"Solid wood." "Premium metal." "Handcrafted." Furniture listings use these words so often they've stopped meaning much. Some of them are accurate. Many aren't. Here's how to tell the difference by material, before you buy rather than after it arrives.
Wood: solid, veneer, or neither
Solid wood is cut from a single piece, or joined from a few, and shows the same grain running through the whole piece, including the edges. Veneer is a thin layer of real wood glued over cheaper material underneath — it can look identical in a photo but reveals a different, flatter material the moment you look at a cut edge or corner. Particleboard and MDF are neither: pressed wood fibre and glue, heavier than solid wood for the same size, and the first thing to swell or crumble if it ever gets damp. None of these are automatically the wrong choice — a veneer piece can be perfectly fine for light use — but the price should reflect which one you're actually buying, and the listing should say so outright.
Metal: frame thickness and finish
A metal frame's job is to hold weight without flexing. Thin-gauge tubing feels springy if you press on it; a properly built frame won't. The finish matters too — powder coating is baked on and resists chipping, while a thin painted or sprayed finish scratches down to bare metal within a season.
Glass and ceramic: weight and thickness
Cheap glass is usually thin and light for its size, and can chip on a corner impact where thicker, properly tempered glass won't. Ceramic works the same way — a heavier piece with an even, properly fired glaze will outlast a thin, lightweight one that looks identical in a photo.
Textiles: fibre and weight
Natural fibres — linen, cotton, wool — breathe and age well; synthetic blends are usually there to cut cost, not to improve the fabric. Weight is a decent proxy you can sometimes judge from other customers' photos: a fabric that looks thin and see-through in someone else's living room will look the same in yours.
Hardware: the small parts that fail first
Hinges, drawer slides, the point where a table leg meets the frame — these carry the most repeated stress, and they're the first place manufacturers cut cost. Metal hardware that's actually bolted or screwed in holds up for years; plastic clips holding a heavy tabletop generally don't, no matter how solid the tabletop itself is.
What this looks like on one real piece
Side Table Igor is a straightforward example: a solid wood top — real grain, not printed veneer — on a black metal frame shaped to slide under a sofa or bed. No particleboard, no hidden plastic joints holding up the weight.
The piece from this guide
Side Table Igor — €119.95
Solid wood top, black metal frame, rolls wherever the evening goes. A concrete example of everything above, not just a description of it.
Shop Side Table Igor →This is one piece of a bigger picture. For the fuller framework — not just materials, but how we vet a product before it's listed at all — see How to Spot Quality Home Décor Before You Buy →