Things Fall Apart.
No, I’m not referring to the highly acclaimed novel by Nigerian author Chinua Achebe – though I would recommend the book! I’m talking about the general decay of cheap household furniture. Two years ago, we furnished our then new apartment with tables and a desk from Target. Well, now this stuff is starting to fall apart.
Here are just a few examples:
Our $60 dollar coffee table leg has fallen off. Its currently delicately positioned in hopes of making it until we can take the time for a replacement.
Our $30 dollar desk chair (which was never really one to begin with) has its naugahyde covering starting to deteriorate, the legs are loose and the frame can be felt through the cushioning.
The joints on our fiberboard desk are coming apart – the desk is now held together by its own weight and fact that we’ve got stuff set up around it.
Why is our furniture falling apart? The reason is that we initially made a decision to focus on price. So, we bought cheap furniture. Our thought was that we wouldn’t necessarily be in DC for the long term so we’d be better off getting something that was relatively disposable. Disposable it is.
So, we’re planning on changing our strategy. Given that the economy is the pits, to replace our stuff we are planning on buying quality. At the moment, we are still focusing on getting a down payment together for a place in Portland, but when we do start shopping, we’ll be looking for durability and quality, rather than low price. As regular readers would guess, we don’t tend to be the type to run out and buy the latest fashion, so getting classic and durable items will probably do the trick quite well.
Best,
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