Gilham Furniture
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Furniture Materials – Which One is Right For You
When it comes to furniture, most people think on style and design. Both are of course very important because fine pieces of furniture make your home even more beautiful. However, materials of which the furniture is made play an important role in its aesthetic appeal as well, not to mention in its maintenance, comfort and durability. When new, most pieces of furniture look beautiful but only those that are made of the best materials will look as beautiful as new for many years to come, while those made of poor quality materials will lose their aesthetic appeal very soon.
Furniture comes in many types of materials which can be divided into two categories – natural and manmade materials. The first category can be further divided into wood furniture, metal furniture, stone furniture, etc., while manmade furniture is almost always made of some sort of plastic or other synthetic materials that imitate the natural ones. Some pieces of furniture made of synthetic materials do not look bad, however, they lack the unique appeal of natural materials such as wood for instance. Manmade materials usually do not require as much care and maintenance as furniture of natural materials and are typically also less expensive. However, furniture made of plastic for instance is not as durable as furniture made of wood and needs to be replaced more frequently. As a result, you will spend just as much or even more on furniture made of synthetic materials as for quality furniture of natural materials.
Which furniture material is right for you depends on several factors including your taste for beauty and style, however, it is always better to choose natural materials due to their unique appeal and durability. But there is a major difference between natural materials too. There are many types of wood for instance and the overall look, care required and durability varies greatly from one type of wood to another. For that reason it is highly important to be well informed about different types of materials in order to be able to determine which one is right for you. Also, keep in mind that different types of furniture (indoor/outdoor furniture) need to withstand different conditions.
Outdoor furniture has to withstand harsher conditions than indoor furniture although bathroom furniture for example, is exposed to different environment than bedroom furniture. Both types of furniture are made for extreme conditions, however, do not assume that they are automatically resistant to moisture, mould and other elements that can cause damage to them. In most cases, they are but how successfully they will withstand the mentioned elements primarily depends on the type of material of which they are made. There are special treatments that help protect the furniture from damage, however, pieces of furniture made of spruce that are treated for moisture, insects, etc. for instance do not withstand harsh outdoor conditions as good as teak even if left untreated. The latter does not need any protective treatments because it is naturally resistant to both the weather elements and insects.