Add Charm with an Unfinished Corner Cabinet

If you want both beauty and storage space, an unfinished corner cabinet is the choice for you. You can show off a favorite china collection or store a television and stereo system on its shelves, and you can finish it to match your decor.

The high quality of an unfinished corner cabinet cannot be matched by a prefinished cabinet in the same price range. Unfinished wood furniture is constructed from real wood, not particle board – a product made of bonded wood chips. Real wood furniture can last for decades, providing service and pleasure to generations. Particle board seldom survives more than a decade of normal use. Much prefinished “all-wood” furniture is actually made of particle board covered by a wood veneer. Unfinished wood furniture is typically made from high-quality kiln-dried wood that has been carefully handled and is free of knots, cracks, and other weaknesses. An unfinished corner cabinet will serve you for a lifetime.

You can find unfinished corner cabinets with a variety of colors, grain patterns, and hardness, depending on the kind of wood the piece is made from. Furniture can be made from hardwood, softwood, or a mix of both. Hardwoods such as oak, maple, birch, and mahogany are commonly used for furniture, while cedar, fir, hemlock, pine, redwood and spruce are widely available softwoods. Many woods are associated with particular decorative style. You can add country charm with an unfinished corner cabinet made of pine or a note of dignity with a cabinet of maple.

An unfinished corner cabinet can be given a clear or natural finish, which shows off the beauty of the wood. It can also be a blank canvas for a variety of creative finishing techniques. It is a wonderful base for painted finishes of all kinds – it can be stenciled, colorwashed, ragged, antiqued, scratch finished, freehand painted, stamped, decoupaged, tiled, sponge painted, gilded, stippled, or even made into a chalkboard! The effect can be formal or frivolous, traditional or avant garde.

A natural finish requires a stain followed by a protective topcoat. Most unfinished pieces need additional fine sanding before finishing. This eliminates any surface fuzz or roughness that will show when the stain is applied, as well as removing any oils that may have clung when the furniture was touched by human hands. Use very fine sandpaper, and always sand in the direction of the grain. Then rub surface with a tack rag to remove any dust. Stains can be water-based or oil-based, liquid or gel, designed to be the first step in a multi-step procedure or incorporated into a one-step finishing project. Each manufacturer issues directions and safety warnings with its products. Be sure to follow all safety precautions and to follow directions carefully when working with unfinished furniture.

Whether you long for classical elegance or country charm, you can find it with an unfinished corner cabinet.