Hi sleepy!
Im no timber expert, but i have had a bit to do with wood in my hobbies.
pine is a timber, timber is wood, wood is classified as either hArd or soft. Some are used for their physical properties, cost, or appearance.
When someone says it is made of timber, you need to ask what timber.
pine is a softwood, that is very good for building furniture with. Its a relatively cheap material, and will damage easily. If its not dried out enough, the moisture in the wood can seep through any paint or stain that you put on.
in a sense it is inferior to hard woods, but pine is a pretty versatile material, but its not really strong (so Be careful if you stand on it).
A lot of covered furniture (Couches) are made from ply, pine and a composite material made from bamboo, pine, or other fast growing, cheap materials. They can be prone to breaking, especially with kids jumping on them 🙂
melamine, particleboard or chipboard is made from chips of timber, and is pressed and glued into sheets. The flat pack kits you but are made from these. They are a little unforgiving as the wood can split and fail where a screw is. I wouldnt buy furniture made from this if i could help it.
plywood sort of fits into the above, as it is thin slices of wood glued together in layers with the grain running in opposing directions. This makes for a strong piece of timber. Cabinet sides can often be ply as its cheap and strong, but doesn't look nice raw.
hardwoods are robust but expensive such as walnut, mahogany, maple, oak, cherry, rosewood. And they aLl look really nice varnished (not painted). If you had furniture made from these you wouldn't want them covered, but To show them off.
veneer (a thin piece of wood covering a cheaper piece to make it look nice) covered items can be pricey too, but they look nice. Generally jewellery boxes and intricate side tables.
if something is pine, it should be ok. If its raw pine you can either leave raw, stain or paint it.
and just to confuse it more, balsa (a really light soft wood) is actually classified as a hardwood.
hope that helps.
Not_Batman
