To think buying furniture brand new is a waste of money?

[maklenehan]

Sure some items are a lot better new than used, like sofas or mattresses.

But I don’t understand why people spend so much money on brand new furniture, when in 6 months time it’ll be worth about half what paid.

I went to a furniture shop recently and saw some MDF furniture that might last 10 years before looking scruffy/dated for over £1000 for a chest of drawers (West elm). When you can get a solid oak piece that looks timeless for £500. Looks a lot more solid and won’t break easily.

I also get that modern house owners want modern furniture, but there’s loaaads of 1960s furniture available cheap that is solid Teak, and the equivalent modern copies are vastly more expensive and worse quality.

I’m not arguing for the sake of it but I said”that can’t possibly be true unless..”

I will say though that 2nd hand furniture does seem to be popular where we live. We are now disposing of furniture the previous owners left. We put them on Facebook marketplace for a token amount of money each ((£5/10)... wardrobes, chests of drawers, bookcases, a bed, armchair and a odd little trunk. Every item sold same day! The odd little trunk was a surprise as it was quite ugly.! But the buyer sent us a photo 2 days later: she had up cycled it into a gorgeous trunk!

LOL @ 'solid oak for £500'. You mean blockboard.

I bought a beautiful oak 5ft wardrobe on eBay about 10 years ago for £100. I arranged my own courier - easily done. Fantastic workmanship and will last forever.

I paid 4 times that amount 30 years ago for a modern wardrobe that was flimsy and was consigned to the scrapheap decades ago.

Where is the second hand market for average rather than designer furniture built since the 1970s?

We don’t really do new furniture, we do spend time looking for solid pieces of furniture that we can have stripped and revarnished. We enjoy going to antique markets and looking for the perfect pieces though, I know some people wouldn’t have the time.

I do absolutely hate to see ‘upcycled’ furniture where people paint over the beautiful wood and stencil some crap french phrase on. It’s so sad to see lovely furniture ruined.

I have a 30 year old set of Ikea shelves i bought from new with my own money when I was a teenager.

Why would i buy second hand when i can buy ikea stuff that still matches those original shelves 30 years on and doesn't cost me a fortune and i can guarantee isnt scratched or damaged? And is practical and fits my house.

My parents have a mish mash of furniture, that didn't fit and looked awful, was uncomfortable and was damaged and it always drove me nuts.

I wouldn't buy cheap new furniture from bargain stores new for the same reason though.

Completely agree - our local auction rooms have plenty of lovely antique furniture which you can often pick up for a snip. Usually beautifully made and so much more character than something generic from IKEA or habitat.

Tbh I buy new but could not afford 4 k for a sofa ! I try to keep my furniture for as long as possible

I just cannot stand the smell of 2nd hand furniture. It always smells musty and kind of sweet or of smoke.

No matter how much you clean/air it. It makes me feel queasy.

We had a couple of very expensive mistakes with new furniture - the world's most uncomfortable sofa and a bed that was just too big for the space. So now much prefer second-hand because if I make an error I can get rid and start again without too much anguish. And, yes, the cost of hiring a van may well cost more than the price of the furniture but even if you take this into account it is still a lot cheaper than new. Auction houses / charity shops will often deliver too. Or man with a van services are not too unreasonable as well.

I paid £1700 for solid oak dining table, sideboard and a nest of coffee tables 12 years ago. Investment i think, and not something im looking to replace any time soon. I was left money by my gran when she passed, and she had 7 kids. I remember my mum telling me that nan always stood up when it was tea time as the kids took up what tiny table she had in the kitchen.

I vowed no one was ever gonna stand up to eat in my house, hence why I bought a table to sit 8.

my house is 250 years old and no item of flimsy Ikea flatpack will suffice.