How good is that desk, bookcase or entertainment center you’re thinking of buying? How can you tell if the construction is sound, the drawers will work, the hardware is durable?
Leonard Bruce Lewin, a home furnishings veteran with more than 35 years’ experience selling furniture to stores and consumers, offers the following pointers for buying wood furniture in his book Shopping for Furniture: A Consumer’s Guide (excerpted with permission). See if your purchase passes these tests.
Leonard Bruce Lewin, a home furnishings veteran with more than 35 years’ experience selling furniture to stores and consumers, offers the following pointers for buying wood furniture in his book Shopping for Furniture: A Consumer’s Guide (excerpted with permission). See if your purchase passes these tests.
1. Feel the weight of drawers and doors. High-quality furniture has a sense of weight, scale and solidity to it.
2. Large cabinets, entertainment centers, sideboards, etc., should have leveling devices in the base. Keeping big items level is important because otherwise doors tend to stick.
3. There should be sash locks (metal latches) under the table leaves and table top.
4. When you buy wood furniture, drawers should work smoothly and should not bind when extended.
5. Drawer interiors should be smooth to the touch, sanded and sealed.
6. Glass shelves should be at least 3/8 inches thick and have plate grooves.
7. Better-end display and china cabinets should have halogen lighting, line switches and rheostats.
8. Upper-end manufacturers use heavier, more substantial, more decorative hardware.
9. Inspect hinges to determine if they are solidly secure and can handle the load of the door.
10. Check to see if there are dust panels (horizontal partitions) between drawers. They should be wood on the best items, cardboard or nonexistent on less expensive items. Dust panels keep dust and varmints from coming up under the piece and soiling the contents of the drawers, but they are not critical to structural integrity.
2. Large cabinets, entertainment centers, sideboards, etc., should have leveling devices in the base. Keeping big items level is important because otherwise doors tend to stick.
3. There should be sash locks (metal latches) under the table leaves and table top.
4. When you buy wood furniture, drawers should work smoothly and should not bind when extended.
5. Drawer interiors should be smooth to the touch, sanded and sealed.
6. Glass shelves should be at least 3/8 inches thick and have plate grooves.
7. Better-end display and china cabinets should have halogen lighting, line switches and rheostats.
8. Upper-end manufacturers use heavier, more substantial, more decorative hardware.
9. Inspect hinges to determine if they are solidly secure and can handle the load of the door.
10. Check to see if there are dust panels (horizontal partitions) between drawers. They should be wood on the best items, cardboard or nonexistent on less expensive items. Dust panels keep dust and varmints from coming up under the piece and soiling the contents of the drawers, but they are not critical to structural integrity.
11. The back panel will be wood on the best items, cardboard or fiberboard on less expensive items. Check also to see if the back panel is inset into the case, instead of simply nailed on the back edges, because this technique contributes a lot to overall stability.
12. On the best items, drawer guides will be wood lubricated with wax, or they will be metal. Center guides combining wood and metal, wood and plastic, or plastic and metal are not found on higher quality goods. Metal side-guide systems are found in combination with plastic or nylon bushings on some fine quality cabinet work.
13. You want the piece to have a deep, clear finish, not necessarily a high gloss. The degree of sheen has nothing to do with the quality of the finish.
14. Check to see if legs of chairs, tables or side pieces have metal glides on the base. They aid the consumer because bottoms of legs might be poorly finished and glides will keep them and any potential finish stains off hardwood and carpets.
15. When you look at a dining table, put your hand on the corner and try to move it. If you get lots of wiggle, watch out! Either the legs are not properly secured or the leg assembly is poorly engineered.
12. On the best items, drawer guides will be wood lubricated with wax, or they will be metal. Center guides combining wood and metal, wood and plastic, or plastic and metal are not found on higher quality goods. Metal side-guide systems are found in combination with plastic or nylon bushings on some fine quality cabinet work.
13. You want the piece to have a deep, clear finish, not necessarily a high gloss. The degree of sheen has nothing to do with the quality of the finish.
14. Check to see if legs of chairs, tables or side pieces have metal glides on the base. They aid the consumer because bottoms of legs might be poorly finished and glides will keep them and any potential finish stains off hardwood and carpets.
15. When you look at a dining table, put your hand on the corner and try to move it. If you get lots of wiggle, watch out! Either the legs are not properly secured or the leg assembly is poorly engineered.
16. Glass table tops should be made of tempered glass and should be between ½ and 5/8 inch thick. Glass inserts should be 3/8 inch thick on cocktail tables, etc.
17. Look for liners in silverware drawers of china cabinets, buffets and sideboards.
18. Look for dining table leaves that are between 18 and 22 inches in width and that are fully aproned. (A panel should extend down on both sides.) This will give your table a more finished look when it is fully extended.
19. Ask what kind of table slide is used on extendable dining tables. Watertown extension slides are the best; that’s especially important on tables that extend to 120 inches or longer.
20. Entertainment centers should have electrical outlets, cable hookup, pullout TV swivel trays, “punch-out” back panels, VCR/DVR pullout trays, and pocket doors that slide back into the case for viewing.
17. Look for liners in silverware drawers of china cabinets, buffets and sideboards.
18. Look for dining table leaves that are between 18 and 22 inches in width and that are fully aproned. (A panel should extend down on both sides.) This will give your table a more finished look when it is fully extended.
19. Ask what kind of table slide is used on extendable dining tables. Watertown extension slides are the best; that’s especially important on tables that extend to 120 inches or longer.
20. Entertainment centers should have electrical outlets, cable hookup, pullout TV swivel trays, “punch-out” back panels, VCR/DVR pullout trays, and pocket doors that slide back into the case for viewing.
