Bedroom Talk

I'm buying new bedroom furniture, what kind of wood should I look for?

Hi, I don't know much about furniture other than saying something is cute or not, but I was told by a friend that I should stick with solid wood construction and avoid veneers, but I noticed that there are a lot of different varieties of wood used in different furniture sets. So far I've seen pine, maple, oak, alder, cherry, and mahogany. What's the best? What makes it best? What makes other wood cheap or poor quality? And is there a site online that can help to better explain why I want a better quality wood for my furniture and what in fact makes it better? I'm really hoping someone can help me out because I want to buy a nice quality bedroom set and I don't want to pay top dollar for junky furniture either. Thanks in advance. What about this furniture? Does it seem okay? http://www.mybobs.com/catalog/set_view.asp?packageid=585&room=bedroom

Public Comments

1. Just for bedroom furniture it doesnt make a big difference. If you want it to look welcoming I'd choose cherry. Its my favorite. And for what wood is better, none are better than the other. Its just how you use them. Cherry is about middle price, maybe upper, looks great, and is a hard wood (less dings and scratches).
2. well this is a bit complicated to get solid wood other than Oak you will need a good size chunk of change the whole point of veneers is to enjoy the beauty of expensive wood at low cost and even fine furniture utilizes them what you need to do is get the furniture that looks the best to you as far as construction avoid Particleboard and wafer board look for mortised and dovetail joints as far as types of wood and expense it gets really complicated - Oak and Pine are cheap because they are grown and harvested in this country whereas Mahogany and Teak are imported most woods make excellent furniture ( as far as durability ) choose the one that looks the best and fits your decor
3. The wood species is up to you, what do you like? If you choose a posted set, the posts should be solid wood. Any panels you choose can be veneered or solid. Veneer panels are much better than they used to be. The glues used are better and manufacturers are willing to stand behind them. Solid wood panels are beautiful but may require multiple glue joints to achieve adequate width. This can create inconsistent grain patterns. If you see something that looks good at the store, but when you get it it doesn't look so great, go back to the store and demand the display. They tend to show the best. Hope this helps. I like Says Me's dovetails and mortises!
4. I have a teak bedroom set, a little more work cause it needs to be oiled but it is a lovely warm wood...check it out