MDF wood vs Plywood: Which material is best for your home furniture

There are different types of engineered wood available in the market like plywood, MDF board and MDF sheet, high-density fiberboard, particleboard, etc. Plywood and MDF are both engineered wood products popularly used for home décor and furniture making. However, When we compare MDF vs plywood, both have their own pros and cons. Confused, what would work best for you? Don't you worry as we have made an exhaustive list to help you make a choice that best suits your needs.

When building with plywood, the option to stain and finish the surface is a great option to enhance your project's aesthetics. Staining plywood requires the use of special gel stains, but by preconditioning the wood you can use any wood stain. This allows your finished product to have a uniform colour, even if it is made of several types of wood.
 

MDF Wood Vs Plywood: Which Material is Best for Your Home Furniture?

• MDF is very uniform throughout, so cut edges appear smooth and won’t have voids or fragments.
  
  
• The texture and smoothness of MDF permit easy cutting of detailed designs.

Advantages of Plywood

• As it consists of layers of wood veneer with the grain on each layer running in a different direction, plywood for furniture is preferred owing to its very strong building material.
  
  
• It’s less prone to water damage than MDF, and won’t soak up water and swell as fast or quickly as MDF.
  
  
• It’s not stainable, which makes it ideal for kitchen cabinets, tabletops, and other projects where you want a large stained wood surface.
  
  
• It holds screws very tightly since the variable grains of wood on each layer give the screws something to hold onto.
  
  
• While most plywood does have urea-formaldehyde and other VOCs, it is now attainable to purchase plywood without formaldehyde. 

Disadvantages of Plywood

• Plywood price is steeper than MDF cost.  And obviously, the higher the grade, and the more special the species of wood, the more expensive it gets.
  
  
• Plywood will often splinter on the edges when cut, so it’s harder to get a smooth cut with plywood than it is with MDF.
  
  
• It’s more challenging to cut detailed designs into plywood (scrolled, scalloped, etc.) because the edges will splinter, and then you’re left with edges that show layers and might possibly have voids in some places.
  
  
• Due to the layers that show on the edge, one has to finish off the edges somehow.  This can be accomplished with iron-on edge banding or with pieces of lumber or decorative moulding.
  
  
• Like MDF, most plywoods comprise urea-formaldehyde and other VOCs which can off-gas into your house. One should take safeguards while cutting.

Both MDF and plywood are high-quality materials that are excellent for a number of different projects including furniture for modular homes. The key is to understand where and how they individually excel and then utilise them in that capacity.