Softwood Furniture Types

As an inexpensive yet elegant building material, softwood is a great match for the low-cost, laidback vibe of the futon. Though most softwoods are not as strong or as durable as hardwoods, there are some excellent softwood species that have been used in furniture production for centuries because of their beauty, workability, and natural resiliency. Pine and cedar, for example, were often used in American Colonial-era furniture.

Conifers - the cone-bearing evergreens from which softwood is derived - have a different type of water transport system than the angiosperms or flowering trees that yield hardwood, using small valves rather than pores or tubular vessel cells. Softwood trees also have a less complex cellular structure. This combination of qualities results in wood that is softer and close-grained, with a more uniform structure (hardwoods tend to have a richer grain and more distinctive markings). Softwoods grow faster than hardwoods and they're easier to cultivate and process - all reasons why futon frames made from softwoods are less expensive. The futon chairs and other furniture pieces at AffordableFutons.com are made primarily from three types of softwood (along with the hardwood species mentioned in our Hardwood Furniture Types article):

Cedar
Perhaps the most distinctively aromatic of all woods - and we mean that in a good way - cedar has a long and storied history of human use, beginning at least as far back as the shipbuilding peoples of ancient Phoenicia. As a furniture wood used in futons (or, more commonly, outdoor furniture), cedar's natural resistance to insects, moisture, and decay is a significant benefit in humid climates. Cedar is a lightweight, close-grained wood that is light red in color.

Pine

Few, if any, softwoods have been as commonly used in furniture production as pine. Several different pine species are used to make furniture, with colors ranging from white cream to tan to pale yellow or brown. Most unfinished wood furniture is made from white pine. Why so popular, you ask? Because pine is lightweight, yet also very durable and strong. It's not the most distinctive-looking wood, but pine's knotty appearance lends individuality to each piece. Pine is an excellent wood for staining, though applying a sealant beforehand will help produce more consistent results.

Cypress
The cypress tree is one of only two soft woods that, hardwood-like, sheds its foliage in autumn. In fact, though cypress is a softwood, it's graded as a hardwood according to the rules of the National Hardwood Lumber Association. What makes cypress highly valued is that it's an extraordinarily durable wood. Its close grain gives it resistance to checking and warping, and cypress trees generate an oil, cypressene, which preserves the wood and resists insects and rot. Off-white to honey or deep red in color, cypress is one of the longest-lasting, most unique members of the soft wood family.