Veneers have an undeserved bad reputation. The word "veneer" itself has a negative connotation, often referring to something that is shallow or only skin deep. I've seen many pieces of furniture with poorly laid-up veneers peeling and chipping - and so have many of my clients. As a direct result, I often hear phrases like "I want solid wood - not veneer." I can certainly understand their concerns, but as I always explain, veneers can be quite beautiful and durable when properly applied. Unfortunately, many people have seen examples of bad veneering, where the manufacturer has used veneer in a place where solid wood would have been the better choice. Veneers and solid woods are not interchangeable - When used in an appropriate and skillful manner, veneers yield amazing results. Many popular styles of furniture would not be possible to create using only solid wood.
Decorative veneers are usually sold in flitches, or piles of thin, almost identical sheets. They are stacked in the same order as they were cut from the log, and are numbered.
Below are examples of some of the basic methods for laying-up veneer, as well as some photos of furniture created using veneers.
The first image in this series is a piece of highly-figured walnut. The second image is a two-piece book match, where the first and second sheets are opened like the pages of a book. The third image is a four-piece book match, where the first two book matched pieces are flipped again. The resulting pattern would not be possible with solid wood.
Here is a cabinet, created from satinwood veneer and mahogany solids. It features curved, bookmatched panels, inlaid with ovals in walnut. The top is a twelve piece pie-slice pattern.
