A few details that can help you differentiate quality pieces from poor ones

When it comes to interior design, wood can never go out of style. Depending on the overall appearance of your place and its main theme, you can always find an appropriate shade of wood that can complete the whole picture. When a furniture piece made out of wood catches your eye or even if it just contains some wooden elements, the first thing you need to ask your vendor is what kind of wood is it. There are two basic types of wood – hardwood and softwood, depending on whether they're made out of a deciduous or coniferous type of tree. Your goal is to find a wooden piece of furniture that’s scratch resistant, no matter which tree it’s made of – unless you specifically desire to have something popular (like oak) in your home.

Get familiar with wood types and what to avoid when buying a wooden piece

There’s a simple test you can try if you want to find out if the piece of furniture is truly scratch-free, as the vendor claims – simply draw a line with your fingernail across the surface and voila! If you want to be thorough when it comes to the quality of your potential new piece, you need to really look at the smallest details – open every single drawer up and have a peek at every corner. You’re looking for a seeable knot on the wooden surface, some nails that stick out or the smallest track that could indicate a poor glue job. You'll want to have a wooden piece of furniture that’s put together with dowels or screws – they tend to be a lot more stable than the other ones.

Some materials from which surfaces are usually made should be avoided.

Before you buy any piece of furniture, you should definitely check out its making-of history. Some pieces could be treated with toxic substances, in order to become stain or scratch resistant. So basically, you should tend to avoid anything that’s made from artificial materials – like vinyl or PVC. This list includes plywood, particleboard, artificial leather, bean bags, bedcovers or inflatable furniture. The process of manufacturing these materials in most cases requires the usage of vinyl. Additionally, every material that’s classified as MDF (Medium Density Fiberboard) should be avoided, since it represents a mixture of glue, wax and sawdust – which can't possibly turn out to be neither resistant, nor something of quality.

Learn about upholstered furniture, so that you can find something really durable and comfortable.

When you think of a perfect sofa, you probably feel like Goldilocks – you want something that’s not too hard and not too soft, something that’s perfect for an afternoon nap. Every upholstered piece of furniture is labeled with a letter regarding its maintenance – X stands for vacuuming only, W stands for water-related cleaning and S is for dry-cleaning only. It’s important to adjust these cleaning instructions to your home maintenance conditions.

Besides that, you should first test a piece you like and pay attention to a couple of details. For example, it’s recommended to sit on a couple of different places to see how far apart the springs placed – they should not be more than a few inches separated from each other. You should be looking for springs made out of coil, grind, cone, sinuous... Also, you need to press the piece with your hands – in an ideal situation you should not be able to feel the frame inside.

When buying office furniture, you should be extra cautious when it comes to the final selection

All pieces of furniture in an office should be picked out carefully because there are a few important details you should have in mind. You need to know that the surroundings in an office should be stimulating and peaceful – it affects the employees more than you know. But before you start scouting for pieces, you need to decide whether you want to have a modern, glass encased office or a cozy one, where wood is the dominant material. It all should depend on how you want to run your business.

Usually, the employees spend most of the time seated behind their desks. That may be tiring after some longer period of time, but only if you choose a wrong type of chairs for your office. You need to look for a chair that’s fully adjustable so that every employee can find it comfortable. The recommended types of chairs that offer a greater level of comfort are the ones made to support the whole human body, especially your back. Taking into account the fact that you spend a long part of the day in the office, it’s understandable how great of an impact on your health these things are. When sitting at your computer or afterwards, you probably feel a pain in your neck, shoulders or back. If you want to avoid a couple of expensive visits to your physiotherapist, you should find an adjustable chair – depth and height. Some chairs offer a special back angle, intended for rest.

This should be enough to get you going. Furniture, both in your home and in your office plays a great role – decorative and comfortable. These are important aspects of our lives, so it is important pay close attention to what we are investing in.