When it comes to furniture, not only are there several designs to choose from, but several types of materials as well. If you’re looking for a sturdy, sustainable, and beautiful piece, you should consider buying solid wood furniture.
Furniture made from solid wood typically entails a slightly higher upfront investment than furniture made from wood laminate or wood veneer but it’s worth every single dollar spent.
Let’s compare:
Laminate
Despite sometimes being referred to as wood laminate, laminate is not real wood. Laminate is a material that is made by compressing together layers of heavy-duty paper to create a piece that hardens into resin. While laminate is a relatively affordable & durable material that’s also customizable, you pay for it in other ways. Among all materials, laminate is the least eco-friendly option with its large carbon footprint and relatively hard to recycle material resulting in a poor life-cycle. If you dent or damage laminate, it can’t be repaired. It also can’t be sanded, stained, or reconstructed the way real wood can. It simply isn't as strong as solid hardwoods and its synthetic wooden patterns are incomparable to the beautiful grains of solid wood.
Wood Veneer
Wood Veneer is made by gluing together thin layers of wood over a thick core. The core is usually made with furniture-grade MDF or some other material. It’s often referred to as a sustainable option because it doesn’t require as much wood as solid wood furniture. This however, won’t provide you the same durability that solid wood can, which may defeat any sustainability efforts if your piece doesn’t last. Veneer is highly susceptible to water damage and because it’s only glued to its core, the water can seep in and cause bubbles to form on the top layers. It’s much more difficult to repair when damaged, especially if layers of the veneer start to peel. While it may be a stable option for moving pieces such as drawers and cupboards, solid wood is still your best option when it comes to furniture that can be loved by many generations.
Solid Wood
Furniture made from solid wood can be loved and enjoyed much longer than furniture made with laminate or wood veneer. It is naturally durable and very sturdy, making it less prone to breakage. Most importantly, when it does get damaged, it can easily be repaired or reused in new designs. It can also be easily refreshed with a quick sanding and restaining or painting. Solid wood is an easy choice for those who want to make more sustainable choices in furnishing their homes and have pieces that last for generations
Another benefit of solid wood is that each piece of furniture, regardless of its design, is one-of-a-kind because of the unique wood grain on each piece. Unlike other types of furniture, you won’t get those generic & synthetic printed wood patterns on solid wood.
Solid wood simply elevates any space it’s in.
How Dalisay Collection Uses Solid Wood
At Dalisay Collection, our choices of using solid wood in our furniture pieces have durability, aesthetics, and circular design in mind. By focusing on locally-sourced, natural wood that our makers have known and worked with for generations, we not only create better quality pieces, but we create them more sustainably too.
Each material, whether reclaimed or salvaged, is made fresh in the minds of our award-winning Hong Kong designers and is brought to life by the impeccable craftsmanship of our Filipino makers. These beautiful pieces are all made with you and your homes in mind. We make sturdy and durable furniture that can be loved and enjoyed by you over and over again. We believe that when furniture is made well, it can be shared by many people for generations -- a true hallmark of circular design.
Our range of solid wood is a combination of different woods that can be found in the Philippines and are known to be durable choices for long-lasting furniture.
Click here to learn more about wood and other materials we use for furniture.