Why Furniture Got So Bad
30th June 2024
No one expects an Ikea bookcase or West Elm sofa to last for generations, or maybe even to survive another move. But walk into a vintage furniture store and you’ll find all types of old pieces that were inexpensive and mass-produced in their day, yet have still managed to achieve heirloom status.Furniture isn’t what it used to be. Fifty or 60 years ago, people thought of it as something they’d have for life — a dresser that a grown kid could take to college, a dining table where future grandchildren would have Thanksgiving. Today? Not so much.
I have–and use–a dresser that was my father’s, bought before WWII. The finish is easily damaged by water, but when I open the top drawer I can still smell the pipe tobacco that he would keep there.