**Update** MDF vs. real wood--questions about buying furniture

[mommyj_2]

Update:
Thanks so much for all of your replies. We went ahead and got the set from Costco. The quality seems to be great, and it looks gorgeous in our house, even better than it did under the bright lights in the store. It looks great with DS' train table (which is the PBK honey one). It also looks adorable with the Zanzibar stuff. I couldn't be happier.
Thanks again for helping me think this over :)
When we got the dresser out of the box, but DS (who's 2.5 now) said, "That's beautiful!" DH and I almost died.



I'm trying to find a bedroom set with a trundle bed for my DS' room. I love the blue/honey set Costco has right now http://www.costco.com/Browse/Productgroup.aspx?Prodid=11066497&whse=BC&topnav=&browse=
It's much cheaper in the stores. Anyway, my only hesitation is it's MDF. I've been looking online at a bunch of sites, and it seems most furniture is MDF now. I love real wood, but the only real wood sets I've found are way more expensive.
So, I'm wondering what other people have done and why. I would love to get some opinions on the pros/cons of each. My main hesitation with the Costco set is that I know MDF gets marked up more easily. Do you think I could just get blue paint to cover and scratches or places it gets chipped?
My DS is still co-sleeping, but he's really into his bedroom lately, so I figured we could buy a set now and then have it if/when he wants to sleep in there. In the meantime, we would have it for company (and for the cuteness factor).
Also, do you think that set would be cute with the Zanzibar bedding set by Kidsline?
Feel free to asnwer any/all of my questions. This turned out to be longer than I thought it would.

[mommyj_2]

BUMP
Anyone???
Do you have real wood furniture in your DC's room?
Do you usually buy new or used?

TIA!

[holliam]

I don't mind MDF for occasional use furniture or furniture that will get beaten up and not needed to last forever, such as kids' activity tables, toys, craft room. But, for things like bedroom suites, I definitely prefer wood. My daughter's furniture is solid wood.

Holli

[BeachBaby]

Have you checked this out IRL? I only ask because the site says that it is "constructed of a combination of *solid hardwood*, MDF, and select veneers". Could it be that the bulk of the furniture is real wood, and the MDF is somewhere less significant like the bottom of a drawer?

And I really have no idea about this, but it also says that the furniture is stained and then lacquered. This also leads me to believe that at least the "exposed" sides of the pieces are wood because I wouldn't imagine that you could stain and lacquer MDF. But, again, I really have no idea and could be completely wrong.

Anyway, it's a cute set.

[Dcclerk]

My husband does woodworking and made a good number of the pieces of furniture in our house (our bed, night stands, armoire, bookcases, dresser, etc.). For most of each piece, he uses real wood, but for some of the sides and bottoms of drawers he uses pressed wood because it is actually more durable (and is cheaper). I am pretty sure that the pressed wood he uses is plywood, not MDF, though. I totally agree with checking it out in real life. It may be really sturdy.

I also think it really depends on your philosophy of furniture. I grew up with a lot of IKEA and "throw away" furniture (not that all IKEA is, I'm sure). When my parents grew tired of something, they got rid of it and replaced it. Everything in my house growing up had a relatively short life span, so they could somewhat roll with the trends. (I say somewhat, because they are FAR from cutting edge ;) ). They also didn't get freaked when any of the 4 kids messed something up.

My DH and I go the other way, we tend to acquire very heavy duty pieces of furniture one at a time, and plan to keep them forever (or close to it). We have quite a mix of really nice stuff, and garage sale finds or hand-me-downs. The cheap stuff is replaced at a snail's pace, and our house is not very well-decorated, but we are trying to acquire things that we love and will have forever.

Good luck with whatever you choose :)

[bostonsmama]

It's not that they would stain the MDF directly, rather they would apply a microscopically thin layer of veneer over the MDF and then stain THAT. I don't think I'd ever get furniture that was predominantly MDF, that's why we avoid Pottery Barn and Pottery Barn Kids furniture that is made with it. MDF certainly does not say durable to me. The most important factor to consider is that if it gets wet in any way (drool, cup of juice spilled at night, bed wetting that leaks onto the frame, a "sweating" cup that sits atop a dresser, etc), it will warp and degrade the strength of the product, making it unsafe depending on the area (especialy if it's in a bed).

Now, I looked at the link and it's quite an attractive set. Costco makes great products (for the most part) and has an excellent return policy. I'm just a little suprised at the price of the 3-pc bedroom set. $1500 seems a little high for furniture that isn't predominantly solid wood (especially since you can get a 7-pc bedroom set for adults for $999 at most middle of the road furniture stores). I bet if you called one of the Costcos in...Arizona maybe? that has a Costco Home Decor store, you might be able to speak to an associate who knows exactly WHAT is MDF on the piece, especially since they might have it in stock in their store. IMO, it's not unreasonable to have MDF on the back of the dresser, on the bottoms of the drawers (although plywood is preferable), and maybe as paneling on the footboard, but the rest should be solid, especially the bed rails and dresser/night stand tops. It has to withstand a bouncing kid, IYKWIM!

We only have 2 pcs of furniture w/ MDF in our house: a bookshelf and a computer desk handed down from DH's work, and the desk already bears an ugly, swollen water mark from a glass that sweat when we sat it down near the keyboard. The MDF bookshelves on my case are also starting to sag. It's just not meant to be for the long-term. With that said, if I was sufficed with the results of the phone call to Costco Home, I'd probably get it.

Larissa
***Cheers! Here's to better luck in 2006!***

"Children have never been very good at listening to their elders, but they have never failed to imitate them."
-James Baldwin

[mommyj_2]

The in store price is considerably lower (the trundle bed is around $440 and the dresser is also around $430).
Thanks for the ideas on what questions to ask.
I agree about MDF not holding up well, which was my main concern. I'll check into this more and see which parts of the set are hardwood. I'm looking at some other sets as well, but I love this set, and it's even cuter IRL. Hmmmmmm..........

[mommyj_2]

Thanks for the replies. I love all the info the mamas on BBB have. I hadn't thought about the different pieces being made of different materials, and the possible reasons for it. Now it makes sense why even the more expensive furniture I've been looking at recently lists MDF along with hardwood.
I also love the Stanley low post louver bed here:
http://www.furniturelandsouth.com/qsearch.pl?cat=28&item=27&total=16&name=Beds-Trundle
I'll probably never make up my mind.

[boogiemom]

I'm not a fan of MDF but understand sometimes you just can't always afford the amish-made, solid hardwood............. :)

Just an observation about the bed's you like though:

If you want this bed to be his bed for the "long-haul", you might want to consider how tall he will likely grow to be. My sons are in the 95th percentile like their daddy so I won't buy them a bed with a headboard and footboard because they will probably be too tall as teens. My husband can't sleep comfortably with a footboard on his bed as his feet would touch it. Of course, it doesn't matter if this will only be his bed as a young child. Anyway, just something to consider. I'm short so it never occurred to me but my husband definitely had an opinion on this issue.

Don't forget to check out a local unfinished furniture store. We have bought our nicer pieces from our local store and they tend to have sales this time of year.

Good Luck!

[daniele_ut]

I did see this set IRL last week and I think that a good amount of it *is* real wood. The online prices include shipping so they are obviously much higher (kind of ridiculously so, though!). I was impressed by the set and have considered picking it up for Logan, but we likely won't need it for 18 months at least, so I am restraining myself. The dresser drawers were made of solid wood and assembled with dovetail joints.

[marit]

I don't know anything avout MDF vs. Wood, but just wanted to say that I saw the set at Costco and thought it was beautiful! It also looked very sturdy to me.

[lizamann]

No advice really, just our story.

I searched high and low for 2 dressers and a night stand for dd's room before she was born. I was willing to spend big bucks on real hardwood furniture that would carry her till college and still be good enough to move with her later, or sell, or give to someone else, but it was so hard to find! The stuff in the $1000 range for one dresser just wasn't high quality enough for me to justify that kind of money. I suppose I should have looked higher end, like at the custom Amish stuff, but just gave up after a while.

Then my mom found some really cute white MDF stuff at Target. I spent about $400 or less on the whole thing including delivery. I've been quite happy with it for nearly 3 years, and it survived a move up several flights of stairs just fine. I'm sure it will last many many more years, but it's certainly not going to my grandchildren.

I am going to be buying dd a bed soon, and I THINK I will go the hardwood route, but I may again get sucked into something cheap and cute a la that Costco stuff.

[kath68]

I agree. My DH does woodworking, too. From what he says (and does) MDF is the material of choice for certain applications and certain parts of furniture. Solid wood furniture doesn't necessarily mean that it is better made. Veneer isn't necessarily bad. It is always a good idea to look at the piece in person, and look at the parts that don't show. Look at the joints, the drawers, the underside. Really good quality stuff has dove-tail joints. Feel how the drawers slide.

Also, FWIW, be very very skeptical of advertising of less expensive "solid wood" furniture. I know of a law firm that makes its living predominantly from suing furniture manufacturers who claim that the furniture is solid wood when it really isn't. If it seems too cheap to be solid wood, it probably is. And, of course, not all kinds of wood are created equal. Pine is not as durable as cherry, for example.

Of course, MDF furniture can also be really cheap, non-durable stuff. That has been my experience with Target-type furniture. It falls apart as soon as you try to move it. Plus, it is darned heavy.

I think the rule to live by when buying furniture is that you get what you pay for.

[Neatfreak]

I've always found MDF to be really tough - it was much harder to install our 3/4" MDF baseboards at my house than the 3/4" maple baseboards at my parents. We had to buy a nailgun, actually. Particle board, on the otherhand, isn't a durable choice. Veneer on particle boards seems to warp the easiet of all around here.

The bedroom set is really cute!

[bostonsmama]

There are many different grades of MDF now, so I bet you had a high density MDF for your baseboards, making them harder to nail through. It is heat-compressed saw dust after all, but it's durable and useful where it needs to be. It's heavier than wood and plywood, and it's cheaper (although it has its drawbacks w/ certain fasteners/screws). But who is to say what grade of MDF is the underlayment for the veneer on the furniture? That would be a really interesting question!

And yes, particle board is worse than MDF when it comes to water resistance, although they're both sponges IME. There's a great discussion of the differences at this link:
http://www.woodweb.com/knowledge_base/MDF_versus_particleboard.html

And here's another discussion about whether MDF belongs in fine furniture, or whether it's a contradiction of terms:
http://www.woodweb.com/knowledge_base/MDF_and_fine_furniture.html

Some food for thought!

Larissa
***Cheers! Here's to better luck in 2006!***

"Children have never been very good at listening to their elders, but they have never failed to imitate them."
-James Baldwin

[kath68]

thanks for the links -- I looked at the one re: fine furniture. I think it all depends on what you want from your furniture; purists who are looking for heirloom furniture to hand down in the family, who want hand crafting from start to finish, etc. will naturally not want furniture with mdf in it. Totally understandable.

But, mdf is not inconsistent with durable, well made furniture. It is a modern product, which traditionalists, by their nature, do not trust/value. IME there are lots of woodworkers who are traditionalists (no nails ever!) and there will always be a market for furniture made "the old fashioned way." That's a good thing -- but that furniture is out of reach for most people. So it is good that there are alternatives out there for the rest of us.

Furniture is one of those things that 99% of us know nothing about, and we have to trust that the manufacturers are giving us a good product. It would be nice if there was a short-cut rule that all mdf is cheap, for example, but it is never that simple, is it? Sigh.

To the OP: Good luck with your purchase, and I hope you enjoy it!

[kijip]

You said it was less at the store than on the website. I am going to be looking for a set for Toby in the next 6 months or so and think it looks pretty cute!

[linsei]

Both of the sets are really cute. I just wanted to agree with another poster that suggested that you consider how long you wanted it to last. I tend to save up to buy heirloom quality pieces. If you want it to be passed on, go with something higher quality. It will still scratch/scuff/etc, but at least you don't see unsightly stuff underneath. If you tire of furniure after a few years, it's probably ok to go with a cute, lower priced set.

Do you already have that bedding set?

Linda

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[mommyj_2]

The bed was around $440, and the dresser was also around $440. They didn't have the shelves or other pieces from the set at my Costco, but they had the bed and the dresser.

[mommyj_2]

I have the quilt, which I plan to hang on the wall. I also have the curtains, valence, lamp, growth chart, & picture frame. I'll probably get a beige or brown comforter for his bed when we get it.
Do you think it would be cute with the blue set? I'm still trying to decide.

[JustMe]

I am so glad to hear you are happy with your purchase!

I am thinking about buying the white Meridian sleigh bed that is on Costco's site...but wondered about quality, etc...I want the bed to last at least until dd is 18.

Robyn
mom to an almost 3 year old from Guatemala

[mommyj_2]

If it's like this set, the quality seems really good. Someone recommended I call and ask the store which parts were solid wood, etc. Maybe you could call the Costco website and ask more questions about the bed.
The set we got feels a million times sturdier than PBKs furniture (theirs is MDF and not solid wood).
HTH

[ctmom]

just an fyi, here is a link for another white bedroom set from Costco that is on sale in February...
http://www.costco.com/Browse/Productgroup.aspx?Prodid=11107030

[JustMe]

Thanks for the feedback on my questions about buying a white bed from Costco for my daughter and sorry to jump on this thread (although I hope its okay because the original poster has gotten her bed already)!

I posted under a new thread, but in case anyone here missed that, can anyone who bought from Costco tell me how hard/easy assembly was. I went ahead and ordered the Lauren twin trundle and am expecting delivery this Fri. I am single and am just wondering if I can do it myself or need to start recruiting help!

TIA,
Robyn
mom to an almost 3 yr old from Guatemala

[mommyj_2]

I bought the blue trundle, but if the one you bought is like the one I bought, you will need help. It took 2 people for us to put it together. Also, the dresser was really heavy. I'm not sure if you got a dresser, but the one we got is solid wood, and it came already assembled. It took 2 guys to carry it upstairs, and they were having a hard time doing it.
I'm glad you bumped this thread up so I can report that we are loving the furniture. DS has insisted on sleeping in his own bed every night (up until a few weeks ago, he co-slept full time, and we never even suggested that he stop. He just decided it was time). Anyway, we couldn't be happier with the set.

[JustMe]

I'm glad to hear that you are so happy with the furniture!

I only bought the trundle bed, so no dresser, but thanks for the heads up. Looks like I will have to start recruiting for help! Was it hard for the 2 people to put the bed together?
Were the instructions hard to follow? How long did it take!

Thanks.

Robyn

[mommyj_2]

It wasn't hard. My DH did most of it, and then I just needed to hold the footboard for part of the time near the end of the whole process. Mostly I just made sure DS wasn't taking off with the screws. I don't remember how long it took. It took a little while, because the trundle needed to be put together, all the slats needed to screwed in place on the bed, etc.

[JustMe]

Thanks!

Robyn