Disposable furniture — not much of a dilemma at all
By Never teh BrideUnited States Patent #3149880 is for “Disposable Furniture.” It’s an interesting idea, and one that I feel has been thoroughly embraced by people in the U.S., if not quite intentionally. I like to walk around my neighborhood in all sorts of weather, and it’s an unusual day indeed that doesn’t involve my stopping to inspect some piece of discarded furniture. There isn’t all that much in my house that came out of someone’s trash, but there are a few things. I enjoy refinishing tables, you see, and the curb is a wonderful place to find blank slates upon which to work my magic.
So what do I mean by disposable? This passage from Yet Another Blog about Money sums it up nicely:
IKEA makes sense if you’re willing to recognize that the furniture items you buy aren’t going to become heirlooms–and indeed, might not even survive your next move. They are, in a sense, disposable. If they break or get scratched, you won’t be happy about it, but you won’t lose sleep over it, either. And when you finally decide that you are sick of a particular piece of furniture, it will probably have a used resale value of somewhere between $5 and $25, which, depending on your personal finances, you might not even bother with reselling.
I have one of the chairs in the image above, complete with a nubbly off-white cushion that attracts cat hair like some kind of magical magnet. I tell you this: It’s flimsy. Yes, I’m probably the third or fourth owner of the chair (thanks, Kristina!). Yes, there’s a bit that’s glued because there was a “fyorgen” or whatever it is Ikea calls those oddly shaped screws they give you with your flat packs. However, that doesn’t change the fact that the chair is simply not made to last.
The dilemma is, of course, that disposable furniture is bad, bad, bad for the environment but oh-so-good for the wallet. Who can resist the siren song of a hundred dollar platform bed or a forty buck bookcase named Billy? Not the college student or the young person just starting out, if my limited experience is any indication. But Billy doesn’t look so hot after a couple of moves — I should know, I have two — and it’s out with the old, in with the new as soon as money’s not quite so tight.
I found another great summary over at EnvironDesign Notebook:
After people are finished with the furniture in their homes, it becomes waste in a landfill along with other materials that can not be reused. When you consider that the average household replaces furniture every five to seven years, it becomes clear that such practices are appalling4. Placing such a vast amount of furnishings into landfills every year is unacceptable! Alternative methods— such as improving harvesting practices, finding new sources for wood, and using recycled common materials—need to be encouraged.
In the not so distant past, furniture was expected to last quite some time, but it was also made to last. Dressers, for example, were made of wood rather than particle board. The runners could be oiled as necessary or, failing that, replaced with a trip to the hardware store. That’s what I’ve been led to believe, anyway, by grandparents who are using the same furniture they’ve used for as long as I can remember. Those same grandparents gave my mom furniture that was then passed on to me, only a tad worse for wear. My television sits on two lovely Danish dressers from the 60s and my grandfather made one of the tables in my bedroom!
My delight at finding new “canvases” for my domestartistic visions aside, it’s nice to know that I have some things in my home that will last well into my future children’s adult lives. Long after my silly Ikea dining table is too wobbly to stand up to the rigors of existence, the well-made pieces of furniture I’ve taken pains to acquire will still be going strong.
June 2nd, 2008 at 9:25 am
Even my particle board disposable stuff usually lasts a lot longer than seven years!
OTOH, I inherited my parents’ bedroom set and man! but that sucker is built! It’s also a really good-looking set that works with our aesthetic styles. We also inherited several pieces of furniture that Mr. Twistie’s mother brought with her when she came to the US from her native Japan. Those pieces aren’t nearly as heavy, but they’re certainly sturdy and attractive.
Our Ikea sofa was a hand-me-down from a friend. He’d had it for probably five or six years, and we’ve now had it for seven. It’s still going strong. Why change what’s working? We’ll keep it until it falls apart.
And as I type, I’m sitting in a chair that graced the living room in my parents’ house as long as I can remember until ten years ago when my father died. It needs reupholstering, but it’s handsome and comfortable.
I like furniture that’s built to last…but I’ve seriously stretched the life on furniture that’s meant to be disposed of.
June 3rd, 2008 at 6:29 pm
I’m in that odd sort of in-between phase right now: I’m now 27 and starting to develop my personal styles and tastes. However, I’m also still a student, and my budget is extremely tight and I have yet to choose a less nomadic lifestyle. Disposable furniture is right up my alley for now. However, I have also acquired (through family hand-me-downs) some furniture that truely was built to last, and I hope to keep handing it down as I grow older.
Eventually, I’d like to become more like my mother (gasp!) and train my eye to recognized diamonds-in-the-rough - the lovely lovely antique furniture that is very well-made and just needs a bit of TLC to restore to glory.
For now, I’ll just stick with ‘customizing’ my IKEA finds…