Posted in Homestead

If you have been with me for awhile, you know that I often recommend evaluating cost with quality.  There are times and items that do not need to be quality.  However, one of the biggest problems we face today is that manufacturing has evolved to producing good looking, but low quality products.  If you purchase a low quality product for a cheap price, but have to replace that item several times in the life expectancy of the high quality product, you have not made a good buy.  You simply must read this article.

"The designers of modern furniture are attempting to meet chenaged conditions of living with furniture of h onest construction.

They are attempting only what the machine can do well.  There is no attempt to copy the lovely hand carving of the old masters.  They are relying rather on beauty of finish, and upholstery materials.  They are attempting in their turn to become worthy creators of style.  Time alone can decide definitely  how they are succeeding.  Meanwhile, things new are always interesting and stimulating.  Watch for some of their models that you may adapt to the things you already have.

Having decided whether a piece of furniture is good or bad artistically, examine to see whether or not it has qualities that will make it durable.  (1) Find out whether the piece is solid or veneered wood.  (2) Discover whether it is genuine mahogany (for example) or mahogany finish.  (3) Is it mahogany exterior?  (4) Is it combination mahogany?

Mahogany finish means that no mahogany is used, but that some other wood is finished in imitation.  Mahogany exterior means that all exposed surfaces are mahogany, but that the back of the pieces and the inside parts of the drawers are some other pieces of wood.  Combination mahogany means that only the large exposed surfaces, such as the top and front, are of mahogany.  The rest will be of some other type of wood.

Good furniture is expensive.  It is poor economy to buy anything but good furniture.  You are entitled to the best possible value for your money.  Gumwood and birch are all right in themselves but you do not want to pay the price of walnut and mahogany for them, nor pay for solid wood when you are buying veneered. 

See if the legs, arm supports, and the uprights of chair backs are clear cut or blurred and clumsy.  See if the depths of grooves and carvings are smmoth or rough.  See if the exposed wood portions are beautiful in tone and color and hand rubbed or waxed, or finished with a dark muddy stain that hides the grain of the wood.  Is the wood covered with coats of shiny, sticky looking varnish?  See if drawers slide easily.  Examine the upright supports.  See whether the construction is continuous or doweled.

Have teh piece tipped upside down and examine the bracing.  See whether they are nailed or screwed in.  Swing all doors to see if they fit correctly.  Examine the linings.

Overstuffed furniture is even more difficult to judge.  Springs, joints, framework, the entire construction is concealed.  Here you must depend upon the reliability of the merchant and the price.  You can, however, notice whether the upholstery is firm and smooth, yet luxurious yielding when you try it with your hand.  Notice whether the gimp is glued as well as tacked.

Never under any consideration buy poor overstuffed furniture.  Substitute something else until you can buy a good piece; not necessarily the very best, but not a cheap one.  The upholstery material may be an inexpensive denim, or even sateen, but the interior construction and frame must be excellent.  No type of furniture is more comfortable than a good overstuffed piece of good proportion to fit the individual for whom it is bought."

This is another excerpt from the Home-Maker's Guide of 1929.  It reads as a modern article might.  You can see that people have been battling the concept of statisfy now, and cheap, or save and buy one piece that will last a life time.  Today there are stores that thrive on cheap, but good looking.  These stores are often set up so that you can see a whole room arranged.  However, the furniture manufactured by these stores is cheap and will not withstand any length of time.  Buying a sofa for $500, that will need replaced every 3 years is not a good investment of money, when you you could save the payments of such and wait a 12-18 months and buy a quality piece of furniture.  The concept we miss today is that we should wait and save our money to buy something of quality, instead of getting the immediate gratification.  Waiting and Saving are not part of the modern venacular.  Also, these stores often offer "superb" financing such as "Buy NOW with no payments for 3 years."  While you could be disciplined to pay this off before the 3 years comes around, what good would it do, when the furniture needs replaced by that time? 

Being a good steward of money can be a most trying obstacle.  Using sound mind and good sense, coupled with a little bit of furniture knowledge will help you make good choices. 

These are my thoughts.