Buy cupboard furniture: What you should definitely look out for

Consumers who want to buy new cupboard furniture not only have to choose between various furniture manufacturers and several products each. They also have to consider what kind of wardrobe they need, what dimensions it should have and what wood it should be made of.

List of members of cabinet manufacturers

What is wardrobe furniture?

Cupboards are pieces of furniture for storing certain objects (clothes, shoes, laundry, books, crockery, etc.) in an orderly and well-arranged way. They come in various dimensions and designs, depending on what and how much is to be stored in them. Cupboard furniture has doors on its front and, like other objects of daily use, is subject to stylistic developments and trends.

What types of cabinet furniture are there?

Cupboards are either made of solid wood or chipboard coated with plastic or veneer.
Pieces of furniture made of solid wood are more stable and durable than cupboards made of chipboard: With proper care, you can even pass them on to your grandchildren. Depending on what you store in them or where you place the furniture, a distinction is made between

• Wardrobe
• Linen cupboard
• Shoe cupboard
• Bookcase
• Kitchen cupboard
• storage cupboard etc.

The practical piece of furniture is available in the versions standing cupboard and wall cupboard. It is mounted on the wall. With many cupboards, the surface can be used as additional storage space. This is the case with chests of drawers, for example. Cupboards are usually legged and have one to five doors, depending on their size. Their front can be completely or partially mirrored (mirrored wardrobes). Some models are designed with transparent glass as a showcase. In addition, the cabinet surface can still have a high-gloss finish and be treated with special wax or oil.

Who needs cupboard furniture?

Cupboards are basically important for everyone who wants to store their clothes, linen, crockery and other items in a way that is dust-proof, out of sight and in accordance with their personal system of organisation.

Which woods do you use for cupboard furniture?

If you want to buy a cupboard, you also have a wide choice of woods used for manufacturing:

• Pine
• Ash
• Birch
• Spruce
• Oak
• Alder

Exotic tropical woods are also used. When buying furniture, you should always choose wood that is certified. This shows whether the wood comes from sustainable forest management. A widespread certification system with demanding standards comes from the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), which has been internationally active since 1993. Its label identifies wood as comparatively harmless. Worldwide, around 166 million hectares of forest are now FSC-certified - of which over 570,000 hectares in Germany alone. The FSC and PEFC are therefore also supported by the major environmental associations such as WWF, Greenpeace, Nabu and the Bund.

What are the properties of beech heartwood?

Heartwood beech has enjoyed particular popularity for some years now. Heartwood is the heartwood of beech trees that are at least 80 years old. It has a very attractive reddish-brown flame-like grain. It ensures that no two pieces of beech heart furniture are alike.

What furniture styles are there for cupboards?

The consumer also has a wide choice of styles.

• Cabinets with a purist look naturally go with modern home furnishings. They have clean lines and simple geometric shapes that focus on functionality. Modern-style cupboard furniture often has high-gloss surfaces.
  This style of living includes, for example
• • Scandinavian style (furniture made of pine, birch and spruce)
  • the maritime style (white furniture) and
  • the retro style with its simple furniture that is reminiscent of 1950s and 1960s home furnishing.
• Heavy solid wood furniture made of dark oak and beech heartwood goes well with a rustic living ambience. Cabinet furniture made of wild oak with knot inclusions, distinctive sealed cracks and visually striking grain also look particularly good there.
  Variants of the rustic style are the Modern Country Style with solid yet simple functional pieces of furniture made of light woods.

• Cupboard furniture made of dark heavy solid wood fits perfectly into a living landscape designed in colonial style. They are ideally complemented by rattan furniture and natural fabrics such as linen.
• Anyone who likes to visit flea markets will certainly be familiar with them: furniture in Shabby Chic (vintage look). They have been worked on afterwards so that they look used.
• The used look makes the home something special. The artificially aged furniture is combined with pretty homemade accessories from grandma's time and modern furnishings.
• the Mediterranean country style combines cabinets made of pine, walnut or olive wood with earth colours such as ochre and terracotta objects.

What are the advantages of a new cupboard?

With a new cupboard you can

• replace a missing or discarded old cupboard
• make the room visually larger (cupboards with mirrored surfaces!)
• add another attractive piece of furniture with a high degree of functionality to your existing furnishings
• set visual accents if the cupboard has a different style
• fill an open corner and make the most of the available space (advantageous in smaller flats)
• protect what is to be stored from the gaze of others
• create (more) order in the room

What is important when buying cupboard furniture?

If you want to buy cupboard furniture, you should not only make sure that the new piece of furniture is large enough for its respective purpose and offers sufficient storage space. A cupboard that can be variably designed on the inside is also practical, but not absolutely necessary.
Ideally, cupboard furniture is of good quality and workmanship and corresponds to your personal furnishing style. Furniture of high quality and solid workmanship will do its job for many years, if not decades, despite frequent use, and will delight you with its attractive appearance.
They are dimensionally stable and robust, so that even greater loads cannot harm them.

What environmental aspects should be considered when buying a cupboard?

If you are one of those people who value a healthy living environment, you should also make sure when buying cupboard furniture that the furniture you have chosen does not emit any harmful substances or bad odours. Ideally, it should also be manufactured in an environmentally friendly and energy-saving way: Such pieces of furniture are made from wood that comes from sustainable forestry and is FSC-certified.

What is the Golden M?

The Golden M is the quality mark of the Deutsche Gütegemeinschaft für Möbel e. V. (DGM) and the only officially recognised quality mark for furniture in Germany. Members of the DGM are more than 70 of the best furniture and kitchen manufacturers in Germany and other countries.

When is furniture awarded the "Golden M" quality mark?

These companies and their products have previously been comprehensively tested by the DGM and were awarded the Golden M because they met the strict DGM quality and testing criteria 100 percent. The numerous tests were carried out according to the specifications of RAL-GZ 430, which the Deutsche Gütegemeinschaft für Möbel e. V. uses as a quality standard.

Which test criteria must furniture with the Golden M fulfil?

The furniture is tested for safety, strength, stability, workmanship, durability, material quality and functionality. In addition, they are checked to see if they emit any substances that are harmful to health or the environment. These include, for example, formaldehyde, CFCs, terpenes, lindane, flame retardants and heavy metals.
The furniture manufacturers belonging to the DGM voluntarily submit to the quality tests. The tests are carried out regularly, also on site in production.
The testing institutes used by the German Furniture Quality Association are independent and neutral.
The tested furniture manufacturer only receives the RAL Quality Mark for Furniture Golden M if it can maintain its production at the same high quality level in the long term.
The DGM specifications are continuously adapted and updated to the latest scientific findings so that you as a customer always receive quality at the highest level.

Which manufacturers carry cabinet furniture with the Golden M?

DGM certified furniture producers are:

• ADA Möbelfabrik GmbH (Austria)
• Einrichtungssysteme GmbH
• Die Holzschmiede solid wood furniture GmbH
• huelsta-werke Hüls GmbH & Co KG
• InCasa bedroom systems GmbH
• Loddenkemper GmbH & Co. KG
• Paidi Furniture GmbH
• Rolf Benz AG & Co. KG and
• Thielemeyer brand furniture

If you buy DGM-tested wardrobe furniture, you will find the quality label on the wardrobe and in the enclosed product information. The emission label is attached separately to the piece of furniture.
Get expert and comprehensive advice from a qualified furniture retailer before buying a cabinet!