I was watching a TV show the other day called the Antiques Road Show I was somewhat startled to see how much some of the old hand made home furnishings like chairs, dressers, coat racks and the like were worth. What did all of these items have in common? Well to start with they were all hand crafted with solid wood! I say this because today I do not believe much of anything is hand crafted this by itself though is not really a problem if it was not for mass production most of us would not be able to afford furniture. The true measure of fine furniture is the materials that it is constructed out of whether you are purchasing a complete bedroom set or a coat rack if is made from sub par materials such as particle board or MDF (medium density fiberboard) it will not last as long as solid wood construction.



Now if you are buying furniture at your local X-Mart type store you are only going to get cheaply made imported furniture these type of stores have their place you certainly do not want to spend thousands of dollars on a top of line baby crib that will only be used for a short time but if you are looking for a family heirloom to pass don or just enjoy the feel and look that only comes from finely crafted furniture you will have to shop someplace else.

Actually one of the best places to look for high quality home furnishings is on the Internet there are many craftsman around the world who specialize in one off high quality design and creating of great pieces. You still need to be careful before spending thousands of dollars with one of these craftsman look at their return policy, ask for a list of prior customers so you can check with them, you may even want to visit their shop and check it out for yourself.

I recently went to a local furniture store to look at dining room tables I was going to buy the chairs and build my own table but after looking at the new tables I was actually impressed with the quality of the construction it was as advertised solid Oak. I was surprised to discover that it would cost me more for the raw materials than the complete table cost. I did however opt for the unfinished table and finished it myself to save a little pride. When you have the choice opts for solid wood construction it will last many times longer then the cheap imitation wood substitutes that have flooded the market. Whether it is a coat rack or a complete dining room set look for quality construction to last many lifetimes.