All New Furniture is Mass Produced

1/20/2008

All New Furniture is Mass Produced

By: EZ Furniture Assembly and Interior Innovations, LLC
These days almost all furniture is mass produced. Even furniture pieces at the higher end of the market generally come off a production line. This mass-production has obvious benefits in terms of both cost and flexibility of course, but there’s something a little impersonal about knowing that thousands of other people have the same bed, three-piece suite or dining furniture as you. The alternative is to buy Handcrafted Furniture from a specialist furniture manufacturer. Although significantly more expensive than a mass-produced alternative, and generally more old-fashioned in appearance hand crafted furniture does offer unrivaled quality and exclusivity.

Once upon a time, all furniture was handmade. You have seen this furniture of old in the homes of your grandparents or in antique stores. Each piece was lovingly crafted according to the desires of the craftsman and client, resulting in furniture that was wholly unique. Designs were intricate and often used more than one type of wood.

When you find a handmade antique table, for example, you know that there is no other table in the world quite like it. Old-fashioned standards for making furniture were rigorous, and the furniture of our ancestors was built to last. That is why so much of it continues to be handed down through the generations.
Assembly line furniture however often lacks character and is certainly inferior in terms of build- quality and materials. Because it is created by machines and set patterns that are repeated over and over, it has no distinctive qualities, nothing that makes it stand out. In addition, Assembly line workers and machines function on tight schedules which means they can’t afford to take the time to make sure every screw is tight and every joint fitted perfectly. The speed at which such furniture must be made also means that cheap and often inferior materials are used in its construction, resulting in pieces that tend to fall apart in even a few short years. As with everything though there are exceptions. The original Egg Chair of the 1950s and other mass-produced retro items from the 1950s, 60s and 70s have stood the test of time, and are much sought after these days as the fashion of these past decades becomes current once again.
Further quality issues have also arisen as a result of the recent self-assembly furniture revolution. The idea behind self-assembly furniture is that costs are significantly reduced and transportation of large items is easy, and as a consequence this type of furniture has revolutionized the furniture industry. However, assembling furniture at home with no expert supervision, following a series of often complicated black and white instructions does not guarantee correct construction. Even our Expert Technicians can spend hours assembling a new design from the major RTA (Ready To Assemble) retailers. However, we consider that a school day and after that we can normally cut the time down to at least half. The sad truth for consumers is in a recent study it was proven that it takes the average person six to eight times longer to assemble a piece of furniture than a professional and 80% of the furniture assembled was assembly incorrectly.

The ultimate luxury in furniture is handcrafted bespoke designs. Specialist furniture manufacturers can be commissioned to produce bespoke designs that fit exactly with the customer’s décor. Bespoke furniture can be very costly but can be viewed as an investment as well as a perfect interior design solution. In most cases, if treated correctly, this type of furniture will increase in value over time

I hate to shoot myself in the foot but I know my article won't change peoples minds or have a dramatic effect on our business, but the best furniture which was handmade from the 20's-40's still can be found and bought for a reasonable price at the right auctions. New York City is absolutely out of the question because you will pay more than what the piece(s) are actually worth. For a bargain on high quality antique furniture I strongly suggest you look into auctions in NE Pennsylvania in which are only a 2 hour ride from the city and can yield great buys for your buck. However, if you rather the modern chic furniture but aren't up for the assembly part you can contact us and we will be happy to assemble whatever you decide to purchase. We will also be happy to give our expert opinion on certain companies and certain products or models from our experience working with them. All you have to do is post your question here and one of our expert technicians or experts from various outlets will answer your question.

Once again, thank you for reading today's post and we wish everyone a happy holiday.

Christopher Purnell
Founder and President
EZ Furniture Assembly and Interior Innovations,LLC
www.ezfurnitureassembly.com