You will certainly get good value for your money if you buy a kind of furniture with no finishing.  However, you must finish such kind furniture to make it usable.  But this is a no-brainer actually.

Finishing unfinished bedroom furniture for example can be a very good project where you can express your artistic skills.  You never know, this could be the perfect hobby that you have always wanted to do for sometime now.

So here are some simple no-brainer steps in finishing unfinished furniture.  This project may take at least two days so you better schedule it over the weekends.

1.  The first thing you have to do is to find a suitable place where you can work to finish the furniture.  Your work area should be roomy and with enough ventilation.

2.  Prepare your tools and the necessary finishing and coating chemicals.  Basically, you will need screw drivers, sanding materials, wood stain, polyurethane varnish, two sets of paint brushes, lots of cloth, and old newspapers.

3.  Before you start working, line the floor with old newspapers to protect it from the varnish and coating.  Never smoke while you are working because polyurethane is a highly flammable material.

4.  If the unfinished furniture is fully assembled, you should unscrew all hardware.  This way, you can finish all the nooks and crannies of the furniture.

5.  Sand the surfaces and the insides of the furniture thoroughly.  If you have a power sander, then your work will be easier.  Otherwise, you have to do it manually and make sure that even the smallest crevices can be sanded.

6.  Take a damp cloth and wipe the furniture to remove all saw dusts.  Do not use a dripping cloth because your work area will become too messy.  Just make sure that the saw dust will easily adhere to the damp cloth.

7.  After drying, you can now apply the finishing.  Apply the wood stain first then varnish the furniture.  It is up to you whether you will apply 2 or 3 coatings.

Voila! You are done. Your furniture now is fully finished.  You can also apply paint to your unfinished furniture if you want.  Jazzing up the furniture depends on your artistic taste.

Here’s a basic guide that could help you in finding quality made pre-finished furniture.  By following the tips here, you will be able to enjoy finishing the unfinished furniture and your work will be easier.

1.  When buying unfinished wood furniture, the first indicator of quality is the price.

In this industry, you will really get what you pay for.  If you buy super cheap unfinished woodwork, you have to expect that the item would be very rough and have lots of imperfections.

It does not mean however that you go for the most expensive piece of bare woodwork.  What you need to is to strike a balance between price and quality.  Take a closer look and try to assess if finishing the furniture requires lots of hard work.  You would not want that of course.  So, use your better judgment and determine of you can get good value from the unfinished furniture.

2.  There are numerous varieties of unfinished home furniture.

Some are made from hardwood or deciduous trees like oak and maple.  There are also softwood varieties that come from pine or fir.  Whatever your choice is, make sure that the furniture has been pre-finished or sanded.  It is also best if you can avoid rough and knotty wood.  A very rough woodwork needs extra work and you may not have the time for that.

3.  You must check the general quality of assembly.

Some craftsmen use power staples to join pieces together.  Make sure that the joints are not wobbly and feeble.  It is also best if you can find furniture that has been glued tight with wood glue and wood cement.

4. The most important parts that you need to check are the drawers.

This is particularly true if you are buying unfinished pine furniture such as cabinets or bedroom side tables.  The drawers should fit perfectly and there should be a guide for hassle free sliding.  It is impossible to fix a drawer that is too big or too small for the opening.

Buying unfinished wood furniture is a practical move.  Just make sure that the item does not have full of defects or constructed very poorly.  You might spend more in finishing the furniture if you will not closely inspect the overall quality of the item that you are going to buy.

There are also lots of stores that offer ‘in the rough’ pine furniture.  Whether you shop from online stores or from your local woodwork stores, unfinished pine wood furniture will definitely be included in their inventory.

So, if you really want to buy unfinished furniture, it would be best if you will look for pine furniture first before you look for other wood varieties.  Here’s why:

1.  One compelling reason why you should buy furniture made from pine is the price.

This wood variety is cheap, so the unfinished pine furniture would be cheaper also compared to others.  The price factor is very important if you are buying unfinished wood furniture.  That is because you still have to buy materials to finish it.

2.  Pine furniture is also neutral in terms of wood color and hue.

This is another good reason why pine furniture is a good option.  It would not be too difficult to choose the right color coating that would match with pine wood.  Practically all types of color coating can be used for pine furniture.  Your work therefore would be easier.

3.  Pine is also very sturdy because it is a very dense wood.

It would be strong enough to support heavy objects and will be very durable.  Your pine furniture will surely last for a lifetime because of the wood quality.

4.  Unfinished pine furniture has less sap and will be finer than other softwood.

You will not experience much difficulty in sanding or finishing pine wood.  It can also quickly absorb coating and paint so the drying process would be faster.

5.  Once finished, any pine furniture will blend well with other furniture in your house.

It will not be too obtrusive.  However, the elegant finish of pine furniture will make a room look lively and lovely.

6.  Pine wood is not too heavy but not light also.

It is a perfectly balanced wood in terms of weight.  You can move it easily if you want to rearrange the layout of a room.  But it is heavy enough which makes the furniture stable.

So the next time you buy pre-finished woodwork, you will surely enjoy numerous advantages if you choose unfinished pine furniture.  It is cheaper and versatile also so you will have a great time finishing the pine wood.

Oak is a hardwood, very durable, and extremely versatile.  You will surely get lots of benefits from oak furniture.  Because oak wood is really expensive, even the unfinished varieties would be costly also.  However, oak furniture can last for a lifetime so your investment would be very worthwhile.

In fact, you can display your artistic flair when finishing oak furniture.  You can make it look antique or you can add designs to make it look more contemporary.  This would be difficult to achieve if you are finishing ordinary unfinished wood furniture.

Spicing up unfinished oak furniture primarily depends on your creativity.  But if you want to get started easily, here are some simple steps that will help you to finish oak furniture.

1.  Before you start your project, you should decide what type of finish you want.

There are several options and choices available for you.  The following are the types of finishes that you can apply:

•    Varnish
•    Shellac
•    Penetrating resin
•    Wax
•    Lacquer
•    Oil

Varnish provides great versatility.  There are flat varnishes, high gloss and satin gloss.  Varnish is also quick drying so you can reduce the amount of time that you will devote in sprucing up unfinished oak furniture.

Penetrating resin also provides excellent finish with several gloss choices.  The resin seeps deep into the wood.  Your oak furniture therefore will look more natural.

2.  When applying a finishing agent, it is best to use a 1.5 to 2-inch paint brush with fine bristles.

Make sure that the first application goes along the grain of the oak.  Let it dry for several hours before applying a second cost across the grain.  This technique will level the coating.  The furniture will look very refined and smooth.

3.  Apply paint highlights that match the base color of the oak wood.

Make sure to use a thin brush so you can avoid tarnishing the other parts of the oak wood furniture.

4.  If you applied paint, make sure to apply a final coating when it dries up.

The final finishing or coating will protect the colors of the paint so it will not fade easily.

Finishing unfinished oak furniture is not a complicated project.  You can do it easily even without the help of an expert artisan.

However, you need to understand that you still have to finish these bedroom items because they are just bare wood.  So you should be prepared to get your hands dirty while cleaning, sanding, polishing, and varnishing your unfinished bedroom furniture.  But your efforts will be rewarded once you are done with your project.  Your bedroom furniture will certainly look lovely and stylish especially if you will work with unfinished oak furniture.

Tips for Beginners

If you do not have any experience with furniture finishing projects, it is best to start with smaller bedroom furniture.  Here are some items that you can experiment on:

•    1-drawer night stand – this is very simple to finish.  It is just like a box and it does not have any hardware.

•    Traditional open-front TV cabinet – just like the night stand, this TV cabinet is compact and it has small areas for finishing.  You just have to sand this and apply the finishing.

•    Bedroom round table with chair – this item is perfect for your reading corner.  Make sure that the chair does not have complicated designs so you will have an easier time finishing it.

On the other hand, if you are confident enough to work on complicated projects, then you can buy bigger unfinished bedroom furniture.

Here are some items that are available for you:

•    Main Bed Frame – a bed frame is bulky and usually has hardware that you need to remove.  Because of its bulk, you have to devote more time finishing this.

•    Free-standing multi-drawer cabinet – cabinet like this has several drawers, doors, metal attachments, and inside compartments.  If you buy unfinished bedroom cabinet, your finishing project will be a major one.

•    Futon frame – finishing unfinished futon frame is easier.

•    Night dresser – this item also has lots of drawer and attachments that you need to remove.  Night dressers also have mirrors so extra caution is required.

There are still other bedroom products that you can buy unfinished such as lamp tables, shoe rack, or provincial night stands.  It is important to choose a bedroom item that you can finish easily.  You should not buy big unfinished bedroom furniture if you are not prepared or if you do not have the time to finish it.  Start with small furniture and after you gain experience in finishing, then you can venture with larger bedroom furniture.