A recent 2018 Houzz survey found that 48% of respondents planned to decorate their homes in the coming year. When buying furniture, it is usually best to view the whole endeavor as an investment. This is especially true if the purchases will be furnishing a new home. Think of how long the furniture is expected to last when making a final decision. If a piece doesn’t feel like it will meet its expected longevity, pass on it. Don’t choose items that will fail too quickly.
Our Furnishings Need to Bring Warmth Into Our Homes.
The difference between a house and a home is the amount of comfort it provides to its occupants. Good quality furniture in a style the occupants like bring more joy over time than cheaply made pieces that seemed like a good deal at the time.
What Makes a Piece of Furniture a “Quality Piece?”
Quality is a term often used in discussions of interior design. What are the features that make table lamps or rugs a high-quality piece? The unspoken agreement when it comes to quality is longevity. Furniture that can last longer than a year or two is a much better investment.
There is one common understanding of what distinguishes a short-lived piece of furniture. When it comes to pieces of furniture such as sets for living rooms, dining room tables, and bedroom furniture, people understand “quality” to mean heavy or solid. There is a good reason for this actually.
How to Spot the Signifiers of Quality In Furniture Pieces.
When a piece of furniture is heavy, it is a sign of solid construction. For example, a genuine Craftsman style dining table would be heavy because the Craftsman style used exclusively solid pieces of wood. Many discount furniture places today get by with using wood veneers or composite instead. The result is a lighter piece of furniture with a shorter shelf life.
A quality piece such as the Craftsman style dining table has a long life because of the materials used and the joints. The way a piece is constructed matters a great deal. Cheap furniture uses staples, small nails, and sometimes glue to hold a piece together. Compare that strategy to the centuries-old tradition of mortise and tenon joints. These techniques have the wood joined together in a sturdy and beautiful way that stands the test of time.
What Features Make a Style Last Over Another?
Styles of furniture come in and out of mode. A Craftsman style dining table can be just as stylish as a Mission style table or an Art Deco desk. The key to discerning if a piece will still be stylish in 20 years is to look at the design lines. Simple design lines that support functionality always seem to outlast the competition. Interior designers recommend homeowners to make some updates every five to 10 years. Good furniture with classic design doesn’t need to be swapped out. Instead, it is easy to freshen up the look of a room with a new wall color or new pictures. This is how quality becomes an investment that pays off over time.
Quality pieces of furniture are a better investment than cheap pieces that will break within five years. A Craftsman style dining table or an Art Deco desk will require more upfront than some other pieces of course. However, items that use quality materials and good construction techniques are certainly more beautiful to look at. Choose pieces you want around for the next 20 years that will make your rooms comfortable and beautiful.