In some countries (like Germany for example) it's an habit to change furniture, couches and appliances with some regularity, let's say a couple of years for example. I think this is something that doesn't make much sense and I don't believe that it happen very often in other countries. How do you feel about this?
I'm not sure that I would change every 2-3 years, for example. But a family member of mine has had the same (very beat up, if I may add) furniture for 25+ years now and I think that is very strange. I know they have the money to replace it, so I am a little confused why they don't do so.
We can also ask the opposite nwitt, why would they? Is the furniture damaged or doesn't serve their purposes anymore? My parents also have the same furniture for over 25 years and I find that normal, they just change the couch and stuff that is damaged.
Unless you're the sort of person who wants to keep with the Joneses, I don't think changing furniture every three years is such a great idea. Three year old furniture IMO, is almost new. I've been in an office where the desks have never been replaced since the 60s so, yeah that's why I said almost as good as new. If quality furniture can last that long, it's better to buy that kind of furniture once and forget about getting any replacements for the rest of your life, regardless of what tradition dictates.
Since I have lived for many years in Germany, and also have family and friends over there, I must say that I haven't really come across many who change their furniture every few years. I think furniture are there for comfort, they "grow on you", and most people find comfort in familiarity. I sure like to come home to things that are stable and exude a homely feeling. In my experience, occasionally rearranging furniture is more common than actually acquiring new ones.
I live in America. There is no difference her. People change their furniture quite often You can always ride through neighborhoods, and see full living room sets sitting on the curb waiting to be picked up. There are also a lot of yard, and Garage sales. I do not understand why people do this at all. it is just a waste of money.
I replace the furniture if it is worn out or I move and my old furniture no longer is suitable. I am on the lookout for a few items to replace the original stuff I received second hand. If I see something that will work, I will replace it because my end tables from the 60's don't go well with my other furniture (but they still function). I certainly know people who routinely change their furniture but I think it is wasteful. They are the people you want to know if you are on the market for 3 year old stuff.
Honestly, a lot of it really beat up. They also had cats and dogs that had frequent accidents on the furniture and while they cleaned it up, you can never ever get the full smell or mess out of furniture.
Well, that is another thing lol, when animals are involved furniture or anything doesn't last as longer, especially cats are really terrible, they destroy everything, that is one of the reasons why I don't have pets, I think the house is a place for people, animals should be outside.
Since quality furniture is expensive and moving it is also a pain, we change our furniture rarely. In fact, the only time we changed furniture was when we redecorated the house because all the furniture we were using was bough with the flat and was quite old. Not to mention that since my flat is small, most of the furniture was custom made, and custom made furniture is bloody expensive.
I think that most people think like that prettycolors, it's an expense to buy furniture and as long as it's functional people aren't bothered to change it, except in some countries, but that is something cultural, people with too much money that are accustomed to change this sort of things.
You don't necessarily need to replace all of your furniture to give your rooms a new look. Places such as Ikea sell couches that use custom tailored slip covers which come in a variety of colors. So if you get tired of one color, or get some stains on it, you can simply get a new cover and have a whole new look. Also, changing up some accessories like throw pillows and blankets can give it a new look as well. I wouldn't say it's common where I live to see people changing their furniture every 2-3 years, it's more like 5-10 years around here - which seems reasonable to me. There may also be a variety of reasons why they are changing stuff too. Some people have a lot of problems with allergies, and furniture and carpeting can accumulate a lot of allergens that are almost impossible to remove. Also, it's possible the people may be moving, and decided it would make more sense to get rid of their furniture than to pay to transport old furniture. I did this recently, selling off all my current furniture because I didn't want to spend $1500-$2000 to move it, it was already 9 years old and worn. I would have rather just put that towards new stuff and have it delivered - which was much cheaper. Or perhaps the furniture reminded them of someone who perhaps passed away, and they wanted to move on and make a fresh start in their lives.
That's a good point Tom, we don't need to change everything. Just in my case for example, my kids are growing and I need to change their room entirely, so some of the furniture there came into the living room and in fact everything looked better, even the space looked bigger with an extra couch there, so the disposition of things does make a difference.
Honestly? If I had the money for it I would change all my furniture every couple of years! I definitely don't have the money for that, but if I did I would not hesitate to do that. Furniture gets boring after a while. For example I've had a yellow couch for 7 years now, and I'm so sick of it! I was planning to get a new one at the beginning of the year but I still didn't have a space on my budget for it ever since. I'm really hoping to get rid of it soon to get a bigger and more comfortable one.
My family members are also living in germany but they don't like to change their furniture after one or 2 years. They believe to save their own money use it on essential work.
I think they are wise usen, why spend money on furniture if the one you're using is perfectly good? Don't people have better situations in which they can spend their money. Isabbbela, I think differently from you actually, possibly because I live in a small flat I buy the furniture that suits the space I have, so it's pretty much optimized and it's hard work, so I don't change it unless I really have to.
I don't think it is that common to replace your furniture that often. Most people I know invested in really high quality furniture and don't replace it unless there is a problem with it. They all went with classic styles and replace/rotate the room accessories, such as lamps, throws, pillows, etc., to give the room a fresh look.
It depends what furniture it is. I like to replace my couch every few years. But it depends. The leather sofa in the basement has been around for 5-6 years now. In the main living room, we replace ours every 2-3 years or so. I like to keep a new look going.
I guess it depends on the area. I'm in the US and I don't see them! I do occasionally see a couch or chair on the curb, but it's usually already worn out. I don't know anyone who regularly changes out furniture like that. I guess I'm just not in a ritzy enough area.
Yeah, possibly it happens mostly in the richer areas. I think it just shows how consumerist our society has become, we buy new furniture just because we can, we get bored with the perfectly good ones we have at our places. What sense does that make? Isn't it better to take a trip or offer the money to the needy? Just because we want a couch with another color?
