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Why new furniture doesn’t last long

washingtonpost.com

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Re: Why new furniture doesn’t last long

#31

Post by onlyrealcuzzo »

MerelyMortal wrote: post #10
donatj wrote: post #5

I had an argument with my therapist about this. My wife just gave birth to my daughter, we moved a bookshelf my grandfather built for me when I was born into her nursery and now my office is a mess, my books and such scattered. The mess is stressing me out. I am looking for a bookshelf to replace it, and told him I haven’t found anything I thought would last the rest of my life for a reasonable price. He insists I do…

It sounds like your therapist is letting their personal opinions into your session. I'm not an expert, but that sounds like a professional no-no.

Is it really worth stressing yourself out over buying a hold-over bookshelf until you can find yourself a better one?

If you've got money for a therapist for this type of issue - it probably isn't.

You can get a custom-made bookshelf from Amish country for the cost of less than 5 therapy sessions.

Re: Why new furniture doesn’t last long

#32

Post by ketzo »

One thing that's not mentioned anywhere in this article is that a lot of that super-solid, heirloom-quality furniture is still around -- and people are very willing to buy secondhand!

Facebook Marketplace/Craigslist/estate sales are a goldmine for stuff like this. This is only gonna be more true as the baby boomers continue to age. I wonder how much that impacts the market for the new stuff.

Re: Why new furniture doesn’t last long

#33

Post by VincentEvans »

nemo44x wrote: post #20
VincentEvans wrote: post #3

Regarding Ikea and similar self-assemble furniture - even though the assembly instruction manual does not call for it - use wood glue when assembling. It will make it A LOT stronger and it will even survive moves. One thing that didn’t make sense to me in the article is a claim that particle board or MDF is lighter than solid wood. I don’t think it’s necessarily true - I have wood furniture made of pine and cherry th…

Isn’t the issue the screws tearing through the soft wood and/or engineered wood?

Furniture made of soft wood is certainly more susceptible to damage and denting than if made from hardwood, sure. Personally I find the trade off acceptable - I have a narrow six foot book shelf that I can lift with one arm and a much smaller Ikea one that needs two people to move, but preferences are subjective.

Regarding screws however, furniture made from wood using approaches traditional for wood-made furniture - don’t rely on screws all that much, but rather mortises, dados, and various other joints held by glue, dowels, and sometimes staples or furniture nails that assist holding joints together until glue dries. Once dried - glue is often stronger than the wood it holds together and attempting to separate the bonded pieces results in splitting the wood rather than breaking the bond.

Re: Why new furniture doesn’t last long

#34

Post by richbell »

suoduandao3 wrote: post #21
stetrain wrote: post #4

My biggest issue is that, like so many markets, there is a "missing middle" created by this downward price pressure. For the most part if you want a piece of furniture (ie a nightstand), there are two categories. Either you buy the Amazon/Wayfair version made of pressboard for $100-$200, or you can find a solid wood heirloom version for $2,000+. The domestic plywood or cheaper solid wood options are no longer mass pr…

used furniture is a good compromise there, though it's harder to get a consistent style when going that route. Part of Ikea furniture's appeal is also that it looks like other Ikea furniture.

Dealing with bed bugs and other pests has made me apprehensive about purchasing used furniture. It's a shame because you can usually find great deals on FB Marketplace, Craigslist, Kijiji etc.

Re: Why new furniture doesn’t last long

#35

Post by geodel »

lotsofpulp wrote: post #16
donatj wrote: post #5

I had an argument with my therapist about this. My wife just gave birth to my daughter, we moved a bookshelf my grandfather built for me when I was born into her nursery and now my office is a mess, my books and such scattered. The mess is stressing me out. I am looking for a bookshelf to replace it, and told him I haven’t found anything I thought would last the rest of my life for a reasonable price. He insists I do…

I have been furnishing with IKEA (and Target and Home Depot and Costco) furniture for 20+ years, and still use dressers and coffee tables and bunk beds from back then, including the use by 2 toddlers. I even moved it across the country. Maybe the melamine surface chips or scratches, but a little touch up marker makes it pretty unnoticeable, plus I do not care. Plus it was $20 to $200, so I can just replace it if it w…

Don't you care that your table could be found along with this[1]

1. https://www.10000yearclock.net/learnmore.html

Re: Why new furniture doesn’t last long

#36

Post by orev »

donatj wrote: post #5

I had an argument with my therapist about this. My wife just gave birth to my daughter, we moved a bookshelf my grandfather built for me when I was born into her nursery and now my office is a mess, my books and such scattered. The mess is stressing me out. I am looking for a bookshelf to replace it, and told him I haven’t found anything I thought would last the rest of my life for a reasonable price. He insists I do…

Even if you know that something is objectively better, if the majority of the market doesn’t agree, you’re going to find yourself spending lots of time and energy going against everyone else. At a certain point you just need to accept that that’s how things are and go with the flow, or take it upon yourself to really “fix” things, which will probably mean taking it on as a full time job or hobby.

So in this case, you can get a commercial bookcase that is probably good enough to last quite a while (and be able to spend a lot of time with your new child), or spend a lot of time on the garage learning woodworking so you can build a “real” one.

Re: Why new furniture doesn’t last long

#37

Post by MerelyMortal »

swagasaurus-rex wrote: post #28
MerelyMortal wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It sounds like your therapist is letting their personal opinions into your session. I'm not an expert, but that sounds like a professional no-no.

... If there is no alternative, maybe the therapist is correct

Perhaps, but (again, not an expert), I think the therapist should be asking questions (Socratic Method) to get the patient to come to that conclusion themselves.

Re: Why new furniture doesn’t last long

#38

Post by bobsmooth »

donatj wrote: post #5

I had an argument with my therapist about this. My wife just gave birth to my daughter, we moved a bookshelf my grandfather built for me when I was born into her nursery and now my office is a mess, my books and such scattered. The mess is stressing me out. I am looking for a bookshelf to replace it, and told him I haven’t found anything I thought would last the rest of my life for a reasonable price. He insists I do…

I still use the ikea dresser and bookshelf I had in high school.

Re: Why new furniture doesn’t last long

#40

Post by lbwtaylor »

stetrain wrote: post #4

My biggest issue is that, like so many markets, there is a "missing middle" created by this downward price pressure. For the most part if you want a piece of furniture (ie a nightstand), there are two categories. Either you buy the Amazon/Wayfair version made of pressboard for $100-$200, or you can find a solid wood heirloom version for $2,000+. The domestic plywood or cheaper solid wood options are no longer mass pr…

And part of the problem is that it is so hard to tell if the middle priced goods are worth it. For example:

- is it real wood but cheaply finished so the wood wears quickly and needs refinishing quickly. Seen this problem so often at priced places like crate & barrel.

- how do you tell good quality veneer from bad?

- showcase pieces of higher quality than what's delivered to your house. Room & board with their real wood furniture can be like this - I got a piece that was more knots than wood.

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