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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

#101

Post by tschwimmer »

blueridge wrote: post #90

I share this list of furniture makers anytime a post about modern furniture comes up. I usually get dinged for posting luxury goods, and am told I must be detached from reality. Here it is anyway: If you're in the market for buy-it-for-life solid wood furniture: https://www.thejoinery.com https://vermontwoodsstudios.com/ https://hedgehousefurniture.com https://57stdesign.com https://www.57thstreetbookcase.com/ (all b…

I'm sorry but I browsed the first two of these and they're 10x the price of Ikea while almost certainly not being 10x the quality. I randomly picked a modern-styled wooden dresser[0] comparable to the Ikea Malm 6 drawer dresser and it's 12x the price. There are clearly no shortage of companies willing to sell you very high margin wood furniture but I agree with the other commenters that there is a missing middle that's 2-3x the price of Ikea and that's maybe 50% better. Really I don't need some beautiful handmade wooden masterpiece (nor do 95% of other people), I'd just like something that isn't horribly flimsy and soft like MDF.

Re: Why new furniture doesn’t last long

#102

Post by piuantiderp »

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…

Just buy used quality stuff, find local smaller woodworkers that are getting established, etc...

If you bought IKEA you are already part of the problem. Real furniture IS expensive and worth it considering you use it almost everyday.

Re: Why new furniture doesn’t last long

#103

Post by nunez »

So if furniture used to be significantly better ages ago, but IKEA, the king of cheap particle board furniture and Swedish meatballs as a service, is one of the wealthiest companies on Earth, then wouldn't it stand to reason that high-quality furniture was _not_ something that the market valued?

Re: Why new furniture doesn’t last long

#104

Post by nunez »

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…

Also, for most people, the difference in appearance between an IKEA nightstand and, say, an Eames one (or a custom-made one) is minimal. Like, there's a difference, but not a difference worth paying $x,000's for. Moreover, if a pet or a child destroys the table, you're out much less money, which is comforting.

Re: Why new furniture doesn’t last long

#105

Post by piuantiderp »

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…

The MDF is pretty weighty and has big concerns regarding VOCs. All that glue and binders can't be good for air quality/health

Re: Why new furniture doesn’t last long

#106

Post by snypher »

lbwtaylor wrote: post #40
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 w…

My cheeky answer is always the bad furniture _has_ veneer :) having said that I have build a lot of "temporary" furniture (eg benches and tables) from 2x4 softwood and they're doing just fine 30ish years later.

Re: Why new furniture doesn’t last long

#107

Post by nunez »

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.

So we purchased a couch three times: once from IKEA, again at a thrift shop, and once more from Rooms to Go (R2G).

R2G was, by far, the best option. I know that the sofa is "cheap" compared to what a "quality" couch would cost. (I paid $3200 for a three piece sectiona.) However, going into the showroom, having oodles of oodles of styles we could sit on, and giving the salesperson my card and having them take care of literally everything else (down to installation and placement) was amazing. The couch also looks great and is comfortable as hell.

The thrift shop couch was the second-best experience. Terrible selection, but we got lucky in finding a couch we liked. As it happens, the couch was an Ashley Furniture couch, which is kind of like R2G. We had to move it in ourselves, which was extremely annoying. But it is still standing and is still a great couch. (It's my office couch now!)

The IKEA couch was by far the worst. Buying the couch was easy, of course. Putting it together sucked, but whatever. The quality of the couch, though, was a disaster. Super lumpy seats within months of use, color stains discolored the couch permanently, even after cleaning, looseness, etc. I wouldn't buy couches from them again.

That said, we have tables from them that are still great. So maybe IKEA for small furniture you don't care about is the move.

Re: Why new furniture doesn’t last long

#108

Post by arh68 »

fallinghawks wrote: post #81
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…

Almost everything from IKEA is particle board or MDF. If it's solid wood it will be priced higher - even pine. I have a couple of particle board items from them and they are definitely heavier compared to actual wood.

> If it's solid wood it will be priced higher - even pine.

The cheapest nightstand they sell is solid pine.

https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/rast-3-drawer-chest-pine-104847...

The cheapest full bed is solid pine, too.

https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/neiden-bed-frame-pine-80395248/

I could go on...

Re: Why new furniture doesn’t last long

#109

Post by Gigachad »

snypher wrote: post #106
lbwtaylor wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 w…

My cheeky answer is always the bad furniture _has_ veneer :) having said that I have build a lot of "temporary" furniture (eg benches and tables) from 2x4 softwood and they're doing just fine 30ish years later.

I've got some things which have a thick veneer over the top of some other solid wood. It's pretty good quality. Many times better than the stuff that's like 1mm of wood over the top of cardboard hexagons.

Re: Why new furniture doesn’t last long

#110

Post by Gigachad »

piuantiderp wrote: post #102
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…

Just buy used quality stuff, find local smaller woodworkers that are getting established, etc... If you bought IKEA you are already part of the problem. Real furniture IS expensive and worth it considering you use it almost everyday.

Solid wood is an absolute nightmare to move. And I've found that most stuff from IKEA lasts quite a long time.
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