Take a quick look around your home. How many items of furniture do you see yourself still owning in twenty years? How many pieces do you consider placeholders: semi-disposable furniture that you don't love, but that fills a necessary function until you find the perfect piece. And what's your plan for doing this?
I'll be the first to admit that, while I wish my home were filled with nothing but heirloom-quality furniture, from antiques to mid-century pieces, my ambitions have fallen by the wayside since having kids. Suddenly, Ikea has made a dramatic re-entry into my life, and while I think I've exercised fairly good judgment in my selection of Ikea stuff (well-constructed solid-wood pieces that can be re-sold or otherwise passed along), at some point I'd like to re-subscribe to my original goals to surround myself with nothing but things I cherish.
Via Lifehacker, I came across this piece on About.com, which purports to be a plan on how almost anyone can, with patience, accumulate a home full of good furniture.
The first thing the article states is that we should rid ourselves of the idea that our homes must be perfectly camera-ready from the get-go. This mentality is what causes many of us to panic-buy filler items that won't age well and may not even mesh with our actual tastes.
The article doesn't provide any nitty-gritty tips on how to get the furniture of your dreams. Instead, it dwells on the fact that lovers of good furniture must sit down, make a plan of exactly what you need, and prioritize these items. After that, you have to determine your style (versus mere trends), then create a budget and set aside a certain amount of money each year to realize your goals.
Along the way, you need to be strict with yourself about avoiding trends and impulse buys, and you need to accustom yourself to living with less furniture in the short term
What do you think? Is this a realistic plan? Or is it all well and good to say you're going to buy furniture slowly, but another thing entirely to live with the reality of, say, nothing but a sofa in your otherwise empty living room? Has anyone followed this plan, or a modified version of it, successfully? Or do you have an alternate plan for growing your home's wardrobe?
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Comments (34)
Well, my house started off with freebies from relatives and friends (a couple of which were things I'm planning on keeping, but the rest were pretty dodgy), and after five years, we've finally replaced three or four pieces with what we really want. I think if you need something, get it free or cheap for the meantime. Freecycle and charity shops, and even the kerb can get you things for the interim.
I think it's great to have a few investment pieces that you really love, but I prefer to be ... less attached to the rest. My tastes change frequently, and I have new ideas all the time, so I like to be able to bring things in and out. Craigslist makes it easy and affordable to do that. Last year, I sold my entire living room to a girl on CL and started over, because I fell in love with a rug from Anthropologie. Do over!
I love the theory behind this article: planning. I think that one other thing should be mentioned though. You also have to be willing to get rid of the "filler" stuff you had before. You are replacing, not adding.
We ended up with a “20 year plan” inadvertently, and are a few years into ours. Renovating an old farmhouse forced us to stop any non-essential purchases, and find simple furniture that could be moved from room to room as we worked on them. Some useful items: a good-quality wire shelving unit – first a tool shelf, sometimes a book case, once a laundry room shelf, and it’s now supplementing the pantry. Some apothecary-style lamps go from office to living room to occasional art show. Large cardboard boxes with dark fabric sheaths make great side tables and storage. We’ve bought a few finds (thrift or clearance) that are for not yet completed rooms, but have limited these by colors that will serve as the coordinating colors in the house, so these pieces can move comfortably throughout the house. Not perfect…but maybe in 20 years we’ll have something!
I envy tequila red. Although we have quality pieces now, frankly I'm tired of some of those things. I think my tastes have changed. So even though I would prefer different dining room furniture, different living room furniture, etc.,I feel locked into what we bought years and years ago. There's no way my spouse would agree to getting rid of it unless there's a good reason to do so.
I'm with tequila red. Buying nice pieces from Craigslist enables us to enjoy them while we have them, and feel no remorse when we send them on to their next home. I've seen too many people feel tied to furniture they no longer like, simply because of the cost.
Also, if you move a few times during those 20 years, your furniture might not work for the new place.
We had nothing but a coffee table in our living room for nearly a year. It is a vintage Probber coffee table that I got for a steal. It took a long time to find the perfect (again, vintage) sectional to go in that room. And for now, those are still the only two pieces of furniture. There are some accent pieces I want, but they're not in the budget right now.
We're firm believers in living with the bare minimum and not buying a lot of "filler" furniture.
The plan includes:
sectional for family room - planned for purchase in February!!!!
4 specific style/size rugs - one planned for Feb, one for summer
desk - not until 2011 unless extra $$ appears
bookcase - same timing as desk
TV/living room floating credenza - not in budget for 2010, but could be opportunity buy - budgeted $1000
Bed frame/headboard - after 2010 or opportunity buy
Craiglist is great for selling furniture you don't love when you find something amazing to replace it.
Disagree. I'd rather have a bed from Ikea that I can afford - now - than sleep on the floor and save every penny for the next 10 years. And which is better - a beautiful oak tree in the backyard and a fiberboard coffee table in the livingroom vs a beautiful oak table and ...eh, a fiberboard tree? Why is it shameful to have a style and taste in 2010 that won't last til 2050? And seriously, how does replacing a piece of cheap furniture say every 5 years compare to driving a big fat car on a daily basis, heating a non-insulated house all winter and using power-guzzling appliances like dryers when it's warm and sunny outside?
As a NYer and a renter in my late 20s, this idea seems mostly preposterous to me. While I'm a big believer in buying furniture you really like and that you can see yourself using for a long time (especially if it could potentially be used for a number of different functions), I simply can't know that my space in the future will even vaguely resemble my space now. This advice seems to make far more sense for people who have purchased a home that they envision living in for those 20 years. I also often find myself purchasing furniture for my apartment that will fit a certain very specific space (a nook for a desk, a bookshelf for a wall, etc), so that furniture might find a home in my new space, but it might well not be the best thing. I appreciate classic design pieces, but like others here I also want the room to update items, change my taste, or buy things for new circumstances.
10 years out of college (and married to someone who is 20 years out of college), I have gotten rid of all of the crap I owned back then with the exception of some Ikea bookshelves that really don't bother me. There are still a few pieces I would like someday - a bed, bedside tables, a table for the entry - but by and large, I love everything that we have now.
This year, my goal is to not want new things or more things but just to appreciate what I have (this is not sanctimonious but rather due to an unanticipated major home repair we had to make last month). 11 days in, I'm still on the wagon!
I'm probably older than most commenters, but I think the plan works. I still have the Shaker table and repro Shaker chairs that we got as wedding presents. I've recovered my couch that I bought new in 1989 twice, and slipcovered it as well.
I do buy fill in Expedits on Craigslist, I buy 2nd hand stuff and restore it, and I saved up for things I loved. We rented for a long time, bought a house, sold a house, and now live in a raw loft. I still love the things I love, but my accessories have changed, as has my color sense. Not so crazy about chintz.
I'd rather have a nice piece of antique or even vintage than anything bought new, but I'm not above Ikea bedside tables.
Maybe it's my old-school European upbringing, but that's my general philosophy. I grew up understanding that you don't get everything you want at once. Creating a home, just like creating a life, is a gradual buildup that takes a lifetime. Since I graduated from college five years ago, I've been gradually building my furniture collection, focusing on pieces that are well made and, though expensive, "perfect" for me. I started with my first big-girl purchase: a queen size bed with a pillow top mattress, and have gradually saved for and bought other pieces as I found what I liked. In the mean time, I've filled in with Ikea, hand-me-down and secondhand finds with the hope of eventually having everything I want. As I find the solid pieces that will stay with me, I pass along the fillers to others who can use them. I've been in the market for an antique barrister bookcase since I was about 16. I'm 27 now and still looking. I'll stick with my Ikea shelves until I find exactly what I want.
I'm with Jesikka. I have a few things that I love, mostly rickety inherited antiques, but everything else is functional and expendable.
I plan on having about 80% of my furniture in twenty years, but I see it being used in different ways. Hopefully I’ll be able to move the leather couch and chair into a reading room or study, once they are properly shabby, instead of having it in the living room. Maybe my little 2 person dining table can be turned into a crafting table or breakfast nook, since it is hardwood, and won’t be wearing out any time soon.
I don't plan on having them because of how much my furniture cost me (actually I was able to scavange most of them from 90% off to actually free) but because most of my pieces are simple classics that are easily updated with accessories.
I do prefer to live without some pieces until I can find the right one. I've been without end tables in my living room for a year and a half because I can't find exactly what I want. I would have a hard time if I didn't have the basics though.
I upgraded my furniture over time by nixing particleboard / fake furniture pieces in favor of solid wood or more substantially built pieces. Not everything I've acquired was expensive or new (a heck of a lot was sidewalk finds), but it was a big step in the right direction to just stop acquiring crappily made stuff. It's a waste of money to buy flimsy furniture when there's plenty of real furniture out there for the same amount of money.
I recently bought a new couch and deliberately picked a style I thought I could live with for the next 20 years.
I understand the idea of wanting to get new furniture when your tastes change. Would any of you ever consider reupholstering quality furniture, instead of buying all new?
It's a thought that most people don't consider. There's something to be said for quality furniture and craftsmanship.
In the last four years, I've had nine addresses. On the last move, I decided that instead of paying for new furniture to fit my spaces perfectly, I'll pay for a moving service to haul the beautiful things I already have.
For the first five moves I just got rid of all my big objects. But then I found the loveliest solid oak kitchen table for $50, and I know I'll never find anything I like so much for that cheap (or even for four times that much) again. I love the things I have, and as soon as I made the decision to keep close the object I love, the "20 year plan" (informally) kicked in. It's all about balance.
I'd rather wear Valentino than the Gap, but I'm not going to go naked until I can afford couture. Likewise, I didn't refuse to cook until I had top-of-the-line cookware, so I think it's a little odd to do without something necessary until you can afford the best.
I share @LitNerd's view. My current home is a mix of things bought for the medium-to-long term. I have put off purchases of things that aren't absolute needs, even if they would make my space feel more finished (like a headboard, or end tables). But for the things that are needs, I've mainly tried to minimize the destined-to-be-disposable quotient.
To be honest, my style is still evolving, and some items are probably not destined to be with me forever, but when the time comes to upgrade, I'll sell/donate/repurpose the pieces.
A 'twenty year plan' for furniture sounds somewhat silly to me. Does that mean you won't be ready to really enjoy it all until then? Is there only one thing in your house you love right now??
That being said, I'm all for only buying things I truly love- and saving and waiting to do so if necessary. I just don't think they need to be expensive and fancy. A house is constantly changing and growing, and a 20-year plan makes it sounds like only then will it be done. I think I've done a great job so far (just out of school) at only getting things I know will last for me. I forwent the $1000 dining table for a $330 ikea solid oak one- and LOVE it. It can be refinished over and over and fits perfectly with my decor (and reminds me of the one i grew up with at my parents house). It's surrounded by eames shells I collected slowly during school that I could easily sell for much more than I paid for them- but doubt that I'll ever want to part with them. We even have a leather klippan in our game room that I consider a great buy- we think it's comfy, and it's been durable enough for college kids, dogs, and sometime soon kids. It wont last a lifetime no, but I don't really want a $2000 sofa to get the wear and tear of little kids.
I guess I really like the philosophy (as long as not everything you want requires a savings plan), but the term '20year plan' doesn't do it for me. We should enjoy and love our homes NOW as the are- once your 20year plan is complete will you be any happier in life?
Your "Forever" furniture doesn't all have to be new and purchased retail.
Flea Markets, Estate Sales, eBay and Craigslist are great resources to acquire investment pieces - it just takes time, flexibility, lots of patience, and of course that all-important plan.
My best pieces were obtained this way - As an example, I remember it taking the better part of a year for me to find the "perfect" pair of end tables for my den, but they're vintage Henredon which I'll never have to replace.
I think this is a great plan. I actually have a savings account that is just for house stuff - new furniture and accessories and stuff like that. I'm not going to completely live without, but if I am buying something as a filler, I will bargain hunt until I find the cheapest next-best-thing. And while I save, I scour design blogs and magazines and books to help figure out my taste so when I finally do make a big purchase, hopefully it will be a pretty good one.
Awesome idea! I have been trying to do something similar since I started living on my own. I just work with what I have/can get for free or cheap and hold out for pieces that I really want, love and will keep. I don't want to end up spending a lot of money (and even Ikea is out of my price range!) on anything at all that I won't keep for many years. It's working out well so far and warrants a lot of experimentation with placement/accessories, which is fun.
It is so satisfying to find pieces after I have had a specific idea and price in my head for a while! It is definitely time consuming though... 9 months at my current apartment and my space is just barely starting to feel put together, thanks to hours and hours of craigslist/flea market/garage sale searching (good thing its so damn fun!)
I think most of the stuff in my house is more than 20 years old.
I'm only 35 but some of my furniture I've had for 20 years already, because my father made it. I'm not a fan of ikea, and don't buy furniture there. I'd rather sleep on the floor. In fact, I really don't mind having my bed on the floor at all. I notice that my tastes change dramatically over time, so I don't expect to keep everything for a lifetime.
I just had a mid-century chair reupholstered. The upholsterer said most furniture made today is too shoddy to reupholster. The frames are not made like they used to be. So yeah, even tho I spent a lot on my new sofa, I'm not going to have it in 20 years.
And how many people got rid of an TV armoire or entertainment center because it wouldn't fit their new flatscreen LCD TV? (I did.)
Point is, you don't know what the next 20 years will bring. While it's good to buy quality pieces that stand the test time, by nature some things are expendable.
My plan
#1 keep particle board bookcases, but when possible replace them only with wood. I will not pay for any more particle board furniture.
#2 I have a bit of a freeze on buying furniture, until I can buy a place. If I find something I adore, I will get it and move something else out.
In my area renting means that I can not paint the walls or change anything in the apartment. I am very lucky that I am allowed to put holes in the wall. That is a luxury around here. I am required to have white window coverings as well. The walls are gray/white and I hate them. I use a lot of color in the furniture to make up for it.
#3 Once I buy a place, I will find out what I need and make a hobby of searching antique stores for those items.
This may make some of you cry, but I've had several ikea items for 20 years.
This has always been my plan once I buy a house. However, as a renter who moves frequently, I find it relatively pointless to invest in good furniture now. Between the constant beating furniture gets when you move, and the unique characteristics and style of each apartment, getting nice furniture now seems like a waste of time/money/resources. I'd rather just wait until I know I'm going to live someplace for a long time.
According to the article you are not allowed to have any "just for now" furniture at all. It doesn't matter if it was purchased, received as a gift or fell from the sky. So it's cheating in a big way to say you follow this plan when you already have furniture you want to replace and update.
I think it is a good idea to put in perspective when you look at something, "Is this something that I would be interested in living with in 20 years" since our consumer culture has a much shorter term view of things. I have always hated trends of any kind for that reason (unless they are "trends" which I happen to actually like for the long term and will continue to like after the vogue has passed). The idea of colors of the moment, etc., is silly to me because in my mind you should choose colors and other variables based on your personal taste rather than what is fashionable. After all, you are the one who is going to live with it.
On the other hand, I think part of my issue with decorating is that I may tend to get stuck on that. I hesitate to buy things that I don't absolutely love. But then I end up with a sparse living room, and I wonder whether it would be better to buy things that I just like as placeholders. And I certainly can see the value in just enjoying what you happen to like now. Who knows whether we will all even BE here in 20 years, let alone whether we will have the same tastes or whatnot. So I do think there is a beauty in just being able to enjoy things for now.
I think it's best to strike a balance. Not to be too worried about it, but to certainly put things in perspective. It is helpful for me when I buy more expensive things to consider that I want to have them for a long time. For instance, I just bought some really beautiful dinnerware, and I hope I will have it around for a long time. For me, spending several hundred dollars on dinnerware is a real extravagance, but I justify that it will last me a lifetime potentially and that the beauty of it will make me happy. Then again, I have furniture that I hope to replace someday. I don't have a 20 year PLAN exactly, but in 20 years I do hope to have the home of my dreams more or less. I think that it sort of just HAPPENS over 20 years if you are consciously collecting things you love little by little, as opposed to having to budget out that in 5 years you'll buy this, and in 15 you'd like to have those.
I love my collection of furniture and have also made it a point to collect art to go along with it all. My rule in my current house is that all art had to be done by someone I know...so not only is it all original, but there are pieces done by my mom, and many of my closest friends.
Every few years I save up for something amazing, and this year I'm going to get this:
http://evolveliving.com/files/images/web1.preview.jpg
I think what is missing in this is the enjoyment of the journey. Whilst I don't have a 20 year plan, I don't own 'filler' furniture in the belief that everything is worth the time it takes. And the time it takes to save for a beautiful piece that will last a lifetime allws me the time to browse and really look at the options and consider what I really love ...I have never owned a lamp because I could never find the exact one I loved. Then late last year, I found it. And I bought it. Did it kill me to pay a thousand dollars for a desk lamp...a little. Did it kill me to wait 3 months for it to arrive ...a little. Do I LOVE it every time I look at it. YES..and I will love it every day for the rest of my life. Just like my collection of pre-owned LCs.
It's a very satisfying journey that allows me to feel immune to the excess choices consumers are faced with and feel good about treading lightly on the earth.
I like Shanti's analogy of comparing it to clothing. There's no reason why you can't combine a beautiful cashmere coat with a H&M scarf, and with furniture it's the same.
I don't know where I'll be living in 5 or 10 years so I'd prefer not to limit myself too much with expensive furniture that might not adapt to my new living quarters.
So while I have some expensive investment pieces I still have lots of Ebay/Flea Market finds which may only stay with me for a few years. And my dining table is doing dual duty until I find the beautiful writing desk I've been looking for for ages.