Pros and Cons of Table Top Surfaces, Lesson 1: Wood Veneer

Wood Veneer:

Many (if not most) of the dining tables you will find in full-service and "big-box" furniture stores these days have wood veneer table tops. The reason for this is threefold: 1. Full service stores are usually trying to sell full dining rooms (as opposed to kitchen sets) where they expect you to use (and hope you will buy) a table pad, 2. Wood veneer tables usually cost less than solid wood (i.e. better price point), and 3. Wood veneer often looks “prettier” in the showroom.

PROS:

Wood veneers allow furniture manufacturers to create either decorative inlays or visually seamless surfaces on the table top. For this reason, wood veneer tops tend to be an attractive option for formal dining rooms and sleek, contemporary pieces, where appearance is the most important aspect of the table. As I mentioned in the preface, wood veneer tops are usually less expensive than their solid wood counterparts.

CONS: 
Structurally, a wood veneer top is merely a thin sheet of wood which is glued to a substrate (usually particle board, unless it is a very high-end piece of furniture where solid planks or plywood is used). Wood, by nature, is a POUROUS substance, so it will allow moisture, heat and cold to pass through it. (Keep in mind that wood exists in nature to transport moisture up and down a tree. IT DOES NOT EXIST TO BECOME A TABLE TOP!) Therefore, if you let something like spilled water sit on a wood veneer top for an extended period of time (5 minutes - 1 hour, depending on the table), the moisture can pass right through the thin top layer to the glue beneath, at which point it can cause the glue to lose its adhesion properties. Next thing you know, you have a bubble in your table top. The same thing can happen to the glue when the table is subjected to moderate to high heat and cold. Unlike a solid wood table top, once a veneer top is damaged by heat, cold, or moisture, it is often impossible to fix (or the cost to fix may outweigh the cost of a new table!) Better quality manufacturers may apply a “catalyzed” varnish to the table, which significantly improves the top’s moisture and chemical resistance; however, this will do virtually nothing to protect the top from heat and cold.

SUMMARY: If you plan on using a table pad and/or protective table cloth, or if you take exceptional care of your furniture, a wood veneer table top will be an attractive and functional surface for you to own. If, however, you do NOT like the idea of having to protect your top from everyday wear-and-tear, do NOT buy a table with a wood veneer top. I can’t stress this enough; you will be very disappointed in its durability. If you fall into this second category, make sure you ask your furniture sales person if the table you’re considering is made of solid wood or wood veneer. Solid wood is not indestructible (I’ll talk about that in another post), but it is exponentially more durable than a veneer surface.

TIP: If you can see “butcher blocks” of wood or long “planks” of wood stretching across the top, it’s probably SOLID wood.  If you see decorative patterns inlaid in the top or no seams at all until you get to the edge of the top, it’s veneer. The exception to this rule is if the top is painted rather than stained – you may not be able to see the wood lines through the paint. In this case, look under the table for the planks or butcher blocks, or ask your sales person to be sure of its construction type.

If you really want a care-free table surface, you may want to consider something other than a wood-based top altogether, such as high-pressure laminate (i.e. Formica or Wilsonart) or solid surface (i.e. Corian or Granite). I’ll talk about those kinds of products in future blogs. Stay tuned, and thanks for reading!


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