How old is your furniture?

[hamchan]

I don't know that any of our furniture is particularly high quality, but we are light on our stuff. We might be big on medium quality (as with anything). But even some of our cheapie furniture (low quality) has lasted a very long time.

The irony of it is we just have taken whatever we can for free or at a deep discount and we probably figured we'd replace some of the stuff over time. But I have no complaints with what we have and would rather spend my money on something else than on replacing functional and nice furniture. I think it's fair enough if a decorator type wants to change it up more often. I will just never understand why so many people earmark perfectly nice pieces for the dumpster. Beyond the money, just so wasteful!! But, good for us I guess...

That can be true depending on the local market. In that case, Craigslist may be the better option. There you can find stuff that people are selling because they're moving or cleaning out a home after a parent died or went into a nursing home or just remodeling. The stuff isn't usually worn out. In fact, it can be quite nice and quite cheap.

While that is true, that also means I have to line up a truck rental and someone to drive it within a day or two, and if I decide not to buy it on closer inspection, I am out the money for the truck rental. Craigslist is even less of a workable solution for this reason. Buying used furniture is usually just way too much of a hassle and there is too much hidden expense involved. Anything small and light enough for me to carry home is fair game though.

We pretty much always order from places online that have free shipping and no tax. They deliver it right to us, and I can find the dimensions, style, and color I want. The only downside is that because our budget is on the lower end we may have to replace things a bit more often. I do pay a lot of attention to reviews when purchasing so I wind up with something that lasts as long as is possible. I also don't mind because my tastes do change over time. What I liked ten years ago I may not like as much today. And I like to feel like I have the freedom to move a long distance without worrying about having to truck a whole household of stuff with me.

[Eagle]

As a family who has dealt with pests (bed bugs, etc.) in the past I can honestly say we will never use used furniture from friends, family, Goodwill, etc. We basically had to get rid of most of our furniture when we moved. We don't plan on buying furniture again for at least a couple of decades

[disneysteve]

As a family who has dealt with pests (bed bugs, etc.) in the past I can honestly say we will never use used furniture from friends, family, Goodwill, etc.

That's why I specified that I wouldn't buy used "soft" furniture. No beds, sofas, loveseats, or anything upholstered. Wooden tables, dressers, chairs, bookcases, etc. are fine though. No issues there.

[HappySaver]

When we rented and were in our starter home, we bought pieces at medium-quality furniture stores and IKEA. In our new home we've been buying higher quality pieces little by little (as we save for it, not taking on debt for furniture). I hope to never have replace these pieces!! Where we could we kept some of our older pieces. We've kept most of the IKEA stuff - it was some of the other pieces that didn't stand the test of time as well.

Moving is the critical factor here. I can't imagine just replacing perfectly nice furniture in the same house unless you really hate it for some reason. Upholstered pieces do wear down and the springs can go as well if not high quality or if harshly used. I can see that those kinds of pieces might need to be replaced more often.

I am trying to sell an old coffee table on Craigslist right now and it's not so easy. It's a nice table, real wood, in great condition from a trendy store (just doesn't fit in the new house) and I'm asking very little for it, but I just think most people would rather buy cheaply and new. It's a throw-away society for the most part.

[kork13]

Good furniture should last a lifetime and beyond. And you don't even need to spend a ton of money. I have numerous pieces I bought at Ikea when I got my first apartment in 1986 that are still with me and doing just fine 28 years later.

I don't know that any of our furniture is particularly high quality, but we are light on our stuff. We might be big on medium quality (as with anything). But even some of our cheapie furniture (low quality) has lasted a very long time.

Moving is the critical factor here. I can't imagine just replacing perfectly nice furniture in the same house unless you really hate it for some reason. Upholstered pieces do wear down and the springs can go as well if not high quality or if harshly used. I can see that those kinds of pieces might need to be replaced more often.

This has been the motivating factor for me, and also for my family while I was growing up. My family & now myself were/are military, so frequent moving is commonplace (every 2-5 years, typically). So having good, solid furniture that is going to hold up against a half-dozen cross-country or overseas moves is important for me. Certainly I still see little knicks & dings from where stuff inevitably gets rough-handled, but as legit solid-wood furniture and well-constructed upholstered stuff (couches), everything holds together very well. I've moved with all of my furniture fully intact (albeit slightly dinged) 3 times already in just 6.5 years. My family moved over a dozen times all around the world, and still have all of the same, quality furniture as I remember us having all my life.

[suite001]

Hi,
My bedroom and dining room furniture is about 10 years old.
The rest was hand me down stuff. I have no idea how old it is.
Suite001

[marvholly]

Most of my furniture is quite old. Around 10 pieces are true antiques (>100 y/o).

Got master bedroom set used in 1975.
Got dine rm table & chairs used in 1978.
Drawer units in Bed 2 inherited when my grandmother died in 1975.
Cabinets & drawers in Bed 3 were from my bedroom growing up so about 50 y/o.
Lv sofas bought in 1989.
FR sofa bought in 1989.

Guess I am a buy it for keeps person.

I do need/want a new kitchen table & chairs. Prob will buy used.

[HappySaver]

Interesting comments about hand me downs. My parents invested in a very traditional and beautiful high quality dining room and master bedroom set when they settled into their home in the 80's. At the time they felt they would pass the furniture onto me.

My style is totally different from theirs, so when they retired to Florida I did not want their furniture. The large pieces, in fact, did not fit in our house, but I would not have wanted them anyway despite the fact that they were still in perfect condition. Beautiful pieces in a traditional home, but they were just a polar opposite decorating style to what we like.

They sold the two sets with the house and it helped with the sale in a difficult sellers market. Plus, they enjoyed the furniture for 25 years. So it was still worth it to them. But it's interesting how our perspective on hand me downs has changed.

There are only a couple pieces of furniture they own that I would happily keep, but of course they took those to Florida with them!

Coincidentally I just watched a news report talking about retirees down-sizing, in which the expert said that your children usually won't want your stuff!

[disneysteve]

Coincidentally I just watched a news report talking about retirees down-sizing, in which the expert said that your children usually won't want your stuff!

Certainly there is a lot of truth to this. Some of it is change in styles. Some of it is space restraints. When my mom sold her house and moved to an apartment 6 years ago, I took some little memento types of items but no furniture. I already have a furnished home. I had no need or use for any of it so it got sold off.

[moneybags]

Coincidentally I just watched a news report talking about retirees down-sizing, in which the expert said that your children usually won't want your stuff!

I blame this on the entitlement mentality. When we first moved out, any free furniture was welcomed (to save us money!). I've seen many youngsters scoff at accepting hand-me-downs because it wasn't exactly what they wanted. I still welcome free furniture: my living room and guest bedroom were furnished when some elderly relatives died.

[rennigade]

I blame this on the entitlement mentality. When we first moved out, any free furniture was welcomed (to save us money!). I've seen many youngsters scoff at accepting hand-me-downs because it wasn't exactly what they wanted. I still welcome free furniture: my living room and guest bedroom were furnished when some elderly relatives died.

What does entitlement have anything to do with not taking free furniture? If someone has the means to purchase furniture they want..why on earth would they take something they do not want...even if its free? That has nothing to do with someone who has an entitlement mentality.

When someone retires...its probably safe to assume that their "kids" are grown adults who may even have kids of their own...who've probably been in the workforce for a number of years...and someone who already has a furnished place to live.

[hamchan]

What does entitlement have anything to do with not taking free furniture? If someone has the means to purchase furniture they want..why on earth would they take something they do not want...even if its free? That has nothing to do with someone who has an entitlement mentality.

When someone retires...its probably safe to assume that their "kids" are grown adults who may even have kids of their own...who've probably been in the workforce for a number of years...and someone who already has a furnished place to live.

Exactly. I happily accepted my grandma's old furniture when I was 18 and moving into my own apartment, but at this point I don't have the space or need to take things just because someone is offering it to me. We have all the furniture we need. The only reason I would take something like that now is if it were better quality than what we currently have and fit in the small amount of space we have for it.

[creditcardfree]

We keep for a long period of time if possible. I actually don't like buying new furniture because I don't like spending the money!

We had our kitchen set for our entire married life (17 years) until last fall. It only fit four people and we were at a point in our lives with a larger home and a desire to entertain. We purchased the original table for $300 and sold it for $150. In my mind it was dated, but someone clearly was pleased with an all wood table and chairs. The new set came with eight chairs and has two leaves to expand it. We spent less than $1000 I think.

We had low end leather couches that we also sold last year. Those were from our first days of marriage as well. I think we paid around $900, and we definitely used them. There were some holes and wear on cushion edges. We sold the set for $150 to someone who was thrilled with them. Interestingly, we took my parents living room sofas because they were downsizing. They had purchased them in 2004. They are also showing wear and I'm not exactly excited about how big they are. At this point, I actually think we will sell or donate them when we move next year. But again, I don't like to spend money on furniture, so we'll see!

[cypher1]

What does entitlement have anything to do with not taking free furniture? If someone has the means to purchase furniture they want..why on earth would they take something they do not want...even if its free? That has nothing to do with someone who has an entitlement mentality.

Agreed. My parents held onto certain items (piano, benches, tables, desk, chairs) thinking my siblings and I would want due to the quality and sentimental factor. Besides the fact that most of furniture was impractical for my area, I simply had a difference style in preference for my home (more modern/contemporary), and wanted to purchase items on my own.

[cypher1]

I must be in the minority for buying used soft furniture on CL. My two favorite items were 3 yr old loveseat and chaise/sofa I found which looked and felt new. Although I understand for fear of bedbugs, etc. I wouldn't buy other cloth items. Another rule was I never bought items from a owner being a smoker, having kids or pets.

From a seller perspective, one winter I sold my coworker's living room and bedroom furniture set on CL. That was tough, even with items only 10 months old, and sold at 1/3 of the original price at excellent condition, that was considered good as I explained to my friend.

No matter the name/brand and negotiating price, reselling that furniture is a wash, due to everyone having so many different preferences and style. Add to the fact as others having stated; not being comfortable with used items, and coordination required for the delivery, I can understand the hesitation.