Furniture Board: The Practical Core of Modern Furniture Construction

When you’re building divan beds, sofas, chairs, tub chairs or any furniture that requires a flat, rigid surface to upholster against, you’re going to hear the term furniture board come up a lot. It’s not just a catch-all; it’s the backbone of modern furniture construction. Whether you’re a manufacturer, a designer, an upcycler, a repairer or an upholsterer, knowing your way around furniture board saves time, money, and a lot of headaches.

Introducing Essex Board

At Limehouse Board Mills, we only manufacture Essex Board because it ticks all the boxes. Essex Board is a standard finish and thickness, and we can vary the sizes required. It’s used principally for pelmets and headboards, but is a solid, versatile material. You can find more specs and options over on the Essex Board product page.

What is Furniture Board?

Furniture board is a type of engineered cardboard designed specifically for making furniture. Unlike solid timber, it’s lightweight, cheap and flexible. This gives it a consistent structure, reliable thickness, and cost efficiency that’s hard to beat for furniture projects.

Key Applications of Furniture Board

Furniture board is used wherever you need strength, consistency, and a smooth, flat finish:

Divan Beds

Drawer Bottoms

Sofas

Armchairs

Tub Chairs

Pelmets

Headboards

Tacking Strips

Types of Finishes Available

One of the main reasons furniture board is so popular? The finish options are massive. You’ve got:

Unlined: Perfect for securing onto a timber frame, but to be upholstered to (non-visible)
White-lined: For drawer bottoms where the finish is visible
Radius corners: 50mm or 60mm available – if your frame is not quite square, the radius corner allows some tolerance

Common Sizes and Thicknesses

You’ll find standard furniture board in a range of sizes and thicknesses to suit most jobs:

Bedding – 2.1mm up to 4.0mm From 2’6” up to 5’
Essex board – 4.0mm, 8’x4’ (2440mm x 1220mm)
Sofas and chairs
- 1350mic 780mm x 1000mm
- 1450mic 815mm x 1120mm

At Limehouse, we supply cut-to-size services so you get exactly what you need, whether it’s for shelving, a custom cabinet, or something more unusual like a leisure vehicle fit-out.

Benefits of Using Furniture Board

There’s a reason big manufacturers and one-man workshops alike use it:

Stable surface: won’t warp or move like solid wood
Consistent thickness: means perfect joins and clean lines
Cost-effective: great finish without the solid timber price tag
Flexible: build everything from flat-pack to full kitchens
FSC® certified options: when sustainability matters

If you’re chasing a high-standard finish, it’s hard to beat. Boards are strong, smooth, and easy to handle. You don’t need a joinery workshop to get them looking sharp; either a decent saw or good blades, and you’re off.

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Tell us what you need, and our expert team will work with you to find the perfect solution. If it's made of cardboard then we are the people to speak to!