Furniture for your home, and especially for your bedroom, should be safe and comfortable. And over many years, the following axiom has developed in people’s minds: “Wooden furniture is synonymous with strength, durability and beauty.” If you believe the research conducted on the furniture sales market, then we can say with confidence that the most popular furniture is made of solid pine and birch. An important fact is that each of the listed materials has its own undeniable advantages.
Solid pine. What it is?
Solid pine wood is a soft and fairly pliable material, but at the same time it is less susceptible to deformation, which can be caused by high air humidity and outright dampness.
Many carpenters prefer pine wood, which grew on sandy soil in a dry climate. This is explained by the fact that the wood of such pine boasts a unique pattern in which the growth rings will be extremely narrow and the density of their fit to each other will be many times tighter, thereby creating a beautiful pattern of wood texture.
But pine that grew in conditions of high humidity will have to dry for quite a long time, since the wood of such pine has a porous structure.
It is worth noting that when painting solid pine, you may encounter the fact that some areas were painted unevenly. This is due to the fact that pine is a porous and resinous wood, and this in turn affects its absorption of the impregnation with which it is coated.
Many people believe that solid pine furniture is not reliable enough, but they are fundamentally mistaken, since pine furniture has excellent durability, but such rumors did not arise out of nowhere. Due to the fact that pine wood is quite soft, like other coniferous species, it is naturally easily scratched and damaged, in addition, it may leave marks from various impacts. Therefore, if you are looking for furniture for a nursery, then you should not opt for pine furniture.
Design options
Modern furniture designers really like to experiment with different materials, so they couldn’t ignore high-quality plywood sheets. Their ideas are very interesting, sometimes exclusive and innovative.
Designer furniture is always in high demand among creative individuals and young people. Plywood is not very expensive, which allows every average person to decorate their home with an unusual solution.
For any hallway, furniture made from beautiful plywood is one of the most successful options, since the material is actually practical and highly durable. An increased level of resistance to wear, a stylish appearance and ease of restoration - such excellent characteristics should be distinguished by high-quality furniture that is installed in the corridor as in the most high-traffic area of the home. At the same time, for the hallway you can easily select furniture from both the laminated variety of plywood and the bent type. These are most often original cabinets for storing shoes, durable ottomans, soft banquettes, a luxurious stylized couch or an elegant dressing table in the form of a triptych.
The living room is the center of any modern home
It will always attract special attention, so it should be characterized by maximum comfort and practicality. It is best to choose upholstered furniture here, which has a frame made of durable plywood, a small openwork table for magazines, creative shelves and bookcases
This kind of furnishings will look great in modern interiors of rustic country style, Mediterranean, as well as classical and Provencal styles.
The bathroom and kitchen are rooms with a fairly high percentage of humidity. Plywood, which has moisture-resistant properties, can successfully replace the popular solid wood or plastic here. The furniture in these rooms can be made either entirely or partially from plywood sheets. Designer sets, unusual dining tables, beautiful bar counters, designer shelves in the loft style can last quite a long time, especially if they are treated with a special protective agent.
And also recently, carved plywood furniture has been in great demand - it is created using special laser cutting. However, the cost of such furniture is often very high, and its service life is short-lived. Openwork patterns are considered not very durable and therefore are more often found as part of the product - for example, carvings on the doors of the wall or part of the head of the bed.
Solid birch. What it is?
The birch tree is also quite common in our country. But birch products are somewhat more expensive than their pine counterparts.
Among the advantages of this type of wood are the following qualities:
- due to the elastic structure of the wood, birch does not deform and cracks do not appear on it;
- birch can be carved, which allows you to make amazingly beautiful products;
- birch wood looks very beautiful when cut, the surface of the products does not need additional decoration, in some cases it can simply be coated with clear varnish;
- Birch is a durable type of wood; products made from it can last for many years.
Birch wood retains heat perfectly and has antifungal and bactericidal properties. Furniture made from birch gives off positive energy.
If you decide to purchase furniture for a children's room or a bed for the bedroom, then it is better to opt for birch products. As a result, you will receive truly high-quality furniture that will serve you for many years.
Assembling the kitchen set
When, after all the steps described above, the facades and sawn laminated chipboard are finally delivered to you, you can breathe easy, because now all that’s left to do is to drill, assemble and install.
We won’t talk about how to drill, it’s all said in your drawings, the main thing is not to forget that the thickness of the laminate is 16 mm, the end is drilled with an 8 mm indent. Let's move on directly to assembling the cabinets.
8mm edge margin
At the end for Euroscrews, use a drill with a diameter of 5.5 mm or 6 mm
Floor stands
- Lay out in front of you all the parts needed for one cabinet (start with the sink cabinet).
- Start twisting them with Euroscrews.
- The legs are screwed to the bottom with a distance from the edge of no more than 5 cm.
- You can mark the holes for the door hinges.
Cabinets with drawers:
- They are collected in a similar way.
- On the side walls, as the instructions say, guides are marked depending on their configuration.
This is what the side stand of a cabinet with drawers on roller guides looks like
The back wall is pierced with nails at the very last moment.
The pitch between nails should be no more than 15 cm
Upper cabinets
Assembling the upper cabinets is quite easy; you should follow the same principle as for the floor cabinets. The exception is the back wall of the cabinets, in which it is necessary to make holes with a jigsaw or knife for adjustable awnings.
Pine or birch?
If we briefly outline the appearance of furniture made from solid pine, we cannot fail to mention the more pronounced woody texture of the fiber than that of birch. Another undeniable difference between these two arrays is the tolerance of high humidity; in this case, pine leaves birch far behind, but birch is much better suited for finishing. Pine is one of the main materials used in interior design made in country, old Russian, rustic or country styles. But if you are faced with difficulty in imagining what furniture made from solid birch will look like, then in this case most carpentry experts advise you to remember a sheet of plywood, since furniture made from birch will have a similar texture.
Solid pine or birch: which is better?
As we said earlier, pine and birch have some differences in resistance to deformation and strength. Based on this fact, we can say with confidence that this will significantly affect the characteristics of the operation of furniture made from an array of these wood species. As mentioned above, solid pine is an extremely malleable material, not lacking in beauty with its inherent charm, which serves as an excellent basis for high-quality and durable furniture, if high-quality raw materials are used for its production.
Like any coniferous wood, solid pine has a pleasant pine smell, which is why cribs for children are made from this material. Pine also serves as the basis for the production of frames for upholstered furniture. In turn, solid birch furniture can perfectly cope with any functions assigned to it, be it furniture for a children’s room, kitchen or hallway.
Due to the fact that birch lends itself well to tinting and staining, it is often used in veneering to imitate more valuable types of wood. And if the birch is subjected to additional processing, then in this case, furniture made from solid birch will not be at all afraid of moisture, and therefore it can be used without any fear even in the open air, for example, in a gazebo.
Well, the time has come to take stock, and we can note that carpentry masters, when producing furniture, resort to using different types of wood, taking into account their most important qualities and advantages. In the case when strength is required from solid wood, then the choice falls on furniture made from solid birch and beech, and in the case when excellent moisture resistance of furniture is more important, then you should pay attention to alder and pine. But regardless of your choice, the living energy of wood, coming into your home along with solid wood furniture, contributes to the formation of a healthy microclimate, warmth, an atmosphere of calm and comfort.
When choosing furniture, you can always rely on specialists; they are always happy to help you buy a solid birch wardrobe or a solid pine bedroom of excellent quality and at an affordable price.
General principles of calculation
Advantages and disadvantages of maple furniture, its main shades
Most often, curved facades can be found in kitchen units or in modules of prefabricated furniture structures. This technical solution not only looks beautiful and stylish, but also allows you to make the most of the entire area of the room. In addition, the sharp corners of the drawers often cause injuries to the owner. Naturally, smooth, curved lines of furniture will not cause harm.
But before you undertake the independent production of such facades, it is worth considering some nuances:
- Calculating such modules is more difficult than designing standard solutions.
- Making bent furniture will cost more than assembling a simple structure.
- Profile curved cornices and false panels are not easy to find (and they are much more expensive than traditional counterparts).
Image 2. Design diagram for bent furniture.
The necessary components and parts are usually purchased from manufacturer catalogs. Such a catalog, as well as contact information, can be obtained from a specialized store or ordered individual delivery. Naturally, the cost of furniture increases. But, as a rule, a high-quality kitchen with curved facades lasts longer than its traditional counterparts.
Independent project preparation
You can also draw up a project yourself, using as an example the calculation of a headset manufactured at a factory. Such a diagram is shown in Image 1.
Naturally, you can use your own sizes. In this case, it is necessary to observe the ratios and proportions indicated in the original.
Some manufacturers offer to purchase ready-made curved facades, since experienced craftsmen usually have no problems creating the body. Then the calculation of the headset depends on the dimensions of the finished elements. But it should be taken into account that the calculation of countertops and open shelves is usually not included in the project (or only preliminary dimensions are indicated), since their shape depends on the finished gables, which are not perfectly accurate. That is, the curve of the tabletop is drawn only when you already have ready-made facades. The same applies to the case when the furniture is completely made independently.
Image 3. Stencil diagram for bent furniture.
As mentioned above, when designing curved pediments, knowledge of geometry is needed. But complex mathematical calculations are useless, since when manufacturing complex shaped and curved parts, it is almost impossible to maintain exact dimensions. In this case, it is enough to adhere only to the general principles of calculation:
- Rounded corners of elements located under each other (for example, a tabletop and open shelves) should have the same fillet radius.
- All shaped elements that will be connected to other parts in the design must be designed taking into account certain proportions. In this case, it is necessary to take into account the rules of symmetry (in this case, you will need an example of a finished project).
- Correctly curved lines must be repeated in all main modules. You cannot make shelves and facades with different types of bending. For this, cutting cards are used, that is, patterns made of cardboard or thin plastic.
The design principle and main errors are shown in Image 2.
For example, the rear surface of the module must be calculated so that at certain positions of the corner shelves (H1, H2, H3) the distances from the edge of the rear wall to the shelves themselves - h - are maintained. Knowing these dimensions, a smooth curved line is drawn through points a1, a2, a3, a4, a5. Moreover, the radii of the corners of the elements (indicated as R) must be the same.
Which furniture to prefer - pine or birch
Natural material is durable, and therefore always in fashion. Especially when it comes to the interior. Therefore, the variety in stores often leads the buyer to a dead end before the banal question - what to choose? Indeed, what would you prefer if among the available ecological materials on sale - furniture made of pine and birch?
What do you need furniture for?
Specifically, it is this furniture that you are now standing in front of in the store and wondering whether it is worth buying or not. Let's say its purpose is clear to you and, when choosing furniture made of solid wood, you are aware of the durability and environmental friendliness of the natural material. But where will she stand? In the bedroom or in the kitchen? In an apartment or a country house? By answering these questions, it will be easier for you to decide which furniture to prefer. So, the pros and cons of natural wood furniture.
Pine or birch?
If we talk briefly about appearance, pine furniture has a more pronounced wood texture and fiber than birch. Pine is more difficult to process, but it tolerates increased moisture more easily, unlike birch. Pine - if the style of your home is rustic, old Russian, country or just a country house. And if you have little idea of the appearance of a birch product, remember an ordinary sheet of plywood; birch furniture will have approximately the same texture.
However, birch is considered more environmentally friendly than pine, is better suited for a noble interior, is well tinted, and has bactericidal and antifungal properties.
Drying wood
There are several drying modes. How to dry birch depends on the size of the product or lumber you need. The duration of the process depends not only on the drying mode, but also on the thickness of the wood. The denser it is, the longer it will take to dry. The minimum drying period for birch wood under gentle conditions is five and a half days. Maximum – 3 weeks.
It can be quite strong, and it also changes color easily, has a wonderful texture and its own natural shade. If you treat birch wood correctly, you can achieve a significant increase in its service life compared to other species.
What will last longer - pine or birch?
Now about strength - birch is stronger than pine. As a rule, pine products have strength elements made of birch, for example, the legs of beds and tables. The chairs are also made from birch. The chair experiences significant cyclic loads during the period of its use and over time these loads lead to loosening of the joints. Everyone remembers rocking stools. Therefore, birch is a stronger type of wood, which allows you to extend the service life of products.
Products made from pine are more susceptible to scratches and dents, because... Pine is softer than birch, so you shouldn’t buy pine furniture for children to use; it’s better to stick with the birch version. Birch is considered the best option for children's rooms. Pine, on the contrary, is most suitable for kitchens, since solid pine furniture has water-repellent properties. Another plus is the pleasant smell that pine will spread in your home.
Production costs
When choosing solid wood furniture, pay attention to the manufacturer. Because both solid pine furniture and solid birch furniture, with all its useful properties and natural beauty, must undergo proper finishing before entering your home. The board must be dried naturally, the wood must be properly processed, all the necessary technologies must be followed, and these technologies, even in the production of antique furniture, must be modern so that the furniture looks beautiful and lasts a long time.
What kind of wooden furniture do you prefer? What parameters are fundamental for you? We are waiting for your comments!
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Author: Evgeniy · Published 10/03/2019 · Updated 10/04/2019
Wooden furniture has always been in great demand despite its high cost, as it looks beautiful, is durable, and is practical. In addition, it is made of environmentally friendly material. One of the most popular options at the moment is birch furniture, which has both advantages and certain disadvantages. When choosing furnishings from such raw materials, you need to pay attention to some of its characteristics.
Manufacturing technology
Making cabinet furniture with your own hands begins with taking measurements and drawing a drawing. Then follows the preparation of each part separately, which also means veneering the sections. For this, special adhesive tape is purchased. It is used to process the edges of the cut out elements, carefully ironing them with a hot iron and then cutting off the protruding parts.
In the side elements, fastenings for shelves, partitions, retractable mechanisms and other things are marked. If it is possible to secure the fittings before connecting the parts of the cabinet furniture box together, this is done.
Then the body is completely assembled according to the drawings.
Measurements and drawing creation
Drawings of furniture for self-production can be designed on paper using a pencil and eraser, or use a simple and accessible program.
First, the part of the room in which the piece of furniture is planned to be installed is drawn, and then its approximate diagram is drawn, including the dimensions of all sections, total height and depth.
In order for the result to be satisfactory, already at the stage of drawing the diagram, all the details are worked out (back and side walls, doors, location and size of drawers and shelves). It is recommended that elements that are pre-assembled be drawn side by side as a separate component.
Creating parts and frame
After the drawing is completely ready, you can begin making patterns and transferring the blanks onto the material by tracing them with a pencil or marker.
Using the marks, an electric jigsaw is used to cut elements from a common sheet. The sections are then sanded to form a smooth surface. Open edges are covered with laminated tape or rubber pad.
Assembly and decoration
Further assembly involves fastening the fittings: hinges, locks, ties, runners, handles, etc.
The process then looks like this:
- Attaching doors or other parts of the facade, adjusting hinges in height and closing depth.
- If necessary, fix brackets, carousels and other mobile auxiliary mechanisms inside the cavity of the piece of furniture.
- Insertion of moving drawers, stationary shelves.
- Screwing the legs.
At the very end, the furniture is decorated: mirrored facades are glued, smooth surfaces are decorated with moldings, and ornaments and designs are applied according to the style of the room.
Features of the material
Birch wood has a fairly uniform structure, there is practically no resin in it, which allows the furniture to withstand heavy loads. At the same time, the material is plastic, malleable to processing. All these properties make it possible to create interior items that can last for several decades. Main characteristics of the birch tree:
- after drying, its density decreases slightly and is about 650 kg/m²;
- belongs to soft wood species, is not subject to splitting, does not crack;
- in the production of furniture, the viscosity and elasticity of the material reduce the cost of its processing;
- Birch is a coreless wood species, that is, there is no dark spot in the center of the cut, the raw material is homogeneous in structure.
Pros and cons of furniture
Before purchasing a piece of furniture made from solid wood, it is advisable to familiarize yourself with the properties of wood in order to know whether furniture made from this raw material is suitable in a particular case. Advantages of birch:
- The wood has a predominantly yellowish tint. During processing, it may turn slightly golden, which makes it more valuable. The structure is similar in appearance to marble, which gives things a special decorative effect.
- In terms of strength, birch is comparable to beech. The properties of these materials are very similar, they differ only in cost.
- Safe for allergy sufferers. That is why cribs and other furniture for children are made from it.
- Does not harm the environment and does not emit odors.
- It can easily absorb varnish coatings, stick well, bend when steamed - all these qualities are valuable in the production of the most exquisite interior items.
Despite the large number of advantages, birch furniture has certain disadvantages:
- This tree is very afraid of moisture. If the raw material is not properly dried, it will begin to mold and rot, so it is better not to make a bathroom from untreated solid birch. This drawback is eliminated by thoroughly impregnating the raw materials with special water-repellent agents.
- The material is difficult to plan and profile. The fleecy surface is suitable for grinding only with special expensive equipment.
Advantages of wood species
Birch is a wood that has a number of important properties:
- good thermal conductivity;
- high elasticity, medium weight;
- soft fiber structure – more reliable joining of lamellas;
- ease of processing with cutting tools.
The material retains its natural qualities after processing. And when using polyurethane varnish treatment, the strength increases even more. Regardless of size and shape.
Varieties
Birch is used to create many furniture sets and other decorative elements. It is often used to decorate the following rooms:
In addition to beds, wardrobes, chests of drawers, dressing tables and bedside tables are made from birch. It is also worth decorating the room with a mirror in a beautiful carved frame. The tactile properties and color are great for cabinets and sideboards in bright living rooms.
Due to the fact that the texture of the solid wood, coated with varnish, is similar to marble, work tables made of Karelian birch for offices are in great demand. To achieve the greatest beauty and aesthetics, carved lacquered legs are attached to them. Furniture made from birch is a rather non-standard solution for the kitchen. Due to the fact that the material does not react well to moisture, the products must be positioned so that water does not drip on them. Dining tables with chairs and benches made from birch look especially original.
Any furniture for a nursery should be properly polished so that no piece of furniture can cause a splinter in children. Birch beds have a positive effect on the child’s condition, as the tree has antibacterial and antiallergic properties. Whitewashed furniture made from this material looks especially festive and makes the room bright and spacious.
Combination with the interior
Today one of the most current styles is Provence. Birch furniture is perfect for implementing such a design, because it has the following shades: white, beige, light brown. Style requires harmony in the combination of all elements of the room. Furniture made from Karelian birch looks especially beautiful; in various photos in catalogs you can choose a light shade of any tone.
Many people say that the kitchen is the only room that can be designed in a rustic country style, but this is far from true. Birch furniture is ideal for this design in any room. Such headsets should have a rough appearance with the effect of poor processing. The color can be either light or dark - it all depends on the lighting of the room.
Advantages and features of carved furniture, methods of decoration
There will always be people who love the classic style, which is why it is always in fashion. Absolutely any elements of birch furniture can be decorated with light carvings, which is typical for this design. The preferred shade is dark brown - it gives the room a nobility, especially for offices and living rooms. Furniture with curves, which are achieved by steaming raw materials, is used to decorate the interior in the Art Deco style.
Country
Classic style
Art Deco
