Unfinished furniture means any items of wooden furniture that are sold to the end user without having received a finish or coating. Unfinished items are supplied in their bare wood state ready for its new owner to apply their own choice of finish. There are a great number of reasons for choosing to buy unfinished furniture for your home, some of which are listed here.

Saving Money - Unfinished furniture, by its very nature, cuts out an expensive and time-consuming part of the furniture production; the finishing process. As the furniture makers save a fair amount of money by leaving out this step, these savings are generally passed on to the customer resulting in significant savings, especially when furnishing an entire room, or indeed an entire home.

Choice - Whether you prefer your wood furniture to have a dark stain, a painted finish, a clear polyurethane finish or even an oil or shellac coat, it doesn't matter. The choice of finish you apply to your unfinished furniture is entirely up to you. This allows a lot more freedom of choice in the design of furniture you choose for your home as all you need do is choose a design you like and then finish using your own preferred method.

Colour Matching - One of the more popular reasons for purchasing unfinished furniture is that it allows you to match items from different ranges or suppliers by simply applying the same finish to each piece. Many people get annoyed when they look to buy an additional item to match an existing furniture collection only to find that the range has been discontinued. With unfinished furniture this is no problem, just purchase a design similar to your existing furniture and finish to match.

Which Unfinished Furniture? - As with any home furnishings, when picking an item of unfinished furniture for your home, it is essential to think about the quality of furniture required. Before deciding on whether you require solid hardwood, softwood or furniture made from man-made woods such as MDF, you will need to think about its purpose and the finish you intend to apply. For example, a painted item for a child's bedroom may be fine made from MDF whereas oak or pine may be more suitable for a stained coffee table for a living room.

Before Finishing - Unfinished furniture is generally supplied ready to receive a finish. All that will be required for most finishes is a wipe with a tack cloth or moistened rag to remove any dust. The only finish which requires any further preparative work is a painted finish which will first require a few coats of a water-based primer to improve adhesion for the final coat.

Finishing - The range of different finishing options available when completing your furniture is almost as vast as the different types of furniture itself. We are unable to list all of the different types of finish in the scope of this article but a few worth looking at are: oil finishes such as Danish oil, varnishes, paint finishes, shellac and waxes such as natural bees wax. Head over to your local hardware store and check out their range of finishes to see what suits your needs best.

Hopefully this article has provided you with plenty to think about when choosing furniture for your home. As with any other area of home furnishing or DIY, if you are in any doubt, always consult a professional or specialist who will be able to help you with any queries.