How often is it acceptable to change furniture ? Should you keep it forever ?

[flurniture]

I’m just having this debate with my DH.

For example for children’s bedrooms, did you pick furniture that would last them until they grow up ? Or did you buy furniture when they were tiny and were thinking it would be appropriate for when they’re teens etc but maybe you changed it ?

Or when you moved house, did you need to get rid / sell or give away some furniture because it just didn’t fit in your new house properly ?

or a new sofa, just because it’s old and scraggly. How long do you keep sofas ? Or how about, after 15-20 years, you just fancied a fresher, more modern look, so you just got a new sofa or dining table or whatever it is.

my DH comes from a family where they’ve had the same items for 40 years or so. Fine. But I feel like him and his family are always pushing for us to keep stuff which doesn’t match any more in our new place/ or is just getting old etc.

I have recently bought bedroom furniture for my two year old and my DH is saying he can’t imagine my son liking it when he’s 15. It’s not offensive, it’s just white and good quality/ nice style. It’s hard for me to say whether a 15 year old will like it.

we’ve had some cheaper chest of drawers that we’ve owned and used for over 10 years but are now just falling apart and we need new ones. DH sees it as ‘ it was such a waste ‘ when actually for the price, it lasted a long time and isn’t a ‘waste’.

I get there will be a lot of furniture which can last a life time, but who had the money to afford that kind of furniture in your 20s.

anyhow, I’m just thinking it’s normal to update things sometimes or for things to not fit in your new house or for old stuff to need to be replaced. But I feel like it’s always a ‘ failure ‘ in DH eyes because of how his partners have so much old furniture and have never updated their house in any way. Their house is like a museum..

My bedroom furniture is 38 years old, as old as this house and belonging to the last owners. I am starting to go off it after 23 years, Lol.
Other items have been bought as needed, in 40 years of marriage we are on our 3rd set of sofas.
We do replace with good quality items now, but furniture has always been just functional to us.

I live in a small 2 bed flat which I have owned since my 20s.. I am in my 30s and expecting so have needed to rejig the flat.

Swapped my desk (only had it for 5 years) for a smaller one to make room for the baby furniture and also after baby moves to the nursery (where it currently lives) possibly in 2 years time, a smaller desk would fit better in my bedroom.

We have a single bed in the nursery (which was a guest bed) but it would be a bed for one parent to sleep when baby is having a difficult night/our son's bed eventually. So our eventual plan is for our reception to have a murphy bed/sofa combo, to junk the current dining sofa/beanbag couch and for dh to switch to a smaller desk. Also to switch out the dining chairs.

Would be expensive but a lot cheaper than moving. Needless to say I haven't had the furniture for over 10 years, only around 5.5 years.

I only get rid of furniture if it's falling apart and not fixable. A good deal of what I have was passed on from relatives. I would never get rid of perfectly good furniture just to be fashionable.

I think things evolve over your lifetime. For instance starting out you might be so broke you put up with free or cheap stuff that you dislike but need. Once you're set up I wouldn't buy to refresh or follow the seasons or something. I moved to a slightly smaller house fairly recently and I had to donate a lot of really nice things. I can never get a good price so just donate. I'd only dispose of something broken.

I see sofas as an investment as they're so expensive so I would expect 20 years or until they're beyond repair.

There are so many beautiful pieces of furniture in charity shops that I'd really only buy brand new mattresses or fabric sofas.

I remember not having the money for a TV stand and using an upturned box with fabric over it 😂

But toddler furniture, I think maybe buy cheap and chuck as toddlers are so disgusting 😂

Yes we buy new furniture when we feel we need a change or things no longer fit in with decor. Generally we can afford nicer stuff now than when we first married. We are in our 60s and just replaced our living room furniture for the third time. First was second hand, second time cheap new, now we have bought decent stuff which will see us out. We are on our third set of sofas/armchairs. We Freecycle or sell the old stuff (even our old kitchen) so not adding to landfill. Bedroom units are built in so we have had those for many years but sometimes change doors.

Each to their own though so if your husbands parents keep their stuff for decades that’s fine. It is also fine for you to replace.

Furniture is not forever. Styles change. Your home and needs change. My lounge is 14 years old. I want a new one and when we can afford it, I will get a new one. The old one is still ok, but only one of the footrests extend and it’s not really nice to sit on without the footrests out. We no longer use our lounge room and it’s such a waste of a room. When we have some spare cash, I want to completely re-do that room.

Our bedroom furniture is also 14 years old (we moved country 14 years ago so bought lounge and bedroom suite at the same time). The bedroom furniture is still ok, but I do think we need a new mattress. Hubby doesn’t think so, but I wake up with a stiff back. So, again when finances allow I will get a new mattress.

if you want a refresh and can afford it, go for it.

i change furniture all the time. i get bored of it and want a new look. sofas are the ones i change the most, probably had about 7 in 10 years. however i always buy them second hand and then give them away.

We generally find we need to change the sofas about every 10 years, this is mid range furniture, current sofa is from Next clearance, I was lucky that the one I liked was there. We are thinking about a new mattress, that's about 10 years old, I suppose I will think about it for a couple more years though as its a bother buying one and a bit of unknown if its OK. Bed base is fine though.

I try and keep stuff as long as possible and like dark wood antiques but can't afford many - the ones I have are inherited. My family is very much of the 'that table is only 60 years old' school. However, I have certainly replaced a fair bit of kids' furniture because we didn't have a lot of cash when ds was younger and bought IKEA stuff second hand from Facebook marketplace, or in one case a new bed so cheap it literally fell to pieces after a couple of years. We're now rich enough to buy stuff that will last longer.

So I suppose id say, talk about buying second hand if you don't think you'll keep it, but aim to go for something that will suit you longer term if you can.

Depends on the quality and style of the furniture surely? And how well its been looked after?

DH and I kept our mismatched bits of student furniture (Ikea and Argos mostly) for 15-20 years while we moved around the country, settled into careers and had first DC. When we bought a house and had next DC we gradually replaced it bit by bit, just keeping a couple of good quality things including a very fancy leather sofa that gets soaped and conditioned every fortnight. We wanted downstairs furniture to finally match, so bought a huge heavy (no-tippable) table from Oak Furniture, with matching dresser, cabinets and coffee tables. The type that doesn't date but has to be rubbed with oak polish every month or so. Hopefully will last a lifetime or more. We did same with master bedroom furniture. Kids rooms we had fitted wardrobes built in, but beds are neutral style, pine, good quality new but not overly expensive or fancy, more so they stand up to wear and tear.

I wouldn't want a house crammed with old mismatched pieces. Nor would I want to replace new stuff or keep fixing screws or flimsy shelves/doors. But it depends what you agree on together?

Maybe settle for old furniture if you plan to move again soon or aren't sure what styles suit you long term, then replace it bit by bit or room by room?

We keep things as long as possible.
We certainly don't replace 'just because'.
Each DC has had a bedroom refit as a tween/teen to adapt to growing needs.

I only change stuff when its necessary....as in falling apart. Sofas more often though as they get a lot of use. Saying that I've had the same bed frame for over 20 years, my sons bed frames for 18!!! New mattresses as needed though 😂

I went to a new friend's house the other day. She had her sitting room totally decked out in brand new stuff. Plain walls. No sign of interests or hobbies. Matchy-matchy furniture. It was from an expensive shop but ...

it was so soulless. It reminded me of Retirement Home flats where they have to sell their life's possessions because the rooms are too small for the furniture. Horrible.

Half of our furniture is inherited from DH’s parents - there's nothing wrong with any of it so why would we replace it?

What products do you use on your leather sofa please?

I'm definitely in the keep camp I think.

House owner for 30 years, starting to think about a 3rd set of sofas (current around 15yo, but still in okayish condition - I replaced the fibre filled seat cushions with foam a couple of years ago, but some of the fabric is now wearing).

Coffee table & side cupboards in lounge were a wedding present (no longer together) 27 years ago, but are solid wood & carved from the place we were living at the time. Will keep them forever.

Dining table & chairs are 24 years old, from when we brought the house. Chairs are upholstered and the seats aren't as firm as they were, but the frames are perfect and they look nearly as good as new.

Kitchen table is 29 years old, although I've had new (2nd hand - to try a style, and they were only £40 for 4!) chairs about 5 years ago and then new (slightly different style as others didn't work & 2 got damaged) chairs last year. Kept the 2 undamaged ones as extras.

19yo's room has the okay-quality MFI wardrobes we got when he was tiny which are still in v good condition.

22yo's room has one of the MFI desks we got as students in 1991! The other desk is downstairs in the study.
His bed was ours from when we brought our 1st house, 30 years ago.

Think I am in the middle

Falling apart - replace
changing styles - no , tend to buy neutral so it’s walll colour and soft ( stuff that wears out quickly ) stuff that is more dramatic

howervr I lived with some inherited furniture for decades that I hated and that was probably really stupid - only got rid because it couldn’t physically be moved when I did - so life is too short of you really have a strong dislike - ( I never chose that furniture so it’s not a case of me changing my mind )

if someone dislikes things and I can see they are following fashion I have no respect for the new dislike

I mostly try to keep stuff, and when I do buy I get things second hand.

When we moved from our flat into our house we needed more furniture and eg I was looking at a large chest of drawers from IKEA - was mdf and plain and cost about £350. Instead I bought a Victorian one, solid oak from eBay with beautiful ornate carving for £250. Similarly our dining table and chairs are ercol from eBay - made in the 60s/70s and still in perfect condition. Style is timeless.

I am however just about to update my 7yos room for the first time since he was a baby, and he wants an ikea loft bed. And we’ve had our sofas for 11 years so will probably replace fairly soon.

A mix. We have tended to change furniture as we moved houses, mainly because we tend to buy DIY projects and by the time we finish a room we want to get furniture that fits the design. We also update furniture to replace damaged, well worn stuff or when our family needs change. I wouldn't blink at needing to change furniture for a toddler vs teenager, or shifting towards an empty nest.

There is no need to keep it forever. But you could sell it on or repair or restyle it in some way.

I have had some armchairs for nearly 20 years. But every few years they get a new slip cover to freshen up. My sofa is 6 years old, I don't love it particularly but feel I should keep it for a few more years. I also slipcovered that one.

Thanks everyone for your views. What about furniture for children’s rooms specifically because that’s what we are doing at the moment. I am picking good pieces now. Not top of the range but I’m trying to get solid wood stuff - that is painted. I don’t know if it will definitely last our kids until they move out though and we do want to move one more time too. In which case, some of the furniture may or may not be replaced. We’ve bought the children double beds already so we didn’t need to ‘ waste ‘ toddler bed and then single bed and then double.

I'm in a house with furniture that my great grand parents owned, and they were probably antique then, so not that often! It's more the soft furnishings that change, although tbh I usually just move things around.

Acceptable to whom? Why in earth does your DH’s family have a say in what you have in your home? If you want to replace inherited furniture maybe compromise, see if it will fit in somewhere else, eg ask siblings if they want Auntie Mary’s rocking chair or stick it in your loft if you have one to pass it on to your kids. Otherwise if it’s damaged, or just not right anymore pass it to the charity shop.
We have lived in the same house, have classic buy once kind of taste, and prefer to spend spare cash on travel. We have replaced single beds in dc’s rooms with doubles, replaced sofas once in 35 years (new ones have been scratched by our cats so will have to go at some point when I am tired of fiddling with strategically placed throws! We replaced our original dining table and chairs with a much bigger set when we extended the kitchen.
But you do! Bugger all to do with his family how you spend your money.

I reckon my sofa is close to 20 years old , it's not a wreck , but could do with new ones
We are starting house renovations next year , quite major ones so new furniture now would be pointless .
Next year will be getting loads of new things basically everything for a lounge as everything is going in our present one . New bed , new bedroom furniture for two rooms , new flooring for the whole house , a full renovation .