding systems are very rich in assortment. The most inexpensive - roller guides, providing a smooth extension of the drawers. Ball - more expensive, but durable, and designed for heavy loads.

Summary

As you can see, the choice of materials today is huge, and much in it depends on what room you choose furniture, what style the interior is made, and how much you have for repair. Saving is not the best way to cut costs, because low-quality cheap furniture will last a short time, and in a couple of years you will have to change it again or drag it over again. Natural wood or more budgetary MDF, high-quality certified plastic, tempered glass, reliable fittings and good upholstery will last you for many years and will not lose their appearance even after tens of years. Choose proven manufacturers that, in addition to quality, will give you additional guarantees for the use of furniture during the first year or two.