MDF--medium-density fibreboard--is everywhere. It's cheap, stable, and easy to work with. It's also the reason most modern kitchens are destined for landfill within twenty years.
The problems with MDF are fundamental:
- Water damage is catastrophic: Once MDF gets wet, it swells and never recovers. Solid timber can be dried and refinished.
- It cannot be repaired: Damaged MDF must be replaced. Damaged timber can be patched, filled, or refinished.
- It has no character: MDF is manufactured uniformity. Timber has grain, colour variation, and warmth.
- It off-gasses: MDF contains formaldehyde resins that continue releasing chemicals for years.
We understand why manufacturers use MDF. It's predictable and profitable. But we're not building for the next fiscal quarter--we're building for the next century.
Every Sage & Stone kitchen is solid timber throughout. Carcasses, doors, drawers, shelves--not a scrap of MDF anywhere. It costs more. It takes longer. But it lasts forever.
That's a trade we'll make every time.