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

Hello Everyone. After a hard week assembling many busy New Yorker's furniture and exercise equipment, I finally found a few minutes to get online. While looking ariund I went to one of my favorite sites, New York City Apartment Therapy. I read the article I have below and felt I would be more than selfish if I didn't share this wonderful piece of information with you. I hope you find it intresting as well as amusing. We look forward to hearing your questions and comments. Have a grrrrrrrrreat weekend!

Christopher

www.ezfurnitureassembly.com

Atkins for Furniture: Protein vs. Carbohydrates

By Maxwell Gillingham-Ryan

Author of Apartment Therapy: The Eight-Step Home Cure

I have found that when most people shop for furniture they look at price and try to buy the most furniture they can for the money they can spend. But not all furniture is created equal, and it is very important that you know this before you spend any money. I recommend to clients that they approach shopping from various sources differently and think about what they are doing.

Most people:

1. Spread their money out
2. Have many inexpensive pieces and only a few nice pieces
3. Have too much furniture
4. End up having to throw out or replace furniture every five years

In light of this, it is preferable to:

1. Concentrate your money and buy good furniture
2. Have more quality pieces and fewer inexpensive ones

Most homes are filled with carbohydrate furniture. This is the relatively stylish, inexpensive furniture that is made of pressboard, plywood, and veneer with faux finishes to mimic solid wood. While I love the Swedish giant IKEA dearly, this is primarily what the chain sells. There is nothing wrong with this furniture except that the quality of its manufacture and the simplicity of its style are indications that its life will be short. Furniture like this looks best when it first comes in the door (or when it is photographed in the catalog), and the veneer finishes and staple-glued joints start to give way after a year or two, depending on how hard you press them.

Years ago I bought what I thought at the time was a beautiful bed frame from Pottery Barn, and when it arrived I was disappointed to find that it looked totally different from the way I’d seen it styled in the catalog. Then, due to the dryness of our apartment, the wood separated on the frame, and for the past four years we have used a variety of wood blocks and the occasional screw to hold the whole thing together. This was not a cheap bed -- I remember paying $800 at the time -- but by the time we finally replace it, it will be worth nothing, and we will have to throw it out. Not even the Salvation Army will take it away. At an even later point in time, the value of an old bed frame like this will be negative. We might have to pay someone to take it away, as it won’t go in the garbage. This bed is a carbohydrate. It provides only short-term sustenance to your home.

Protein furniture is finely crafted and well made, while carbohydrate furniture is cheaply mass made. As with any diet, both groups are valuable, but a better, more energetic home will cut down on the carbohydrate furniture over time and increase the amount of protein furniture.

When shopping at the bigger retail stores, it is good to know what they do well. Following is a ranking of the stores I use regularly, as well as their specialties:

Crate and Barrel -- While their style tends to be safe and not trendsetting, the furniture department is very good. Quality is high and service is excellent. The furniture division is separate from the assemble-it-yourself furniture that Crate and Barrel offers on the first floor.

Design Within Reach -- DWR has a great selection of quality mid-century modern and contemporary furniture. Since they are not a manufacturer, prices are higher and shipping has been reported to be very expensive on occasion.

IKEA -- IKEA is where you go for basics such as cabinets and shelving, bedding and curtains, tables and desks. These items are excellent for their low price point and will serve well. However, most of IKEA’s other pieces won’t stand up to heavy use or movement, lighting is unreliable, and glassware breaks easily. In general, at IKEA the more attractive it is, the more quickly it will lose its luster.

West Elm -- Started by Pottery Barn for urban dwellers with smaller spaces, West Elm’s design is attractive, but their quality is only fair. Beds have been reported extremely unreliable, while their tables are handsome but cheaply made.

Pottery Barn -- The biggest of the big, Pottery Barn always looks good, but watch out for quality! I won’t go near their furniture, but I rely on their curtains, curtain rods, and rugs, which are all excellent at their lower price point.

Williams-Sonoma Home -- This newcomer from the Williams-Sonoma empire is a nice addition, with higher quality furniture at higher prices. Style is strong but subdued, and quality is excellent.

Be choosy when shopping these stores, and if you do need something beautiful, look at the next rung up. If you can spend a little more to buy something from someone who has actually made it, or something that has been carefully made in small batches from a unique design, this is usually worth it.

RTA Furniture

RTA furniture

Ready-To-Assemble (RTA) furniture was created to solve a fundamental problem in shipping furniture: the relatively high cost of shipping the products compared to the low cost of actually producing them. All the pieces of the product are shipped in a very compact box with detailed instructions on how to assemble the unit. The intent is for the product to be assembled at home by the buyer. Costs are saved by the assembly not being performed in the factory and by greatly reduced volumes for shipping and storage by the distributor and retailer. Self-assembly furniture is very common in Britain, Europe, and Canada.

According to IKEA, flat-pack furniture was invented by Swedish draughtsperson Gillis Lundgren who, in order to fit a table in the boot of his car broke off the legs then reassembled it at home. He took his idea to his employers IKEA, who later built their business around it.

Do It Yourself (DIY) oriented people can find it enjoyable to assemble RTA units. The ease of assembly required also varies. IKEA furniture for example, is marketed on its completeness including Allen keys in the package if they are needed. However, the assembly of some brands require the customer to have access to a much larger selection of hand or even power tools. Ironically, a common complaint is that some RTA packages do not include necessary screws, fixings or even parts required to complete assembly.

The most common types of RTA furniture are living room and office furniture, including bookcases, tables, beds and lounge-ware. Outdoor furniture e.g. swingsets and patio settings is another common example of RTA furniture.

Self-assembly kitchens are available from some retailers. These are made to uniform sizes. They benefit from a wide number of options and the ability to easily update them through the addition of for example, new cupboard doors.

Consider a CD/DVD storage rack. In the design of this furniture the cost of transporting and storing this product is kept in mind by retailing it as a flat pack. A flatter product can be easily stored and the cost of transport is lower overall as more items can be moved in the same space occupied by the assembled product. The cost of labour can also be reduced as there is no need for workers to assemble the product before it is sold. Other cost-cutting techniques can be employed by using particle board laminated with vinyl instead of using solid timber for example.

EZ Furniture Assembly is NYC's experts in RTA furniture for your home or office. We also offer kitchen cabinet assembly and installation, and furniture repair. Click here to visit us now.

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