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The vast majority of Americans buy all of their furniture new rather than thrifting or using other secondhand options. Unfortunately, a lot of new furniture isn’t exactly quality furniture. It’s often made from cheap materials and it doesn’t hold up well over time.
If you’re trying to furnish your home, you want to make sure that you’re getting furniture that will last. But how do you pick the right quality home furnishings?
Let’s talk about it. Read on to learn all about what you should look for when you’re choosing new furniture.
Let’s start with any piece of furniture that includes cabinet doors or drawers (like dressers and wardrobes, for example).
One of the worst things that can happen when you bring a new dresser or wardrobe into your home is that the drawers or cabinets don’t open or close smoothly.
Perhaps the cabinet doors catch when you try to open or close them, or there’s an obvious space when the doors are closed. The drawers may easily slide off of their rails or they’re uneven and difficult to slide at all.
These are signs of poor construction, and they’re unacceptable when it comes to modern furniture. If you’re buying a brand-new piece of furniture for your home, it should be functional.
If the drawers pull out and push in smoothly and the doors open and close as they should, it’s a sign of quality furniture.
When you’re buying furniture, look for sturdy pieces.
When you get a new chair, sofa, or table, give it a good nudge. If it wobbles, it’s a sign that there’s something wrong with its construction. It should be able to stay upright and sturdy.
Give each leg a push. It should stay in place even if you try to wiggle it gently. While you shouldn’t be too rough with the furniture, it should be able to withstand some pressure.
After all, you’re going to be sitting on it, moving it, or putting things on it.
Sturdiness is a sign of higher-quality furniture.
What is the furniture made of?
You want your furniture to be made of strong wood and metal for the most part. Avoid plastic and particleboard for more expensive pieces. While these materials are okay for affordable furniture, they don’t last as long and the results are not as high-quality.
Higher-quality materials are more durable. They can withstand more weight and they’ll last longer even with heavy use.
Often, the furniture you find at antique stores that’s still in good condition decades after it was originally made is made of wood and metal. It’s unlikely that you’ll find many plastic or particleboard antiques fifty years from now.
On that note, the weight of a piece of furniture often shows its quality (though this isn’t true in all cases).
When you pick up an end table and it’s light enough to hold easily with one hand it’s a sign that it’s not high-quality. It may be made of cheap material or it may be hollow. Both of those things can lead to it breaking faster and being less sturdy overall.
A heavy piece of furniture won’t necessarily be a high-quality piece of furniture, but it’s a good sign.
With this in mind, there are still light pieces of furniture that are of decent quality. Light furniture is convenient for people who move often or live in small spaces. Weight isn’t a defining factor, it’s just a factor you should keep in mind.
So what about the fabric on softer pieces of furniture?
It’s often difficult to find fabric that isn’t some sort of polyester blend. This doesn’t have to be a bad thing, but that fabric isn’t of the highest quality. Certain fabrics don’t age very well or hold up well to wear and tear, and those are fabrics you want to avoid when you’re buying furniture.
Cotton, linen, genuine leather, and wool are good fabrics to look for. There are also certain performance fabrics that aren’t traditional but will hold up well over time. They’re easy to clean, they’re soft, and they’re resistant to stains and tears.
Fabric isn’t the most important factor when you’re buying new furniture because you can always reupholster something in the future if you have to. That said, be very careful (especially if you have pets or small children who could damage cheaper fabrics).
When you receive a piece of new furniture, it should look perfect. It should be free of any chips or scratches and the finish should be smooth.
Home furnishings shouldn’t be easy to chip or scratch. A new piece of furniture should be able to withstand gentle scratching with a fingernail or coin. Consider how you’re going to use the furniture and how easily it could get scratched day-to-day.
A piece of furniture that scratches or chips easily is not high-quality.
Does the piece of furniture look balanced and symmetrical? Do the legs or arms line up? If you buy multiple pieces of the same furniture, do they all look the same?
Artistic asymmetry is acceptable, but if you buy a piece of furniture expecting it to be symmetrical, it should be.
If you buy multiple end tables, they should all look pretty much the same (with minor allowable differences if the pieces are handmade).
Finding quality home furnishings isn’t always easy. You don’t want to waste your time or money on furniture that you’ll only get a few years of use out of. Keep these things in mind so you can find the right furniture options for your home.
If you’re looking for quality furniture, we have what you need! Visit our shop and start furnishing your home today.