Solid beech furniture: advantages, choice of styles and comparison

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Choosing a staircase is a difficult task that requires a competent approach. Not only the design itself deserves attention, but also the material from which it will be made. In their quest for a healthy lifestyle, people are increasingly choosing natural wood, but in this case it is necessary to know that each type of wood has not only advantages, but also disadvantages. What is worth knowing about such common varieties as oak, beech and ash, how do these common types of wood differ, and which wood is best for a staircase?

What properties does solid beech have?

Beech is a hardwood with an unusual pattern of growth rings, practical and reliable. That is why it is loved in the furniture industry. The cost of furniture made from this solid wood is lower than that of oak, but their performance parameters are comparable. Wood contains components useful for humans: lingin, pentosans, hexosans.

Beech is malleable in processing, which allows you to make various furniture from it:

• Steaming increases elasticity, the material becomes pliable for the production of bent chairs.
• Tinting allows you to imitate the texture of noble species (mahogany, walnut).

You can glue wood - it dries very quickly. The solid wood bends well, which opens up many prospects in the furniture business.

Often the tree trunk does not have knots to a height of more than 2 meters, and the pattern is uniform and unobtrusive due to the absence of a pronounced core. These properties are also used in the furniture industry, bringing to the market high-quality and elegant home furniture.

Video description

See the video for what improper storage leads to:
For fireplaces and pyrolysis stoves, it is advisable to further dry the fuel by keeping it in a warm and dry place for several days. The “cleaning” firewood – aspen and alder, used for cleaning chimneys – should also be well dried.

It is advisable to harvest oak in advance and put it into use after a year or two - this is the time it takes for the wood to dry. Birch, on the contrary, is used in the year of purchase. Linden is stored for no longer than 2-3 years if you want to enjoy its amazing aroma in the bathhouse.

What types of beech are used for furniture production?

The furniture industry uses oriental beech, which grows in the Caucasus, and forest beech, whose habitat is Central Europe.

There are many types of beech; more than 250 of them are used in various industries. Three types are most often used:

1. Hornbeam or white beech with a grayish wood tone is suitable for the “rustic” style due to its deliberate roughness and rusticity.
2. Planed is used for the production of chipboards and laminated chipboards, which are then used to create furniture.
3. The bleached beech is very beautiful, the dark shade of Bavaria is elegant.

What is the most expensive tree in the world?

Top 9 most expensive and elite wood species

• Umnini This African wood is also called pink ivory, for its similar properties and similar density. ...
• Bokota This tree has been leading the list of the most expensive for many years. ...
• Amaranth...
• Sandalwood...
• Grenadil...
• Ebony...
• Backout...
• Bubinga

19 Sep.
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Pros and cons of beech furniture

To choose a material for a headset, you need to study its pros and cons. Let's look at what features beech furniture has.

Advantages of beech furniture

In terms of its merits, beech does not lag behind its main competitor, oak. Advantages:

• Strength and wear resistance - provided that the furniture is manufactured by reliable manufacturers using European equipment in compliance with technology.
• Drying the material does not take long, during which the wood does not become covered with cracks.
• High density.
• The natural pattern of tree rings is an interior decoration.
• Variety of processing methods. Wood retains its attractiveness when varnished, bleached, or stained. Due to its high flexibility, beech can be cut well, and decor from it can be given any shape.

Such furniture will always be in trend. If you want to update your decor, buy several new modules.

Disadvantages of beech furniture

The main disadvantage of solid beech is its high susceptibility to changes in humidity, so you need to create comfortable conditions for the furniture. The array does not tolerate dry air well, so furniture made from it cannot be placed next to the radiator. Owners should develop a good habit of monitoring the humidity in the room.

Other cons:

• The massiveness of the products makes it impossible to rearrange furniture without an assistant or move it away during general cleaning. It is unacceptable to install solid wood headsets on dilapidated floor coverings.
• Over time, furniture loses its attractiveness: it becomes covered with cracks, colors fade in the sun.
• At high humidity it begins to rot and mold. Therefore, surfaces are treated with impregnations with antiseptic properties.

Protection of wood from external factors

A process comparable to cosmetic skin care. It is carried out in 2 stages:

Just as cosmetics are selected for your skin type, they are treated with different solutions.
Methods of applying substances may also differ from each other - what is suitable for pine is not suitable for elite oak. The main thing is to ensure that the product contains no carcinogens. A common treatment method involves applying an antifungal solution in stages, followed by coating with a water-repellent emulsion, then paint (enamel) with decorative properties and clear varnish. When choosing a door from an array, several characteristics are significant:

We propose to evaluate 5 common types of solid wood according to the specified criteria - take pine, alder, oak, beech, and ash as an example.

What to look for when choosing beech furniture

Let's look at what you need to pay attention to when buying furniture made from solid beech. The following signs indicate that you have a high-quality chair, table or cabinet:

• The joints are symmetrical and neat.
• Uniform coating without blisters, chips, or cracks.
• High-quality fittings. Doors should open and close without unnecessary effort, drawers should operate smoothly and quietly, handles should not dangle. Check each element, take your time.

The responsible seller will present a certificate of conformity upon request.

How to prepare and store firewood

You can buy oak, birch or poplar for firewood in the form of whole logs or already split into logs. There is another option - to purchase waste in the form of branches, twigs, bark, but it may only be of interest to summer residents who come to relax by the fire.

It is more profitable to purchase unchopped firewood, but if there is no one to chop it, preference should be given to the seller who carefully and tightly placed the logs in the back of the car or woodpile. The fact is that the unit of measurement for firewood when selling is a cubic meter. If they are folded carelessly, there will be a lot of empty spaces between them, and you will literally pay some of the money for air.

It is impossible to determine the true volume of piled firewood. Source drovenik.ru

Split firewood is stored for storage, since logs take longer to dry, and birch logs can generally rot. The woodpile is placed under a canopy or in a special woodshed with ventilated walls. It is also possible in the open air, but by making a flooring above the ground and covering or laying the top row so that precipitation does not seep inside.

Popular shades of beech furniture

There are several types of staining for beech furniture. This is a light shade with golden or silver veins. The coating itself can be light, almost transparent or rich. Furniture in this tone looks bright, so it is installed as separate elements rather than as entire sets.

Another option for light beech furniture is white. More often used for summer cottage sets, the gray-white shade looks very elegant.

Bleached beech is the lightest shade of solid wood. The wood is pre-treated with steam, then painted with white paint and dried. The color is uniform.

The darkest shade of beech furniture is Bavaria. Suitable for office decoration, as it gives a touch of elegant rigor and formality.

It is allowed to paint surfaces in natural tones (cherry, walnut, wenge) or bright rich shades (red, purple, turquoise). In the first case, varnishes are used that preserve the natural shade of wood; in the second, enamel is used.

Furniture items that are most often made from beech

Furniture made from solid beech is varied, it is made in sets, sets, you can buy individual items for interior decoration. Strength is the reason that beech is used to make frames for upholstered furniture and beds, as well as surfaces subject to intense loads. Desk tables, sofas, armchairs, and beds are made from it.

Let's look at exactly what items are made from this natural material.

Beds (children and adults)

Beech beds are the choice of those who value comfortable, healthy sleep. Thanks to the durable frame, the furniture will withstand significant loads, so it is suitable for both overweight people and dynamic children. Stable legs provide additional protection, and graceful round headboards provide style and aesthetics.

Cribs for newborns and models for teenagers are made from environmentally friendly material.

The main features of such beds:

• The variety of colors allows them to be used in various interior styles.
• Environmental cleanliness is a guarantee of comfortable sleep.
• Maintainability – if damaged, the bed can be restored.

Nightstands and chests of drawers

Beech is used in the production of chests of drawers and cabinets; this furniture is necessary for the comfort of the living room, bedroom, and nursery. The model range is very wide. There are chests of classic design - with drawers, equipped with high-quality fittings. There are aristocratic ones, with carved decor, on beautiful, durable legs. Any color is acceptable, but chests of drawers in the shade “Italian walnut” look most advantageous.

Beech chests of drawers have a wide range of applications; there are models for the kitchen, bedroom and living room, as well as changing options - environmentally friendly and safe. The color range is rich: warm light colors are suitable for small rooms, and luxurious dark ones are suitable for offices.

Cabinets

Beech furniture such as cabinets is suitable for classic and modern interiors. The headsets are practical, ergonomic, with various filling options. You can buy a wardrobe for clothes, dishes, books, display cases, consoles made of high-quality and durable material. The cabinet itself can be built-in or free-standing, part of a set or used as a separate module. The model - one-, two- or three-leaf - is chosen depending on the area of ​​the room. Facades can be made of wood or glass, including frosted glass or decorated with stained glass.

Inside there is everything necessary for comfort: shelves and niches, a bar for outerwear, drawers, mezzanine sections. Models with open shelves look elegant. Sliding wardrobes are suitable for small living rooms and hallways; they intelligently organize space, help preserve usable space and maintain order.

Tables

Beech tables are not inferior in mechanical strength to oak, but are much cheaper. This environmentally friendly natural furniture is suitable for classic and modern interiors. Countertops can be cream, beige, yellowish - depending on the conditions in which the tree grew. They look very chic and respectable, but the downside is that when constantly exposed to the sun, wood loses its attractiveness.

Kitchen and dining tables, coffee tables, desks and computer tables of various designs are made from beech. They can be varnished or painted in bright colors.

Viennese bent chairs

Viennese chairs - comfortable seats, high legs and graceful curved backs. Suitable for the kitchen, dining room or living room in a classic style. Can be combined with ergonomic curved chairs with twisted armrests and comfortable backs. This type of furniture is created for those who strive for harmony and aesthetics. You can order Viennese chairs in bright colors to decorate your living room or kitchen in a modern style.

The chairs are not only practical, but also aesthetically pleasing and will decorate your interior. Made from solid beech, they are very durable, able to withstand even significant loads, and are resistant to deformation.

Garden furniture

Garden furniture made of beech is in demand among lovers of country holidays and gardening. The tree is impervious to temperature changes, durable and wear-resistant. Tables, chairs, and benches are purchased for the plots. Wooden objects look very attractive, can handle heavy loads, and would be appropriate in the style of rustic or rustic landscapes.

Most often, country furniture is of a strict rectangular shape, chairs and benches have backs and armrests, the color is natural, the processing is insignificant.

Beech sets should not be left in the rain - moisture has a negative effect on the condition of the wood and can cause cracking. Therefore, the furniture is covered with film or left under the roof.

Wood hardness indicators

The performance characteristics of furniture (wooden table, bed, bedside table, etc.) very much depend on the type of wood from which it is made. To compare wood species, hardness is used. It is the hardness index that determines how successfully the tree will withstand mechanical loads, i.e. The harder the wood, the less scratches and dents from impacts with a metal object will be visible on it. Ultimately, this will determine how long your furniture will remain looking great.

Below is a comparison table of the hardness of different types of wood.

* The hardness of wood within the same species may vary depending on the cut. The table shows average values ​​by type.

Beech furniture sets

Beech sets are universal, suitable for decorating classic, modern and creative interiors (loft, scandi, shabby chic). The numerous advantages of solid wood furniture are the reason for its growing popularity.

For the living room

Beech furniture is an excellent option for a stylish living room, regardless of whether you prefer classic or modern, loft or Provence. You can order a whole set in a single design or assemble your own living room from separate modules that are suitable in size and purpose. The array is used to produce everything necessary for the main room of any home:

• Frames for sofas and armchairs.
• Walls and cabinets.
• Dressers, cabinets and shelves.
• Coffee tables.

If you are decorating a living room in a loft style, pay attention to natural shades. And for a neoclassical interior, dark colors are suitable. Beech furniture looks great with LED lighting.

For the bedroom

Beds, cabinets, and cabinets made of solid natural wood are suitable for decorating another important room in any home - the bedroom. Beech furniture will become a bright decoration of the interior. You can choose a bed with different sleeping widths, with a high carved or soft headboard. Such furniture will turn the bedroom into royal chambers.

To get a harmonious space, you need to choose combination options. Beech furniture in light tones looks advantageous against the background of green, gray, and cream wallpaper. And dark shades benefit from contrast with white walls.

If desired, any piece of bedroom furniture can be ordered in a tinting that imitates noble wood.

For children's

Beech children's furniture is very popular. Solid wood is an environmentally friendly material that will never cause allergies or other health problems. On a bed made from it, sleep will be the healthiest and deepest. The wood is very durable, so even if your family has several very active children, you don’t have to worry about their safety - the frame will withstand jumping.

The following pieces of beech furniture are made for children's rooms:

• Bunk beds. They will help organize space in small rooms for two children.
• Side tables, chests of drawers, cabinets, racks. They can be natural in color or covered with photo printing, which will delight the little ones. Such furniture is practical, safe and will help maintain order.

Thanks to the smooth surfaces, scratches and splinters are excluded. Often, cabinet furniture fittings are replaced with carved holes, which reduces the risk of injury to zero.

For kitchen

Kitchens made of solid beech look very attractive, environmentally friendly, safe for children and allergy sufferers, with a pleasant, unobtrusive aroma. The facades and countertops are pleasant to touch, and cooking here is a special pleasure. The furniture is wear-resistant, practical, ergonomic, but requires careful care. For cleaning, do not use abrasives, sponges, or alkali-based compounds. It is important to ensure that the surface remains dry at all times; if accidentally exposed to moisture, wipe immediately.

The color of beech furniture for kitchen decoration can be any. You can choose light shades to make your small kitchen look no worse than the model in the photo from a glossy magazine. Dark shades look stylish, but are only suitable for spacious rooms - they will make a small kitchen gloomy.

For bathroom

High hygroscopicity and susceptibility to increased dampness are the reasons why solid beech furniture is rarely found in bathrooms. However, dedicated fans of beech can also order sets for the bathroom. But in this case, it is important to organize proper care: regularly impregnate the surfaces with antiseptic compounds, make sure that the furniture is always dry. If it gets splashed with water, wipe it dry immediately.

To decorate your bathroom, you can choose compact but roomy shelves, cabinets, cabinets for linen, bath accessories, and beech-framed mirrors. The corner space will help organize a stylish pencil case.

For office

Beech office furniture is the choice of those managers who care about the reputation of their company. Comfortable tables, cabinets, racks for documentation, and wardrobes for employee clothing will help give the premises respectability and solidity and create comfortable workplaces for employees.

Of course, you can choose light-colored furniture for your office, but beech furniture in the dark color Bavaria looks most advantageous. It will maintain the working mood, as well as create a positive image of the organization in the eyes of visitors and business partners.

Furniture in beige or cream tones looks no less interesting.

Oak

Oak exhibits such high strength that it is suitable for the production of entrance doors. With proper processing quality, it is not affected by negative atmospheric factors. Bog oak, which has lain at the bottom of the reservoir for hundreds of years, is of enormous value. It becomes incredibly durable and beautiful. But in the modern world such material is rare. And wooden products are treated with a consonant stain when it is necessary to make the transitions of the natural pattern more contrasting.

Another popular decoration method to give it an antique look is patina. In its modern version, patina is nothing more than paint of a certain shade, which is applied to various elements of the door leaf (at the corners of the panels, on glazing beads or baguettes) to give them a more voluminous appearance.

To make the surface texture of the door more exclusive, brushing techniques are used. Soft fibers are removed from the surface with a metal brush, and the resulting grooves are tinted in a shade different from the main color.

Which is better beech or oak for furniture?

Wooden furniture is very popular; the two main competitors are solid oak and beech - durable, attractive, and wear-resistant. But which option should you choose for your home? Let's figure it out.

Oak is very beautiful in itself, has an interesting pattern of growth rings, and is often used in its natural form. However, there are also many processing options:

• etching;
• staining;
• Patching.

All this allows you to create beautiful furniture with a touch of antiquity and aristocracy. Let's compare the parameters of oak and beech furniture in the table.

The disadvantage of beech is its susceptibility to moisture, due to which the tree begins to deteriorate. In addition, the surfaces are difficult to polish. However, both arrays are durable and wear-resistant. Due to the high hygroscopicity of beech, it is rarely used for kitchen sets and bathroom furniture; this niche belongs to oak. Oak furniture is very valuable, which is why it is often counterfeited. This rarely happens with beech products.

Let's summarize. Only an expert can visually distinguish oak from beech; the main characteristics of the arrays are similar, but beech loses in hygroscopicity, gaining in price.

Pine

For protection and decorative coating, compositions with low density and weight (white wax, paint, varnish) are used. Enamel is not used, as the surface may become cracked and turn yellow. Pine is the only material from which you can find doors on sale that are generally unpainted, for example for a bathhouse, or prepared for painting. Due to the looseness of wood, sonna has the best heat and sound insulation properties.

This is interesting: what does the expression “the doors cry” mean? – As it turns out, this is what they say about structures made of wood with a very high concentration of resins. Such, for example, is larch, which is practically not taken for making doors, including for this reason. That is, it is possible to make a canvas out of it, but before that you will need to carry out careful and lengthy processing, which makes the final product more expensive. If this is neglected, then under the bright, hot rays of the summer sun the wood will begin to shed resinous tears, for which the varnish coating will not be a barrier. For the same reason, manufacturers try not to use spruce.

Which is better, birch or beech for furniture?

Birch furniture is very popular, but in terms of its performance parameters it is inferior to beech. Let's figure out what is best to choose for your home. If durability is a priority, buy beech furniture that will last for decades. Solid birch is less durable, but cheaper. If you need a bed for a child, choose a beech one - even if the baby jumps or stands up, the durable frame will cope with the load.

Birch is more malleable in processing, so it can be used to create designer furniture of original shapes. Beech also involves various processing options, but there are fewer of them.

Birch has medium strength and is susceptible to high humidity, so it is not recommended for outdoor furniture. Load resistance is lower than that of beech and is prone to cracking. The natural shade is light, but with dyeing you can achieve any tone.

Which is better, alder or beech for furniture?

Alder has less dense wood than beech. Solid alder becomes dark after sawing, so it is used in furniture making after staining. Let's compare some characteristics of the materials. The color in both cases can be any thanks to dyeing. Both arrays lend themselves well to processing. However, alder is impervious to high dampness; tables, benches and chairs made from it can be left outdoors. But beech is afraid of humidity; garden furniture made from it must be protected from precipitation.

But beech wood is more durable and can withstand significant loads, so beds and frames should be made from it.

Alder wood in its pure form has an uninteresting texture and is homogeneous, therefore it is most often used in painted form. However, thanks to tinting you can get beautiful furniture. Alder polishes much better than beech.

Drying

If the blanks are dried so-so, then the doors from them will turn out to be of poor quality.
Inside the tree's body, called the trunk, are blood arteries through which tree sap flows. Its presence is necessary when the wood lives. If it is no longer a plant, but a logging operation, it is better to get rid of moisture by eliminating sap flow. Array drying is carried out in two ways:

The first option is considered more reliable because it is carried out in natural conditions.
Such doors are guaranteed to last without restoration for at least 10 years, or even 50. The chamber drying method is pure commerce, but it is necessary to speed up the production process. Therefore, if a company manager insists that the door is made of naturally dried material, he is being disingenuous, because this process is very long and not profitable for business. After drying, the blanks are cut into lamellas, which are glued into a slab. Afterwards, trim parts and panels are cut out of it, assembled into a single structure and proceed to the next stage...

User reviews

According to reviews from customers who have already “tried” beech furniture, this natural material is truly durable, reliable, and resistant to mechanical damage. It looks very interesting, especially in the classic interior of living rooms, bedrooms, and hallways. Headsets in dark shades look stylish in office spaces and cubicles.

The owners note that the furniture is easy to maintain, but it needs to be properly organized. For example, if alcohol is accidentally spilled on the countertop, you need to wipe it dry. In basic terms, care is the same as for any wooden furniture.

Among the disadvantages, they point out the massiveness of the tables and cabinets: repairs, moving, or simply washing floors in hard-to-reach places become a real test for the owners.

Video description

How to clean a chimney by burning aspen or sedge firewood, watch the video:

Linden

Like birch, linden firewood is stored no longer than two to three years, after which it loses quality. However, they are highly valued as fuel for sauna stoves, as they are capable of burning very intensely and heating it in a short time.

When burned, linden produces aromatic smoke and releases phytoncides with medicinal properties that promote wound healing and alleviate the symptoms of pulmonary diseases.

Linden is an excellent fuel for a bath Source element-house.ru

Linden firewood is not suitable for constant heating of a house in winter due to its ability to burn out too quickly.

Caring for beech furniture

Beech furniture is very attractive and durable, but its weak point is the “fear” of changes in humidity and increased dampness. Therefore, maintain comfortable conditions for headsets:

• temperature - +20 degrees;
• humidity – 60-70%;
• protection from direct sunlight.

To control the level of humidity in winter, place a container of water next to the heating device.

Removing dirt is easy: just wipe the surfaces with suede to clean the glass. In particularly difficult cases, it is permissible to use dishwashing compounds, after which the furniture is wiped dry. It is unacceptable to use formulations containing alcohol, acetone or solvent.

This is beech furniture that will decorate any interior. To appreciate its merits, it is important to buy models or headsets only from a reliable manufacturer who uses high-quality raw materials and European equipment. If the drying technology is not followed, the furniture will last very little and will quickly become covered with cracks. Therefore, trust the Pinskdrev factory and the official dealer in the Moscow region - Belarusian Quality.