To Keep Or Not To Keep? That Is The Furniture Question
It seems that as furniture ages, becoming shabby, uncomfortable or outdated, people will delegate those pieces to the basement, dorm, or a son or daughter’s first apartment. They look for new furniture, purchasing by price and style only.
In as little as 3 years later, (in one case a year), numerous issues come to light. Fabric may be wearing out, comfort is gone, finishes are very easily damaged, frames are becoming loose, or broken, or drawers become difficult to operate.
When telling me about how disappointed they have become with their purchases, they also talk about the much better furniture they used to have. Sometimes the previous furnishings were purchased at a “Quality” store or were handed down by a relative who only bought the best.
After talking with us and finding out how old pieces can be restored to like new or even better than new, they then tell us, “I should have kept them.”
For example, Mrs. Wilson came in last week, for a repair project. She reminded me that we reupholstered her sofa about 20-25 years ago. At some point, she didn’t say why, the reupholstered piece was given away and a new sofa purchased. She has been and still is very disappointed with the new purchase, saying, “I will not buy new again, but have my existing pieces restored.”
Before you decide to replace existing furniture with new, investigate what you have and how to update it. Our web site has countless pictures of such examples. Don’t get rid of something you later wished you had kept.