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Why are most sofas so bad?

dwell.com

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Re: Why are most sofas so bad?

#691

Post by MrDresden »

rossjudson wrote: post #684
zac23or wrote: post #615

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Of course, there have been many bad things in the past. Floppy disks, cassettes and VHS were horrible technologies. Did you use tube radios? They broke all the time. The difference is that they weren't intentionally horrible, they were limitations of an era. But at some point, devices start to last a long time. My parents' first refrigerator ran without problems for over 10 years. I've had far fewer problems with CDS…

You made me laugh with "refrigerator ran without problems for over 10 years". My family cottage has a still-running refrigerator that's been there for close to 40 years. Third or fourth handle, though ;)

My family cottage has an electric stove/oven that was manufactured in the 1930's. Works flawlessly.

Re: Why are most sofas so bad?

#692

Post by switch007 »

gmac wrote: post #456

In the UK I would thoroughly recommend these guys: http://www.ecosofa.co.uk/ We picked them because they were one of very few UK suppliers who could supply a sofa that's not covered in toxic flame retardants (the UK has kept some very dubious legislation in place on this issue, I think mainly because the industry lobbies for it as a protectionist measure). The sofa we bought was on the expensive side, but not ridicul…

Don’t get me started on flame retardants. It’s definitely lobbying. So they can use cheaper materials which tend be more flammable then just drench it in toxic liquid and call it job done

Re: Why are most sofas so bad?

#693

Post by Little_Kitty »

WarOnPrivacy wrote: post #636
arbitrage wrote: post #618

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're exaggerating about light-bulbs. There is no way LEDs last less than incandescents. If you are experiencing this, its possible your wiring is bad. You should call an electrician and have them check that out.

> There is no way LEDs last less than incandescents. Sure there is. I bought a case of Sylvania LEDs in 2019. They're used a few hours a week and I've tossed 5 of the 15 I've installed.

Phillips master ultra efficient, similar to their Dubai lamp, may be what you need. Running much less power per led is more efficient, so there's less heat and the lifetime is massively increased. Big Clive put a good video out about Dubai lamps a few years back.

Re: Why are most sofas so bad?

#694

Post by ineedaj0b »

bushbaba wrote: post #681
hammock wrote: post #221

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can still get made in the USA sofas with real hardwood, not rubber wood, which is fine, or worse, soft pine or particleboard or OSB) North Carolina was and is the center of solid wood furniture), and they still cost several to many thousands of dollars, and they will still last 100+ years with a couple reupholsterings or so, but most furniture comes from Asia now and is sold for 10x less, and is not worth reuphol…

rubber wood IS hardwood, not sure why you'd ding it. It's a more eco-friendly wood choice

It’s soft, dings easily

Re: Why are most sofas so bad?

#696

Post by ineedaj0b »

elwell wrote: post #628
bradley13 wrote: post #626

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This. We paid $10k for two sofas. Leather-covered, solid quality. That was more than 20 years ago. They look a bit weathered now, from kids and pets, but they are holding up fine. Pay for quality. It saves you money in the long run.

> Pay for quality. It saves you money in the long run. Unlikely. Our sofa is like $300. Let's say it only lasts 3 years before it shows wear or we get bored of it and get another $300 one... your $5k sofa would have to last for 50 years to 'save money'. Not to mention the opportunity cost of those funds. Pay for quality if you want quality, not in an attempt to save money.

Do you have pets and kids?

A $300 couch could last many moons in a house with no terrors.

Re: Why are most sofas so bad?

#697

Post by MrDresden »

bombcar wrote: post #203
doctorpangloss wrote: post #192

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> degrade just the same as the $200 leather purse you buy from a local artisan. Where are there local artisans selling leather purses they made for $200? Are you sure you don't mean $4,000? Surely if you are buying a $200 hand made purse, it was made by hand in a low labor cost country and relabeled.

https://saddlebackleather.com/everyday-purse/ is a bit over $200, and doesn't hide that it's made in Mexico (though they do use machines and tooling to process the leather so perhaps it's not "hand made").

I can second SaddlebackLeather. Have a few items from them and the care taken with the design, in addition to the materials used, tells me these items will last a long time.

Plan on adding to the collection over time.

Re: Why are most sofas so bad?

#698

Post by ineedaj0b »

WarOnPrivacy wrote: post #629
zac23or wrote: post #589

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I always wonder why people want some of these items to last forever. My friend had a NEW Ford that went to the workshop more than 10 times in the first year of use. It's about trust that I will turn on the device and it will work. > I want new tech Buy it. I met people who sold their old iPhone and bought a new model every year, nothing against that. My problem is if the IPhone in this first year broke two or more…

> My friend had a NEW Ford that went to the workshop more than 10 times in the first year of use. I daily drive a 96 Toyota. My son's dd is a 63 Dart. Just picked up a 92 Buick with 35k.

The old cars are nice but when they crash… I wouldn’t let my kids drive them. They don’t do so good.

Re: Why are most sofas so bad?

#699

Post by ineedaj0b »

trogdor wrote: post #547
lowlevel wrote: post #533

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I fully agree that new is very often worse than old. I've had to return 3 new iPhones in a row for manufacturing defects and out of box software errors. A TV lasts me maybe 4 years before it's 'broken' and needs to be replaced.' Home appliance longevity is laughable now.. (especially Samsung, my gosh.) I've purchased 5 new cars over the past 15 years or so, only one of which didn't have serious problems from new that…

> I've had to return 3 new iPhones in a row for manufacturing defects and out of box software errors That is very surprising. Mind explaining what the issues were?

Other issues may be affecting the parent commenter if 3 iPhones were unusable in a row.

Perhaps not. But I worked retail and some people could find a problem with anything

Re: Why are most sofas so bad?

#700

Post by SergeAx »

zac23or wrote: post #530

Everything is bad these days, not just the sofas. 1. The new switches I bought broke before the old ones, which are over 20 years old. 2. LED bulbs last less than incandescent bulbs, even with a 20-year warranty. 3. The new cell phone's screen breaks very easily, it's not like the old Nokia's. And nowadays something expensive is no longer guaranteed to last. This is why I value old things so much: I have an old chair…

I recently switched from my 5.5 yrs old Xiaomi Mi 8 to Google Pixel 8. The new phone is 20% more expensive (inflation adjusted!) and at almost all metrics a bit worse than the old one. The only thing better is a camera (and I suspect it is because of the software, not the hardware). There are other departments where Pixel is better (CPU, wireless charging, newer OS version, eSIM support), but I don't use it.
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