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Buy unfinished oak wood furniture to save money

If you need a lot of pieces of wood furniture but are looking for a good deal, consider unfinished furniture. Without the final sanding and staining, you can take about 20 percent off of the price of what the exact same finished model would cost. Most smaller pieces of unfinished furniture cost $50 to $300.

I recommend: Maywood has a large collection of unfinished wood furniture items, including rocking chairs, stools benches and tables. Unfinished Furniture Showcase has a blog where you can get updates on the latest styles of unfinished furniture and new suggestions for painting and staining.

Pick affordable wood office furniture for style and elegance

Many offices try to save money by buying the cheapest office furniture available, but this many not be the best furniture to choose if you are trying to make an impression on customers. Wood office furniture is still affordable if you choose the right pieces. You can find wooden office desks that cost as little as $150.

I recommend: Global Vision Company offers many unique and contemporary styles of wood furniture for the home office or business office. The design blog at Spacify has ideas on the type of designs you can create with its line of wooden office furniture.

Choose custom solid wood furniture

While many providers of wood furniture offer a number of styles to choose from, getting a custom design will turn an ordinary office or home into something special and unique. Custom indoor or outdoor wood furniture can easily cost $1000 or more per piece, but is well worth the price if you want the aesthetic design.

I recommend: Tradur provides custom made wholesale wooden furniture for every room in the home. StrongProject will work with your designers or architects to develop custom wood furniture for your workspace.

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  If you are buying finished furniture, consider different types of woods and stains. Cherry wood furniture, for example, will have a much different look than oak wood furniture.

Guide to Wood Furniture

How to find wood furniture for your office or home

By Kristen Bailey

1. Wood furniture is durable
2. Wooden furniture is easy to care for
3. Solid wood furniture can be refinished

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Buy wood office furniture

There are many places to buy beautiful and functional wood office furniture in a range of prices.

I recommend: Jasper Desk sells wood furniture for the office in contemporary and traditional styles, and offers a line of executive wood office furniture. DMI Office Furniture sells traditional and transitional office pieces, and also has a line of furniture for the home office. JazzyExpo.com sells executive and reception wooden furniture that can be delivered and installed in a matter of days.

Purchase wood furniture for your home

In addition to looking great at the office, wood furniture is an elegant choice for the home as well.

I recommend: Furniture.com has a large selection of solid wood furniture for your home, including wood dining room furniture, beds, coffee tables and bookcases. Patio Furniture USA features wood patio furniture in a variety of styles. Pottery Barn offers stylish wood bedroom furniture and accessories. Cherry Pond Designs sells cherry wood furniture for the office, bedroom and dining room.

Consider unfinished wood furniture

Purchasing unfinished wood furniture allows you to customize the furniture to fit the individual decor of your home or office. Unfinished furniture can be hand-painted, distressed, stained or stenciled allowing you to create a unique masterpiece.

I recommend: Pop's Unfinished Furniture sells bookcases, cabinets, tables, and outdoor wood furniture all in unfinished wood. Unfinished Furniture Giant sells furniture awaiting finish in traditional, cottage, shaker, and classic styles. Country Wood Furniture sells unfinished furniture as well as custom wood furniture in a vast array of styles.

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Consider your budget before shopping for wood furniture. High quality craftsmanship, rare woods and solid wood furniture will cost more. If the furniture will see use for many years or pass down for generations, a durable and more expensive piece may be worth the investment. On the other hand, items such as wood baby furniture are likely to get used for only a few years, so durability or high quality construction are not as important.

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Save money by shopping around for wood furniture

Shop showrooms or online for great deals. Also consider alternative uses for wood furniture. For a casual look or tropical theme, consider using less-expensive outdoor wood furniture for indoor rooms.

I recommend: FurnitureBuzz has a selection of discount wood office furniture and much more and offers free shipping from its online store. DirectBuy offers everything from wood patio furniture to wood bedroom furniture in manufacturers' direct showrooms across the United States.

Find free or almost free wooden furniture and make it your own

Thrift stores, yard sales and giveaways are great ways to acquire used furniture. With a little paint or stain, your bargain furniture can look like new again. It's also worth checking your local Goodwill, Habitat for Humanity thrift store or Craigslist for low cost used furniture. Auction sites such as Ebay and Overstock.com are also good options for great deals on new or used wood furniture.

I recommend: The Salvation Army thrift stores offer used furniture at great prices and proceeds go to its adult rehabilitation centers. The Freecycle Network offers local groups online where you can see if anyone has free furniture while getting rid of your unneeded items.

Buy finished and unfinished wood furniture online

When buying online, know your shipping costs up front. Many websites do offer free shipping, so keep in mind that the cost of such an item includes shipping.

I recommend: Unfinished Furniture Showcase has all types of unfinished furniture and information on choosing and staining unfinished wood furniture. One Way Furniture offers a variety of outdoor wood furniture, including teak and more, at a discount. Shipping is free at both websites.

Guide to Wood Furniture Key Terms

Know wood furniture key terms to make smart shopping decisions

By Denise Brown

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Wood grain

Wood grain refers to the cut used to make the furniture. Different cuts create different wood grain effects. The most common cut is with the grain or parallel to the axis of the tree trunk. Wood grain also gives a piece of wooden furniture its distinctive appearance. Different woods produce different grain effects.

I recommend: See different wood grains at logsplitters.com.

Solid wood

A piece of solid wood furniture is just that. It doesn't have any veneers or particleboard in it. Considered to be top quality furniture, a piece of solid wood furniture usually costs more than other types. In return, you can expect long wear and durability from a piece of solid wood furniture.

I recommend: Furniture.com offers a number of solid wood furniture pieces.

Particleboard and chipboard

Particleboard wood furniture cost less to make because it doesn't have the solid wood element to it. Particleboard is wood shavings cemented together with a glue binding. A machine extrudes the particleboard product. Particleboard furniture often has a wood veneer finish.

I recommend: HomeFurnish.com has an article about particleboard furniture.

Veneer

Wood veneer is a thin layer of real wood placed over particleboard. This layer of veneer gives the wood furniture the look of solid wood furniture at a fraction of the cost.

I recommend: Find information about veneers at Pop’s Unfinished Furniture.

Inlaid

Inlaid wood furniture is decorative as well as functional. The woodworker places the wood of different natural grains in such a manner as to make designs. Inlaid wood furniture pieces often become heirlooms because of their value.

I recommend: See a chest of drawers as an example of inlaid furniture at Laurel Crown.

Case goods

Case goods are wooden furniture pieces designed for storage. Examples of case goods include desks, bookcases and cabinets. Typically case goods do not have any upholstery or padding on them.

I recommend: As you can tell from the Gunlocke, the possibilities for office case goods are endless.