People usually hesitate to choose a furniture made of engineered wood. Does this make sense? Here we go to discover the pros and cons of MDF, which is a common used material for KD indoor furniture.

What is MDF?

MDF is abbreviation of “Middle Density Fiberboard”, it is one kind of engineered wood made by breaking down wood residuals, which is usually a byproduct of industrial cutting, into wood fibers, and then mixing it with wax and a resin binder and forming it into panels by applying high temperature and pressure. By this way, panels become rigid with a hard shell. Last step, the machine will sand the panels down, making them a smooth finish before cutting them to fixed dimensions. MDF is generally more dense than plywood.

Pros and Cons of MDF vs Solid Wood

• MDF is budget friendly than solid wood or plywood
• The surface of MDF is very smooth, so it doesn’t cost more paint to achieve a welcoming finish than solid wood
• MDF is better anti insect than solid wood
• MDF is eco-friendly products that help to cut down usage of wood timber
• Because it consists of such fine particles, MDF doesn’t hold screws very well than solid wood. So in structure design, manufacturer usually use metal to metal mechanism to improve that issue.
• MDF can’t be stained. Not only does it soak up stain like a sponge but because there’s no wood grain on MDF, it looks awful when it’s stained. So, if you need stain finish, you can put a layer of Solid Wood veneered to achieve same wood grain as real solid wood but keep cost saving.
• MDF contains formaldehyde because of resin used. While we use CarbP2 or E1 certificated material, the affect is very small to people.

So, your decision?

In conclusion, MDF is more suited for indoor furniture design,  especially good for small furniture like white small side table, slim console table, sofa chairside table, ladder bookcase etc. Moisture is not kind to MDF, but it is also affects the strength of solid wood. It is still a wise choice to buy MDF made items for a budget project.