Veneer or solid wood: which is better?
It has long been no secret that veneered furniture has a number of advantages compared to similar furniture not only made from chipboard (which is obvious in its essence), but even from solid wood. Furniture made from chipboard or MDF and covered with oak veneer will be perceived as massive, oak, both to the eye and to the touch. Such furniture is environmentally friendly, not subject to natural deformation, has significantly less weight and cost compared to solid wood, and its care is less scrupulous. And if we remember the natural factor (compare how many trees it takes to produce the same furniture made from solid wood and from veneer?), then the choice becomes completely obvious.
In addition to covering the veneer with protective and aesthetic layers of varnish, it can not only be tinted, but also combined with different patterns or even types of veneer in any order (marquetry technique), which is unattainable when working with an array.
However, let’s not get ahead of ourselves; let’s look at this issue in more detail.
Consumers are primarily interested in the main operational parameters of the purchased furniture - strength and durability, hygiene and environmental safety. These characteristics of furniture directly depend on the materials from which it is made. Talking about wood materials, consider solid wood and furniture panels of chipboard and MDF with various types coverings.
So, natural wood, in other words solid wood, is the highest quality, expensive, but at the same time very capricious material. Solid wood furniture requires proper care, otherwise it risks losing its external luster due to changes in temperature and humidity. Therefore, when caring for furniture made from natural wood wet cleaning is contraindicated, you need to use special compounds, most often with wax to remove dust and add shine. The durability of such furniture depends on the type of wood, how it is processed and on how susceptible this type of wood is to warping (i.e. swelling), sensitive to light and changes in humidity (usually wood in this regard is much more capricious than other materials). Of course, solid wood furniture guarantees high environmental cleanliness in the house, the absence of chemical components and synthetic resins. High-quality solid wood furniture speaks volumes of taste and social status owners, however, without proper care, over time it loses its appearance and operational properties.
Furniture made from wood panels is more practical than wood in many respects: it is cheaper and easier to handle. But it evokes negative associations associated with the recent past among our compatriots, when chipboard furniture crumbled at the edges and emitted harmful formaldehydes, which was caused by low quality adhesives and disruption of technological processes.
Modern particle boards are made by pressing and gluing small wood chips special adhesives. Nowadays, adhesives of fairly high quality are used, and manufacturing technologies are regulated special standards. Russian chipboard standards are generally accepted to be the most stringent in Europe, and strict certification prevents boards of inappropriate quality from appearing on the market.
In addition to ease of handling, chipboard furniture is the cheapest in the general price range, and this affordability makes it the most popular. Mass production provides a wide range of options in sizes, colors and styles. The only limitation is that furniture shapes can only be straight. If you like rounded corners and embossed facades, you should choose furniture made from MDF - fibreboard.
This multi-layer board is produced by dry pressing fine wood fibers under high pressure and temperature. The binding material is lysine, released by wood under the influence of temperature and pressure. Therefore, MDF is as environmentally friendly as solid wood, as it consists of absolutely natural components.
Both chipboard and MDF, before becoming furniture, require additional processing - cladding - covering with films, plastic or veneer. The appearance of the furniture and the strength of its surfaces depend on the type and quality of this coating.
Film cladding is either a lamination process, when the coating is applied during pressing of the slab, or lamination, when the film is glued to the finished slab.
The facing plastic is also made from compressed paper layers according to special technologies, and, in addition to being highly decorative, it has fire-resistant properties. Furniture lined with plastic is most often used in kitchens and bathrooms.Natural veneer refers to the oldest methods of finishing the surface of slabs. A protective varnish must be applied over the veneer. Furniture lined with veneer is indistinguishable from solid wood furniture in terms of decorative qualities, but is very dependent on compliance with the veneer gluing technology and the quality of protective varnish coatings. Therefore, you should trust the production of such furniture only to professionals working on high-quality equipment.
Based on the described characteristics and the conditions in which the furniture will be used, some recommendations can be made.
If you are short on funds, your choice is chipboard. Big choice Such furniture is presented in the well-known IKEA store.
If opportunities allow the use of more expensive materials, try to diversify the interior. For example, in the hallway furniture in classic oak veneer will look good, in the kitchen you can use plastic or enamel coating (enamel looks especially interesting in combination with the effect of mother-of-pearl or patina), and in the living room you can put furniture made of solid wood or furniture in veneer with using the marquetry technique, - in this case the interior will acquire its own zest and will form a single harmonious ensemble.
In any case, trust your taste and give free rein to your imagination! After all, how comfortable you feel will depend on this.
Before comparing them, let’s make a reservation right away and say that these coatings are very close to each other. Both veneer and solid wood are natural materials; they have a lot in common, but each also has its own nuances. We’ll talk about them in the article, and to make the comparison more clear, we’ll compare them according to specific parameters: price, production technology, design, etc.
Visually, the coatings are similar, but the design of the door leaf and its production technology are radically different.
Veneered door. The base is a solid wood frame, which manufacturers cover with MDF sheets. A thin layer of natural wood - veneer - is glued onto them, and a final varnish coating is applied to it.
Solid wood door. There are two options - either the door is made from solid wood or from glued wood. The door is also finished with varnish.
When choosing between veneer and solid wood in terms of design, the first seems to us more preferable. Let's explain why:
natural veneer offers a greater selection of shades and textures than solid wood. It is a fact. If suddenly you don’t have enough shades, you can sacrifice a little naturalness and choose an even richer fine-line veneer in terms of design.
For the production of veneered coverings, more species of trees can be used than for solid wood. This gives more variety of colors and textures.
the canvas can be supplemented glass inserts, incl. and big.
You can create original designs on fine-line veneer canvas. Take a look at our door collection for example.
With an array, not everything is so simple. The quality of the coating and its appearance depend on the type of wood - you can take cheap pine and proudly call it solid wood, or you can take expensive oak, beech or ash.
How more expensive array, those better quality coating, the more it will convey the naturalness of the material compared to the same veneer. Just remember, a solid pine door costs RUR 5,000. at the nearest construction market and a factory door for 25,000 rubles. – these are different weight categories.
Also, when choosing a door, take into account the style of the interior. Below we have outlined recommended matches between door materials and interior styles.
Both veneer and solid wood are almost all the same. Apart from a couple of nuances, there is not much difference between them:
both coatings do not tolerate direct sunny color- the coating may fade over time. If you need to install it in exactly such a place, choose a different coating.
Veneer and solid doors are made from natural wood. It is environmentally friendly and safe for health.
strength. If sorted in descending order, the strength rating will look like this: first, hardwoods; then veneer and solid alder; solid pine.
weight. Veneered doors are easier to open due to their lighter weight. Some manufacturers also use honeycomb filler to make the fabric lighter.
In terms of noise and thermal insulation, solid wood and veneer are at the same level, but provided that there is no honeycomb core in the design of the veneered sheet, and a sealant is used in the boxed timber.
Like any natural material, veneer and solid wood are sensitive to sudden changes in temperature and humidity conditions. Veneer does not tolerate high humidity, array – high humidity and dry air. There is only one piece of advice here - no matter what material you choose, maintain normal temperature and humidity conditions. Manufacturers must indicate it in the door passport.
resistance to damage. Chips and scratches on both veneer and solid wood can be touched up special means to match the canvas. If the problem is more serious - the solid wood has cracked, the veneer has peeled off, then this is irreparable.
IN Lately Many buyers in our country prefer purchasing veneered interior doors. Made from MDF, they are not only an environmentally friendly product that is safe for human health, but also have excellent quality and performance characteristics. The essence of the production of this type of product is to cover MDF panels with a special oak veneer and then tint it with varnishes of various colors and shades. This technology allows you to create doors with an original and attractive appearance, with good wear resistance and durability.
Firstly, MDF doors interiors are made using the latest technologies, which provides them with excellent quality characteristics, which meet all modern requirements. Secondly, it is worth recalling environmental friendliness, resistance to external influences, moisture, durability and reliability of this array. Thirdly, these veneered interior doors have an unusually aesthetic appearance and a huge number of color options, which allows you to turn any designer’s fantasy into reality. In addition, these products can be created according to individual order and are made in any non-standard sizes.
When choosing interior veneer doors, you should consider several nuances that will help you decide correct solution and purchase a truly high-quality product. It must be remembered that door leaf- this is not only a means of separating two rooms, but also important element interior, so it must respond general style rooms. The quality of the veneer itself is also of great importance. Natural veneer has a unique pattern, it does not emit any odors, and its surface should be smooth and securely fixed.
The cost of such material cannot be very low, because the quality and natural products always more expensive than their artificial counterparts. You should only buy MDF or veneered interior doors from trusted and reliable suppliers who have a positive reputation in the market and guarantee high quality and the authenticity of their products. Only in this case will the client be satisfied with his purchase, which will delight him with its magnificent and pristine appearance for many years.
One of the main factors when choosing interior doors is not only the design, but also the materials used, and, as a result, the price.
In this article we will look at the advantages and disadvantages of lined materials for veneered interior doors, namely veneer and eco-veneer, which will directly affect the purchase of the necessary accessories for your interior. We will also figure out what is the difference between veneer and eco-veneer.
It is worth noting that they are highly popular due to the variety of designs, practicality and reasonable price. Such doors have high strength, despite their relatively low weight, and excellent functional characteristics. This is achieved through the use of high-quality materials for the frame of the doors themselves, and, of course, the external decoration.
Veneer and eco-veneer, which is better?
To answer this question, we first need to understand the strengths and weak sides these two materials, so to speak, weigh the pros and cons. Which is what we'll get to now.
| 100% natural | requires careful care and certain conditions | ||
| environmental friendliness |
heterogeneity of texture - different colors in one model |
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| unique texture | sensitivity to temperature, sunlight and humidity | ||
| wood strength | high price | ||
| high noise insulation | |||
| promotes space ventilation | |||
| subject to restoration |
The name itself says that natural veneer is natural material, which is a cut of hardwood. In its production they often use the following types trees such as: oak, maple, ash and beech. The shade and bends of the texture depend not only on the type of wood used, but also on age. Therefore, there are a huge number of possible shades of natural veneer.
Thanks to this, doors covered with veneer have a unique, inimitable pattern, which brings special sophistication and beauty to the products.
In addition, among the disadvantages of natural veneer, it is worth noting its extreme whimsicality in terms of impact. sun rays, and changes in humidity. That is why you should carefully select veneered ones, depending on the humidity and lighting of the space.
Eco-veneer Eco-friendly analogue to natural veneer
Eco-veneer is a synthetic material, but at the same time absolutely harmless, which is not in vain evidenced by the prefix eco. Modern technologies ensure its environmental friendliness in production, which uses compressed wood fibers and synthetic materials.
| practicality | low noise insulation | ||
| low sensitivity to changes in both humidity and temperature | cannot be restored | ||
| variety of shades and textures | low noise insulation | ||
| aesthetics | reduces space ventilation | ||
| durability | |||
|
|
unpretentiousness |
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| affordable price |
Eco-veneer is able to accurately convey the natural texture of wood, and can be presented in almost any color scheme. Therefore, in appearance, a door covered with eco-veneer is almost no different from a veneered one, so it is a good alternative to natural material. Thereby interior doors, covered with eco-veneer, are able to fit into interiors made in different styles.
Eco-veneer is often compared to lamination, and for good reason, since it is resistant to direct sunlight, high humidity, and mechanical damage. Undoubtedly, in this matter they better than doors, covered with natural veneer.
However, the disadvantages of this coating include a low level of sound insulation, as well as low ventilation of the space. In these matters, doors made of eco-veneer are inferior to doors made of solid wood or finished with natural veneer.
Veneer or eco-veneer, the difference?
The main difference between eco-veneer and veneer is its primary function, imitation of natural wood
To decide which doors are better, veneer or eco-veneer, and which interior doors to buy: veneer or eco-veneer, you should first ask yourself the following questions:
What amount are you targeting? Are you ready to pay more for natural veneer, doors from which can last a long time, but with very careful care. Or you are interested in eco-veneer models that fall into a more affordable price category.
For what kind of interior are you planning to install interior doors? What matters here is the temperature and humidity of the space, which can directly affect the appearance and functionality doors finished with these two coatings.
Fundamental attitude towards natural and synthetic materials. However, do not forget about the environmental friendliness of both of them.
If you still have questions or are ready to make your choice, our specialists will advise you and accept your order.
Furniture made from solid natural wood is expensive and not for everyone affordable option situation. A good analogue would be veneer furniture, because this material bears an external resemblance to solid wood. In the production of this type of product, a base is used, represented by plywood, MDF or chipboard, covered with veneer, which is glued to the base, imitating natural wood.
Veneer is a thin section of natural wood, not exceeding 3mm in thickness. It is widely used in production modern furniture, musical instruments, it is also used as finishing material while creating fashionable interiors. The popularity of this natural material is due to the optimal combination of price and attractive appearance of the finished products.
To make it easier to make a choice, we will analyze all the pros and cons that veneer furniture has.
practicality, resistance of facades to temperature changes and high humidity. Veneer facades are not subject to cracking or deformation as a result of exposure to external factors.
Veneered furniture is made from materials of varying quality and production methods. Depends on the type of veneer price category furniture. There are the following types of veneer of natural origin used for furniture production:
Natural peeled veneer is the most common and affordable type of veneer, with a thickness of 0.1 to 10 mm. Depending on the quality of the wood and compliance with the production technology, such veneer may be as good as planed veneer. It preserves the natural texture, unique pattern of wood, and has excellent aesthetic qualities.
Sliced veneer is used primarily in furniture production. Valuable wood species are used in its production. It is characterized by richness and variety of patterns and textures, which is achieved thanks to the production method. Wood blanks can be planed in different directions, at different angles, achieving unique, original natural patterns.
Sawn veneer is the first type of material that began to be produced back in the 19th century. He's different high quality, is not cheap. Today it is not made on an industrial scale, but is used to create musical instruments, inlays, interior decoration, expensive parquet and individual sets of furniture to order.
TO modern varieties veneer, subtypes of natural material, include:
Multispon
Multi-veneer is made from natural wood of various species, without the goal of preserving the natural pattern. This type of material is limitless in its colors, textures, and has a palette of rich wood patterns. On its surface can be depicted geometric figures or any other design drawing.
Fine-line is made from inexpensive species of fast-growing trees using several technological combinations:
The sequence of the above actions allows you to create a material of the required texture, pattern, structure and color. Fine-line often imitates the natural veneer of expensive types of wood. This type less durable, has increased fragility and porosity.
There is a distinction between artificial veneer, which is a plastic film (PVC) with an imitation of wood pattern. Modern version artificial veneer for furniture - eco-veneer. This material is made from multilayer polypropylene.
The color of natural veneer depends on the type of wood: light pine, ash, wenge, cherry, velvet or bleached oak. Each manufacturer has its own palette. But if the material is natural, then each product will have its own unique shade with an individual wood pattern.
Multi-veneer, fine-line, and eco-veneer provide the consumer with a wide choice of colors, textures and patterns, limited only by the imagination of the designers. The difference between these materials and natural veneer is that they guarantee stable color and texture, and changes in shades of the material occur strictly at the request of the customer, and not at the whim of nature.
What is the difference between fine-line veneer, multi-veneer, eco-veneer and natural planed material? The main differences between artificial and natural veneer:
When choosing veneered furniture, the following main criteria are important:
An important point is the design of the room. Modern artificial materials great for embodying the brave design projects, providing an unlimited range of shades, textures, and patterns. Natural material perfect for classic designs premises, combining the beauty of natural wood and the environmental friendliness of natural materials.
Natural materials require careful care without the use of aggressive chemicals.
It is enough to wipe such surfaces with a cotton rag using a soap solution. Artificial analogues are not so capricious to care for. But it is necessary to use cleaning products without abrasives, alkalis, or solvents.
