Choosing Furniture
Sills Huniford or Target? Choices, Choices.
Cheap or Expensive?
Why do we spend money on cheap furniture, when we could we could shell out a little more for furniture from quality builders such as Ethan Allen, Sills Huniford, or Stickley, and get a better-designed, better built product? Two reasons. First, we think that since we don't slam the drawers or dance on the tabletops, cheap furniture will last. Second, we don't think that a lapse in taste will be noticeable.
But let's get serious. After our Brick, Board, and Beanbag college period, and after the even more primitive I Just Threw Everything in the Car and Drove a Thousand Miles to Start This New Job period, we're ready to move on. We're ready for the couches, shelves, and dining room tables we will feel more comfortable with for years ahead. So, besides the obvious comfort and stylistic factors, what do we need to know about furniture, cheap or expensive, that should influence our purchases? The answers are sometimes simple, sometimes not.
Example 1: The Mystery of the Collapsing House
I was at a house warming party the about a year ago. The back yard was freshly manicured, the pool perfect the new barbecue pumping out ribs by the rack. The kitchen was just finished that day; the dishwasher still had the warning tags on the handles. But that evening, during the buffet, one side of the dining table collapsed, sliding all of the dishes onto the brand new carpet. Even before all of the food was either reassembled in the kitchen or thrown out, and most of the carpet cleaned, the cause of the collapse was discovered: The formidable-looking table structure was really just a series of screws going from the pressed board legs into the pressed board top. The table looked stylish and strong, but was basically an accident waiting to happen.
The hosts were embarrassed. Million dollar house, cheap furniture.
Example 2: Old or New?
I was visiting a friend whose grandmother had just died. When I went into her living room, I noticed the new couch and complimented her on it.
"New?" she laughed. "I inherited this from my grandmother. Thirties. I just threw a cover on it!"
Example 1: Bench or Sideboard?
My neighbor is constantly working on his 1969 Pontiac GTO. One day I was watching him disassemble his carburettor on the bench when I looked down at the bench itself. Even through the grease and scarring, I could see that it was solid mahogany. I looked underneath at the label. Sears, 1920's. When I mentioned this to him, he said simply, "I know. My father used it before me. Great bench, isn't it?”
That started me thinking about this subject. After all, those who don't have taste donated to them are forced at some point to make the Furniture Decision to buy cheap furniture or take the plunge on the expensive stuff.
I could play the snob and declaim all cheap furniture dead on arrival, or I could play the fashionista and state that we should change early, and change often. Each school has its positive and negative sides.
But I think that the truth is somewhere in between: depending on your lifestyle and your needs, you may not want your house filled with antiques or Ikea. The strict guidelines of period or fashion may not fit your idea of comfort and flexibility. So the question becomes this: what are some of the considerations you might look at for the various costs of furniture?