ecologito

Hi,

I was looking at a coffee table at Pottery Barn and found this:
http://www.potterybarn.com/products/p12969/index.cfm

On the product infor I read "Tabletop is crafted of kiln-dried hardwood veneers layered over MDF, an engineered wood that lends exceptional strength and ensures this coffee table's structural integrity over time."

Please let me know if I am wrong but I think that a veneer table top is a rip off, if you are charging $700 the least they could do is solid wood. I understand the value of veneers and using it for the right application can turn amazing pieces of art, but to make it look like salvaged wood?

Please share your opinion...

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GeorgeC

I do not know that I would make a statement that using veneers is a rip off. Is plywood really anything but a veneer? A lot of excellent antiques have used veneers. Veneers properly used make excellent furniture.

Now, what you are describing is another story. I would expect a $700 piece of furniture to be a good quality piece of home furniture. Persoally I do not consider MDF to be furniture grade material for higher end home furniture. It is fine for the office place or other business area use.

I am also OK with it for less expensiove home furniture where you are not expecting to be purchasing top level material. But when it comes to the more expensive end of home furnitures I expect it to be all wood, even if it is plywood and/or veneer.

This from al old fudy dudy that thinks that all wood is required.

Oh yes, in the first place I would not expect high end furniture in the Pottery Barn nor would I expect to see something in there priced at $700.

George

Gene Howe

For $700, build it yourself. That way you can enjoy it twice and, twice as much.

Jim Tank

Just for kicks you could check out a maple veneer on 3/4" mdf round table in my photo album called "Tracy's Table". While not exactly art work, I will put the quality up against anything out there, new or a hundred years old. Any material is only as good as the methods used to fabricate. However; I have built several pieces for folks who recieved furniture from Pottery Barn, only to find quality did not meet expectations and called me to build one as they packed up the other piece to ship back to the less expensive catalog place.

red

I have done this many times in the past for customers. Not just Pottery Barn, but others as well.

Red

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knotscott

That's a very expensive coffee table that doesn't look like an overly difficult project for a wwer.

It's really a matter of preference and judgement. It's admirable that they're being upfront about the material....lots of furniture is billed as solid wood, when it has elements of wood veneer. I don't see veneer as a ripoff in general, but I tend to prefer solid hardwoods. There are times when a veneered plywood or veneered MDF are more desirable than hardwood... larger veneered panels are less prone to movement than large panels from solid wood. If the top is made from expensive exotics, veneer makes a lot of sense too.

With that said, I'd prefer to see a table top made from solid wood...it's an attached panel that doesn't need to be precisely fitted between other support components, and veneers tend to have very predictable grain and coloration patterns, whereas solid wood is more unique.

frankp

Maybe it's just me, but I have issue with anyone calling MDF wood. It may be fiber from wood but I think calling it an "engineered wood" is stretching the truth a bit more than I like. But then, I don't really like Pottery Barn to begin with, so maybe I'm making mountains out of mole hills.

To answer your question though, Ecologito, I don't consider anything made with MDF to be fine quality furniture. It might be very good workmanship, but I don't want MDF in my furniture, period. As for structural integrity, a properly built real wood table should last 100 years at least, assuming it's reasonably well taken care of by its owners. I have furniture in my house that is well over that and still some of the best built stuff I've seen.

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Mike Gager

im guessing they call it wood because to the average person who doesnt have a clue, thats good enough. its made from wood, so its wood

i dont have a problem with someone using mdf as a substrate for veneer. it saves valuable material. mahogany doesnt grow on trees you know!

hey at least they were honest about it not being solid wood

thing i wonder about is is it actually mahogany or simply poplar or other cheap wood stained to look like it?

pianoman

The coffee table in question, looks very simple to make. There`s probably not more than $40.00 in materials and production made at that. I don`t see it lasting for more than 5 years. Just another example of corporatocracy! Rick

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nzgeordie

I'm with Mike on this one. Veneering cheaper woods is centuries old and MDF is a great substrate for veneer except, size for size it's damned heavy. Also it doesn't hold screws too well so check any fixings on the table. BTW, I'm just about to complete a period sewing box fro SWMBO which is mahogany veneer on MDF. (see gallery).

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vuefromidwest

"Accented with grooves and saw marks that hint at an industrial past, our Benchwright Coffee Table is rich in character."

I could put my own sawmarks in for 700 bucks.......

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scribbles

I would be happy to build it for you for 460$, and I would actually be handmade, and 100% hardwood, with dovetailed maple drawers.

Find a local craftsman.

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