Natural wood and wood grains are beautiful for furniture and other household objects.  They’re beautifully tactile, a nicely polished or sanded surface giving a combination of soft smoothness with a faint hint of texture given by the woodgrain.  Each type of wood has its own “fingerprint” of grain: pine is stripy, oak is more mottled and walnut has a sort of dappled blur.  Plywood and the like aren’t quite as attractive or “romantic” but is still a useful building material for desks and shelves. 

From an environmental perspective, natural wood is the better option – provided the wood comes from a sustainably managed forest rather than logged from forests that shouldn’t be.  Plywood and similar “sandwich board” types of wood aggregate often use glues and other adhesives that are rather toxic, not only to the wider environment but also in your home – there have been cases when sensitive people have been made unwell by the fumes given off by woods with certain treatments or made with particular adhesives. 

But no matter what type of wooden furniture you have, they should be cleaned and cared for in more or less the same way.  Most wooden objects will have some sort of sealant or polish on them to prevent them being damaged or rotting with damp.  Some of these treatments discolour when wet; others, such as polyurethane, don’t seem to be too badly affected, if at all.  Most wood finishes dislike hot objects being placed directly on them – or even through a tablecloth.  If you are likely to use a wooden surface for resting hot cups of tea (e.g. a bedside cabinet if you like having a cuppa in bed first thing in the morning or last thing at night), then make sure that you have plenty of coasters or mats handy to protect the wood.  Some objects should never be used for resting containers for liquid or hot items, especially those with French polish.  Be careful with pot plants – the little dishes or trays inevitably overflow.

However, don’t be fooled into thinking that a bone-dry environment is ideal for wood.  Wood will warp if it gets too dry – this is particularly undesirable for pianos (and other wooden string instruments such as guitars, cellos and violins).  Wood will swell if it gets too wet, which can cause drawers to stick – I have this problem in my kitchen every winter when the damp increases.

Dusting is the main form of cleaning necessary for all wood furniture.  Use a soft cloth for dusting rather than a feather duster, especially on high-gloss finishes such as French polish, as broken quills can scratch the fine finish.  Damp cloths are OK for use on less delicate wooden furniture, and this can be a very effective way of trapping all the dust.  Using lace doilies and the like can cut down on the amount of visible dust (the dust seems to become trapped in the cloths) and can look very effective against wood.

Dusting is all that you need to do for French polished furniture, but wooden furniture with a lower level of gloss will need a touch-up of polish now and again.  You can use wax-based, oil-based or any cream/liquid polish, depending on your own preferences for things such as smell or origins (linseed based and beeswax based polishes are more environmentally friendly on the whole).  Apply the polish with one cloth, then let it dry before buffing with another cloth.  Layer after layer of polish can darken the wood.  If you wish, you can remove old layers with a solution of vinegar and warm water applied sparingly and dried off before applying fresh polish.

Solid wood is better than veneers when it comes to chips or scratches.  With solid wood, all you have to do is sand it down lightly until the crack disappears (use fine sandpaper) then reapply polish (this won’t work for French polish, which should be treated like a veneer).  With a veneer, however, you will have to disguise the chip or scratch.  Using shoe polish in a matching shade to the finish can work, as can colouring in the lighter patch with a wax crayon or even a felt tip pen.  Or else, cover up the scratch with a doily or throw, or even keep the item in a dark corner where the scratch isn’t obvious