Advantages of investing in quality furniture

Everybody wants to have a beautiful home, but there’s much more to beauty than just following fashion. Really good quality furniture never goes out of style.  It gives the home an effortless elegance that visitors will admire and friends will envy, and it has a solidity that can be relied upon, not merely decorating the home but becoming a part of it.

Investing in quality

Acquiring quality furniture may be expensive - tracking down bargains simply costs time instead of money - but it can save both time and money in the long term.  Whilst standard pieces of ‘affordable’ furniture usually wear out or break within two to five years, quality furniture can last a lifetime.  When one adds up the amount spent on replacements, standard furniture is quickly revealed as the more expensive option.

Lower quality furniture has proliferated over the past few years for two reasons.  Firstly, people want their homes to be fully decorated all at once, and only have so much money to invest up front.  Secondly, they want to be able to change their furniture to keep up with the latest fashions.

A quality furniture collection usually takes time to build up.  It requires patience and a willingness to get by with less in the meantime, or to obtain some pieces of really cheap furniture from places like charity shops and Freecycle so that money can be invested in quality furniture for the rooms most often used instead of in mediocre furniture spread throughout the house.

Well-made furniture is usually easy to redecorate, whether by replacing cushion covers or by varnishing to change the colour of wood.  This means it can be adapted to fashion rather than needing to be replaced, and can still fit in with the changing overall look of a room.

Where it matters most

There are three room types where quality furniture is especially important.  The first, though guests might not often see it, is the bedroom.  This is because a quality bed can make a huge difference to quality of sleep and therefore the ability to get things done in the daytime.  The second is the living room, where good quality soft furnishings are much better at standing up to regular use, and where a handsome coffee table or dresser will really be admired.  The third is the dining room, where a well crafted mahogany or oak dining table is ideal for dinner parties and family get-togethers.

Selecting quality furniture

To choose quality furniture, it’s necessary to know what you’re doing - plenty of items are advertised as high quality when they’re not.  The real thing should be solid and resilient, with wooden parts obviously hand-carved and with properly made mortise or dovetail joints.  Moving parts should move freely and tipping the piece should never cause it to twist or creak.  Anything made from chipboard or wood pulp, anything that can be scratched, and anything with knots, nails or visible fissures in it should be avoided.  To get the best, it’s necessary to be ruthless, but it’s well worth the effort.