My couches, probably about 7-9 years.

Everything else, 15 years or longer.

At the rate that my son stains and bodyslamms himself on the couch, I give it less than 5 years.

I have only furniture which I made myself (bed, desk, sideboard) or furniture that are already 100 years old. It all would last a lifetime if I wanted it. Maybe I will sell something and build or buy something else. The only thing which might not last that long are the cushions of my sofa. The frame (steeltubes around the cushions) will last forever.

Yesterday I cleaned a storage glas which I bought from IKEA 10 Years ago. I washed it a hundred times. This time it just bursted 10 seconds after I had put it on the table for drying. The water was not hot! I guess the tension after producing the glass was not removed. That has to be done to every glass in production. OK its not a furniture...

Best regards

Dirk

I'd say 10-20. That being said, at least half of my furniture is older than that.

I have my parent's living room sofa and couch from the 50's. They've held up, but probably because no one jumped around on them. But they should last another 10 years at least.

Ideally, my furniture and all my other possessions would last me through one stage of life (about five to seven years, at this point) and then be ready to pass on to other people.

I'm always amused during any debate regarding the sustainability of Ikea and similar furniture because all of my dressers were originally purchased by my grandparents from what was essentially the 1950s equivilant of the Ikea catalog. With their clean lines and tapered legs all that it took to update them from the dressers of my and my mother's childhoods was a new set of drawer pulls. Certainly 50 years of use can't be expected from every piece of customer-assembled furniture--especially things like beds and upholstered seating--but it does make me wonder what sort of use and abuse others are putting their furniture through if something like a bookcase or dresser (two Ikea items I've purchased) is considered a "throwaway" item after only a few years.

But then again, I'm in my first place so other than the mattress my Ikea items are the only "new" things I own--everything else is from second-hand stores or hand-me-down furnishings older than I am (including the couch, which is in amazingly good shape for being a knock-off showroom sample from the early 80s) so what others might consider only a temporary solution have a much higher value for me as they represent a relative indulgence given my tight budget.

Except for upholstered pieces and mattresses, all my furniture is about 100 years old, and I expect it to last for several more decades.

Furniture meant to last only ten years is the decor equivalent of paper plates. Convenient, but not very ecological.

I try to acquire furnishings that have already been around for 30 years, it lets me know that they're built well and are solid pieces. Anything with fabric is a toss up between reupholstering and replacing, depending on the use.

Our living room furniture (couch, chairs) that we bought at an estate sale is from the 20s. We re-upholstered it, of course. We have some other family pieces (chests, chairs) that are at least 60-80 years old. Our new Amish custom-made cherry wood dining room table and chairs I expect to last forever and be passed down, and it didn't cost anymore (and probably less) than a set at say, Ethan Allen or somewhere. You get what you pay for. We do, however, have less expensive stuff in the kids' rooms and in the family room. Our first leather couch lasted about 20 years.

I own my grandmother's dining room set, which is well over 50 years old, not to mention a gorgeous cedar chest that's been in the family for generations. I know that great furniture lasts, and I do my best to continue buying furniture that will do so. My sofa will last at least ten years before I get it recovered, and then another ten after that, because I purchased a quality frame.

That said, its hard to buy EVERY item to last a lifetime.

I'm shocked when something durable actually breaks. Almost all of my furniture is second-hand and probably at least 50 years old (some older). I expect things to last forever -- including electronics, which seem to belie my expectations the most frequently. I've had lamps, my oven, and my washing machine and dryer all break, and so my reaction is to get them fixed. I'm surprised when someone says "just get a new one" because that is so not part of my thrifty new england mind set.

While I'm happy to get something new if I'm sick of the old one, I always sell or pass along the old item. I can't remember a time when I've actually had to throw away a piece of furniture.

i couldn't vote. i guess if i were going to drop a few thousand dollars on something, i might expect it to last, but that's not going to happen any time soon. i understand the whole concept of 'hidden costs' of cheap crap, so i try to buy used furniture that has already lasted 50 years and will last another 50.

however . . . sometimes i can't wait for the right thing to come along. sometimes i need something, just the right size, just the right price, so i buy cheap/new and only expect that to last about five years. my time (spent scouring thrift stores and craigslist and estate sales) and my family's comfort are worth something too.

that being said, the cheap ikea furniture i bought five years ago still looks great, even with a toddler and a preschooler in the house. sometimes furniture is cheap because it's incredibly simple and spare (like the tolga bed frames we own and love) - not because it's made from cheap materials that are going to be in the trash soon.

This should really be divided into people with children under the age of ten and people without children under the age of ten.

I agree with BornSlippy about normal use of furniture. Other than sofas and matresses, most furniture should hold up indefinitely if you don't have kids. I have several ikea bookcases I bought in 2004, that have been moved twice, and are loaded with books, that are still performing admirably. When I take them apart, I am careful to keep all the pieces together and not throw them around.

My Ikea Erktorp sofa has held up much better than the little white modern leather sofa I bought more recently, that basically only my 17 lb pug sits on. Also, as someone with severe allergies, I LOVE that so many ikea items are slipcovered in natural fabrics and washable. I prefer that to a $5k polyester sofa covered in chemicals that I cannot really clean.

The durability of Ikea is directly related to whether you have kids. My inlaws very nicely bought us entire sets of Ikea for our kids' room. Not a single piece lasted more than 6 months before the drawer fronts became detached, the frame became rickety, the cheap veneer came off, etc. etc.

Ironically, we got Ikea for the kids rooms because I thought they'd wreck antiques. Now their rooms have antiques, and so far so good.

I have some IKEA pieces and some solid wood non-IKEA pieces. Almost all of them are almost 15 years old, because at that time I moved into my first own flat. The IKEA sofa is still comfy, though totally threadbare. All the bookcases, wardrobes, chairs, tables etc, are still fine, even the cheap Lack I bought around 20 years ago when I was still a teenager. The same can be said for a couple of director's chairs (I hope this is the right term) and a metal folding table I must have bought at that time.
So I'd also say, as long as you treat your IKEA furniture carefully, why shouldn't it last?

i am expecting some of my lower end peices to bite the dust in maybe 5-10 years but a good number of my peices will last for decades i'm assuming

We have Ikea furniture that is twenty years old and still looks as good as when purchased. Some of my friends with children also have the same furniture and it also looks good and is in good shape. If you chose pieces made from solid wood rather than veneered particleboard (you do need to read the "ingredients") there is no reason why furniture from the big blue box won't last as long as any other solid wooden furniture from more pricey shops.

The furniture in my home is about 1/3 handmade by me or my friends, 1/3 vintage (thrifted or from family), and 1/3 Ikea. We have the solid maple dressers that my parents bought as newlyweds almost 60 years ago, from a DIY-unfinished furniture shop. I expect the wooden pieces to outlast me. Soft furniture (like mattresses and upholstered pieces) last as long as their stuffing, not a lifetime

It's sort of like shoes.

If you buy an expensive pair, you expect them to last a good 5-8 years, depending on what you put them through (sneakers not pumps). I wouldn't expect sneakers from Target to last more than a year or even less.

I guess you can say you get what you pay for, with some exceptions.

i expect all my big ticket items to last a lifetime. i like having things around that will grow old with me & that will also show a patina. i've got some of my parents things as well. i like to accessorize these with objects that can be traded out & are more trendy than classic & don't have much of a life expectancy.

I hope to live in a bigger space someday, and all my small-scale furniture will have to be replaced at that point, so I don't want to spend a lot of money on furniture now. I'm not at the point in my life where I'm buying forever furniture. Also, I don't have children, nor do I plan to, so there's no one to pass things on to, and I don't know that I'll ever care about my furniture being long-lasting.

I always try to buy well-made, durable furniture and as a result, I have normally gotten 15 or more years of service from it, even good Ikea pieces. Aside from wear and potential abuse, the principal factor governing furniture durability is style. I believe that if you buy high quality pieces and keep a well-designed, eclectic interior your furniture will last a lifetime.

When I was in college, my great-aunt gifted me with several beautiful mid-century furniture pieces. A matter of months later, my college roommate had spattered candle wax all over one piece, doing irreparable damage. Other pieces were dinged or broken by her friends, college-aged partygoers. My boyfriend sat down in one of my Amish chairs and, when he shifted his weight, one of the chair legs seemingly shattered beneath him (those chairs, as you probably know, are not nailed together).

The Ikea stuff has been dinged up, too, in the course of multiple cross-country moves, but it's never felt like so great a loss as the really beautiful old stuff. In San Francisco, just before I moved, I craigslisted a TV stand -- "free to whoever can carry it away" -- and I was stunned when a kid in a VW Beetle quickly dismantled it using tools from his cargo pants pocket.

What I'm saying is, older furniture is lovely, but when something happens to it, it's like a knife through the heart.

Joydreamz wrote:

"This should really be divided into people with children under the age of ten and people without children under the age of ten."

I disagree. My stepson has learned that he's not allowed to jump on the furniture. He's 6 years old. My children (21 and 18) learned this as well. I learned it from MY parents, and my husband learned it from HIS parents.

I just say, "Furniture is for sitting, not jumping."

If you treat it right, it will last.

Umm, having bookcases last since 2004 is not proof that they are good quality, at least not to me! My daughter was born in 2003 -- 2004, why that's nothing -- just the merest blink of an eye! Something like bookcases should easily last more than 20 years.

(BTW, my Billy bookcases, bought when a grad student, didn't last more than 6 months before the shelves started warping... not surprisingly, the bookcases are made much narrower these days).

"If you chose pieces made from solid wood rather than veneered particleboard (you do need to read the "ingredients") there is no reason why furniture from the big blue box won't last as long as any other solid wooden furniture from more pricey shops."

Well stated fjorlief, I agree!

I chose the 10-20 year option not because I think my furniture will be falling apart by then, but that I'll be ready to pass it on to someone else by then :) I'm opting not to replace any of our second hand stuff until we're ready to buy something of long lasting quality.

I think it depends entirely on the abuse doled out to it. In my home, furniture breaking was considered abuse and we were punished for it....meaning we had to replace the item or work off the cost of doing so! In my cousin's home, they expected stuff to break and nothing happened. Needless to say, did they get an education when they spent the summer with us!

I also work for a big box furniture store and I can tell you that the things parents let their kids do to furniture these days would have shocked even my permissive aunt. Who lets kids pole vault onto loft beds, climb bookcases (to get over walls?!?!) and use mattress displays as gymnasiums?

While I may not plan on having this furniture for 10-20 years, I definitely expect it to last that long. I really don't see the point in ever buying something new (other than mattresses).

At this point in my life I'd rather have furniture that I enjoy but am not overly attached to, so I can sell it/gift it should the opportunity to move on arise.

Just after buying a new living room set I heard my uncle say that it should "last them the duration'... seems kind of definitive to me?

I bought most if not all my furniture as a teenager - hoarding it until I moved out around 21 - seven years later all is fine and I expect it to last a lifetime - bear in mind I have mostly antiques, second-hand items, thrift items - I spent very wisely and have NEVER bought actual furniture from a place like IKEA - as much as I love their stuff - it is just too modern to be around for a lifetime - nothing is traditional or classic - I would think a person - even a child or teenager would "grow out" of the item as they find their own style - even if the item proved to be high quality and could last

Your furniture, no matter what you pay for it, will last longer if you take proper care of it. There is no such thing as maintenance free furniture!
Also, we should consider our lifestyle when purchasing furniture. No silk or linen when you have small children or pets, etc.

it depends on the engineering (good design some physics), the construction, and how it is used. veneers chip, compressed oatmeal crumbles, items fall apart at any age no matter how well-trained are the users. i inherited my aunt's hardly-used m-cm & it disintegrates when i look at it, but grew up w/ other m-cm that survived hotwheels/barbies/nail polish w/ only dings (by the same "good" designers, btw). i prefer pieces w/ good/classic proportions, regardless of how i acquire them, and not too big. consider that not every home can accomodate a 72" long paul mccobb dresser that needs 96" for all the doors to open. two 36" dressers would have been easier. consider that shelves will warp if they are > 30" with no middle support, no matter the material or age (that physics thing). consider that it still is better to reduce/reuse/recycle than to redo w/ new every few years (ikea might be sustainable, but shipping it is not). furniture is not shoes; given the above in whatever your style, it should last 200 years, then be of quality to haul onto the "antique road show."

as much as I love their stuff - it is just too modern to be around for a lifetime

Today's modern is tomorrow's classic.

I would expect furniture to last AT LEAST 10 to 15 years, but really, indefinitely. I disagree with those who say IKEA immediately falls apart, by the way. I have a number of IKEA items that are about 10 years old, including a Billy bookshelf that I got off the street from someone moving, so I assume it's probably at least 20 years old. I feel the same way as a number of commenters who can't understand what people are doing to their furniture. (I don't have kids, and I agree that must be a major factor). When I have replaced furniture, it's been only for style-fatigue, and not because the furniture has fallen apart. (And these are not antiques.) But when I do that, I am careful to find a loving home because I value my furniture --- even the cheap IKEA stuff, and I treat it all as if I'd spent a fortune on it. I never throw anything useful out. I also usually take a very long time shopping around --- like years. The hunt is part of the fun.

I'm trying to make my space as nice as possible, but once I'm out of grad school I'll be able to do a serious upgrade...so my furniture has no expectation of surviving past the end of graduate school.

Wow, I have pieces that have travelled with me some 20 years, including a wooden crate that constantly meets new purposes, and other things I bought second-hand that must be at least 30 years old... I expect stuff to last, and while self-assembly can take a battering if you move, there are ways and means to protect it, like disassembly, or careful packing (and being strict with your movers).

It just never occurs to me that my furniture will cop out before I do, and I was always taught to respect furniture when I was a child: maybe people brought up to view it as acceptable collateral damage are the ones with the earth-destroying need for constant replacements?

If our house was peopled by adults only, then I'd expect all the wood stuff to last as long as we did (even if we passed them on to someone else), and the couches for 15-20. As it is, we have two boisterous little people who increase the wear and tear of our furniture quite dramatically and we've made purchasing decisions with them in mind.

That said:
1. dining table: IKEA - now 14 years old; still going strong - and has moved across oceans and across the country (separate trips)
2. bedframe: IKEA - now 8 years old; still going strong)
3. couches: IKEA - now 5 years old (fading, but still firm...luckily we bought an extra set of covers!)
4. bookcases: IKEA - now 14 years oldl; going strong and moved across oceans and across the country
5. random other pieces: all second hand and between 10 and 75 or so years old, except for our recent kijiji TV, which is two years old.....

So we're not doing too badly, really, even WITH the kids!

JAnn - children may not jump on furniture (ours certainly don't), but they are far more likely to be clumsy and to spill, scrape, etc. Our eldest son is unbelievably clumsy, mostly because his brain is on another planet trying to figure out how the universe works, and he's just a menace to furniture...not because he's willfully destroying it, but just because he happens to be sitting near a table. Our second son is not like that at all. And neither jumps on furniture and neither uses the living room as a play area.

I have mixed feelings about the whole IKEA thing.

Our place is a combination of nice antiques (all hand-me-downs from in-laws), two IKEA Pax closets that we've had for 10 ears, and a few mid-priced pieces we bought over the years (Pottery Barn coffee table, Workbench dining table chairs, and a 10 year old Leather Warehouse couch). Antiques are in great shape - of course. The coffee table from PB scratches so easily and has lost its luster, and the leather couch is really beat (but looks good beat/all broken in). However, my husband refers to it as the "Tobacco Road" couch.

But the IKEA Pax closets (and we have two) are in fantastic shape, considering they get a lot of use.

So, as I ponder the 'value' of IKEA, and know to expect the veneer to peel off and things to fall apart -- my sense is that's the IKEA of years ago (when they first opened in Elizabeth, NJ) and not how the stuff is today. I'm about to invest in a Galant desk and Effectiv cabinet system; the latter has a 10 year guarantee. I just can't spend thousands on these necessary items. I dunno. Guess I'll cross my fingers?

It really depends on the piece. Frankly I'm surprised that my Ikea bookshelves have survived 3 moves in the last 10 years. My couch is about 15 years old and only now needs replacement foam in the cushions. These are all things that I never expected to last so long. As for my solid oak entertainment armoire and the stagecoach chest that my great-great-great-great grandfather brought over from Holland in 1847: I expect to be passing those down to my grandchildren. The beauty of Ikea products is that they actually last much longer than most people expect, and if you damage them, it's not heartbreaking because you didn't pay that much for them. I'll keep using my cheap white bookshelves until I actually buy a house and decide to invest in more expensive shelving.

When I purchase a piece of furniture, I do so with the thought that will last as long as I own it, regardless of the price point !!! I've had my current computer desk for 10 yrs now and still love the timeless modern design of it, my coffee and end tables for about 15 and they're still looking good as well !!! I tend to take excellent care of my furniture purchases so they can last as long as I expect them to !!!

When I was growing up, we were taught not to abuse furniture, we were taught to dust and polish wood, glass, etc. on a regular basis !!! I tend not to think of my furniture as disposable or temporary !!!

There have been some pieces that I've purchased that had a lot of life still left in them that I sold due to downsizing, moving to a smaller place, and also because my tastes have changed from traditional to more contemporary and those who have purchased from me are amazed at how well I've taken care of my furniture !!!

I guess it would depend on one's lifestyle and what value they place on having something of quality that is built to last or something that will only do for a "temporary" situation, in which case I can understand why one wouldn't want to spend a lot of money !!! I have purchased furniture from IKEA, Target, The Door Store, Bob's Discount Furniture and Jensen-Lewis and I'm proud of everything I've purchased and of the quality for the money !!!

Furniture's life expectancy calculation is more for resale valuation. For instance, quality solid wood furniture should sustain its value indefinitely with about a 2% annual depreciation. The best way to understand it is to use relative comparisons. IKEA would have a depreciation value more likely above 20%.

The second most important thing to remember is that we change our tastes and adapt to trends in 5-10 year cycles. So if you expect to redecorate after 10 years consider this:

The IKEA piece you bought is worth nothing after its first 5 years (disposable)

The solid wood console you bought at a steal for $500 is still worth an actual cash value of $400...after 10 years!

If you expect to have something forever, it really doesn't matter. But when you look at your overall assets, it would be in your best interest to buy solid wood or high-quality authentic materials to protect your investment. I know...depreciable assets aren't an investment...but you should think of furniture that way.

If you have questions about my response you can contact me at adaptmethod.com any time.

I'd be happy to talk more about sustainability in furniture goods. It's my passion!