Products and Materials

Who manufacturers K & D products?
K & D searches the globe for unique products and designs at exceptional values. The breadth of our search allows us to buy products from manufacturers all over the world, from the United States, Far East to Italy, Denmark, Sweden and Canada. With over 800 products on our web site at any given time, it would be impossible to list every manufacturer. However, please feel free to call or e-mail for more information on any specific product and our representatives will be happy to assist.

How easy are K & D products to assemble?
Assembling K & D products is not difficult - but flat-packed items do take time to put together properly. If you have questions while assembling your products, please contact us at 713-574-2457 and ask to speak to the assembly department for assistance.  If you have no desire to put it together yourself, and are outside of our stores' service areas,  Please call 1-800-978-2669.  This is a toll-free number of Impact Resource Group an organization providing in-home / in-office assembly services for K & D customers nationwide.  Be Prepared to give them your location,  item number , description of product and its retail price,  Impact will give you a quote for assembly.

Does K & D mail out fabric swatches or material samples?

K & D requests fabric swatches and color samples from our manufacturers whenever possible. While we have swatches for a large portion of our products, some swatches or samples may be unavailable.

Please feel free to call us at 713-574-2457 or e-mail (kineticfurniture@yahoo.com) if you have a specific product in mind and our representatives can provide more details.

Are all of your products in stock all the time?
We make every effort to stock as many of our products as is feasible. However, there are some occasions when stock does run out. Lead times vary depending on the vendor.

Does K & D special order products?
Special orders and other extraordinary requests are considered on an individual basis. Please call us at 713-574-2457 to discuss your special circumstances.

Special orders require a 50% non-refundable deposit at the time of order placement. Special orders can not be canceled for any reason and can not be exchanged nor refunded. Depending on the vendor, lead times can vary.

What does 'flat-packed', 'KD', and 'RTA' mean?
Products that are completely disassembled and packaged as "flat" as possible are described as being "flat-packed". They may also be called RTA (Ready to Assemble) or KD (Knock Down).

Does K & D custom-make furniture items?
The answer is..."it depends". We have often modified K & D items to meet specific customer needs. Please call or e-mail us with your special request.

Glossary of terms:

ABS - A common thermoplastic used to make light, rigid molded products.

Bicast leather - Genuine split-hide leather manufactured with a protective layer of polyurethane for strength, durability and modern finish. Although bicast leather is often less expensive to produce than top grain leather, is easier to clean and maintain and generally has a more uniform grain pattern.

Enamel - A paint that dries to a very hard, glossy finish.

Espresso - Dark brown color, also known as wenge.

Frosted Glass - Produced by acid etching or sand blasting a clear sheet of glass. The effect renders the glass translucent by scattering the light that passes through. Because glass is inherently green, the forced translucence generally enhances that color in the panel.

Lacquer - A clear or colored varnish that produces a hard, durable finish.

Leatherette - A form of artificial leather, usually made by covering fabric with a soft PVC layer with an artificial grain. Although leatherette is not as porous as leather, it requires little maintenance and is highly resistant to fading and cracking.

MDF - More formally known as medium density fiberboard, is an engineered wood product formed by applying high temperature and pressure to a combination of wood fibers, wax and resin. MDF is generally 3-4 times stronger than particleboard and is an excellent core for wood veneer products. Furthermore, MDF has no natural grain and, therefore, no tendency to split, is uniform in size and strength and is the most cost effective material used in furniture manufacturing worldwide. This balance of strength and cost in MDF is the main reason that approximately 90% of all furniture manufactured today consists, at least in part, of MDF.

Melamine - A durable, plasticized laminate commonly used over an MDF core in kitchen and bathroom countertops, as well as furniture.

Microfiber - A synthetic fabric specifically designed for softness and durability, typically made from polyester fibers. Microfiber is designed to repel liquids and resist staining, which makes it second only to leather in terms of overall durability of upholstered fabrics.

Powder Coat - A finishing process typically used for metals, including furniture, automobile and motorcycle parts. Although the finish is similar in appearance to standard liquid paint, power coating is generally applied electrostatically as a dry powder, allowing a thicker, more even finish (without running like a liquid paint). Power coat finishes are known for their durability, in particular.

PVC - One of the most widely used plastics in the world in everything from clothing and piping to furniture.

Silk-screened Glass - A modern alternative to frosted glass, silk-screening glass is printed with a color on one side. Depending on the applied color, silk-screening minimizes the inherent green color of glass by preventing light from passing completely through the panel.

Split grain leather - Created from the layer of the hide just below the top grain. Split grain leather has an additional layer applied to the surface which is embossed with a leather grain. Split grain leather is known for its balance between durability and value. Since split grain leather is more abundant than top grain it can be produced more cost effectively. Additionally, the manufacturing process minimizes many of the natural imperfections in the hide itself, while sustaining the natural strength of the fabric.

Top grain leather - Refers to the upper section of a hide closest the epidermis. Full grain leathers have not been sanded or buffed, so they still retain the natural variances and imperfections present in all leather. Correct grain leathers, conversely, have been sanded or buffed in an effort to minimize the natural imperfections in the hide.

Veneer - Thin layers of wood that are applied onto a core panel such as MDF. Generally, the finest logs are sent to veneer producers in order to make the most efficient use of rare and beautiful wood grains. Rather than producing solid lumber, veneer manufacturers can produce up to 45 times more usable veneer. In addition to preserving natural resources, veneer enables furniture manufacturers to design pieces otherwise impossible with solid woods that are much more susceptible to changes in humidity.

**Subject to change without notice.