When ordering furniture, customers are usually shown a colour catalogue and choose by decor name. Yet it is the board underneath that decor that determines how the furniture behaves. Kronopol is one of the well-known European brands producing wood-based panels for furniture and flooring. Knowing what kinds of board it makes, and which one suits which part of a wardrobe, kitchen or bedroom, makes the order a more informed one.
Laminated chipboard: the backbone of the carcass
Kronopol's most widely used product in furniture is laminated chipboard. Decorative paper impregnated with melamine resin is pressed onto both faces of a particleboard core, producing a finished surface that needs no painting. Wardrobe and cabinet sides, shelves, bases and tops, and the carcasses of chests and bedside units are made from it.
Its advantages are obvious in daily use:
- Its face stands up fairly well to rubbing and marks, and a damp cloth is enough for cleaning.
- The same decor can be used on carcass and fronts, giving the furniture a unified look.
- The board stays stable during machining and cuts accurately.
Its limits should be known too. Cut edges absorb moisture if they are not sealed with edge banding, and a screw driven repeatedly into the same hole holds less well each time. If the furniture is expected to be taken apart and reassembled, the jointing method is therefore considered in advance.
MDF and HDF
Kronopol also produces MDF, pressed from much finer fibres. Its dense, uniform structure allows routing, shaped edges and painting, so in furniture it is chosen mainly for fronts, decorative panels and painted elements.
HDF is a thinner and denser fibreboard. Its main place in furniture is in parts you barely see but that still matter:
- Back panels of cabinets and wardrobes.
- Drawer bottoms.
- Light dividers and interior fittings.
Although a back panel is thin, it adds to the diagonal stiffness of the carcass. A properly fixed back stops a tall wardrobe from racking sideways over time.
Decors: more than colour
Wood, stone, textile-look and plain colour decors take up much of the Kronopol range. When choosing a decor, look at surface texture as well as colour. Wood-grain surfaces with a tactile structure look closer to real timber and hide small scratches. Completely smooth, dark or glossy surfaces show dust and fingerprints far more.
On large pieces such as wardrobes it helps to see a decor sample in the room's actual light: a beige that looks neutral in the catalogue can appear yellowish in daylight and darker under evening lamps.
Emission class and health
The adhesives in wood-based boards can contain formaldehyde. Emission classes are defined for furniture boards, and class E1 is the widely accepted level for use in living spaces. A laminated surface and fully sealed edges reduce emissions further. When ordering furniture for a child's room or bedroom, asking about the board's class is a sensible step.
Looking after laminated board in use
Furniture made from laminated board needs no special care, but a few rules keep it looking good for years:
- Wipe surfaces with a soft damp cloth and a neutral cleaner; scouring powders and hard sponges leave dull patches in the decor layer.
- Wipe up spilt water at once, especially where the edge banding meets the face. Moisture that seeps under the banding causes swelling over time.
- Do not put hot pans, an iron or a running hair dryer directly on the surface; high temperatures can mark or blister the decor layer.
- If wardrobe shelves will carry more weight than usual, such as stacks of books, say so when ordering so that shelf thickness and supports can be chosen accordingly.
For small scratches and chips there are repair waxes and markers in matching colours; they may not remove the damage completely, but they make it hard to notice.
Which board for which part
- Wardrobe and cabinet carcasses, shelves: laminated chipboard.
- Painted and routed fronts: MDF.
- Back panels and drawer bottoms: HDF.
- Long shelves: thicker board or an intermediate support, because the risk of sagging under load grows with length.
The board is only one component. Cutting accuracy, edge banding adhesion, fixings and hardware affect the result just as much.
Zaferoglu Mebel works with Kronopol and Egger boards for cabinet furniture. When ordering, you can look through decor samples and decide together which part of the furniture will be made from which board.
