Hey everyone, I'm hoping to get some advice here. I recently bought a piece of furniture that I can't return, and I'm really struggling with it. I haven't put it together yet, but just unboxing the pieces made me feel super overstimulated because of the finish on the particleboard. As someone who's neurodivergent, I generally cope well with many textures, but this one is just too much for me. I even tried cleaning the surface with different cleaners in case it was just some dust from manufacturing, but that didn't help at all.
I know a coat of polyurethane could fix the issue, but I can't do that right now due to a lack of safe, ventilated space and not having the mental energy for that task. I'm wondering if there's anything else I can do to make it feel less awful? I've seen that wax and wood polish aren't recommended either, so I'm feeling quite stuck here. Is this just a lost cause?
2 Answers
Could you share a bit more about the furniture? Is the particle board fully exposed, or does it have some kind of laminate coating on it? Knowing whether it’s a desk, shelf, or something else could really help us brainstorm solutions. If aesthetics are important to you, I'm sure there's a way to manage things without drastically changing how it looks.
Have you thought about using gloves? That’s what my wife does when she has issues with certain textures. It might be a good workaround if you end up using the cabinet often. I get that it could be annoying to wear gloves every time, but it could help make the situation manageable. No need to feel bad about needing to adapt; it happens to the best of us!