Why Old is better than New
Posted by Savvy Swatch on
One of my children showed me a video on Facebook about how people only have 3 to 4 minutes to exit a burning house compared to 17 in 1980. Back then almost all household materials contained real wood and natural materials, which are significantly less flammable than their synthetic lookalikes. What changed? Well, after the fall of American manufacturing, at the turn of the millennium furniture companies based in the United States started looking overseas for cheap labor and materials and furniture quickly became a low-cost commodity. Fast forward to today, and in an average home, you can find synthetic carpet, drapes, couches and pillows that are all fire hazard risks. Thankfully there is a solution. Consider restoring your (or your grand/parents’) old furniture! Although our shop offers all forms of upholstery work, we pride ourselves on the restoration of antique (pre-1980) furniture that will continue to stand the test of time. I always love to tell customers how “a chair made from a 100-year-old tree will last longer than one made from a 10-year-old tree”. One extreme example I encountered recently was with a chair that was purchased from a “high-end designer”, and after 3 months had deteriorated to the point of disposal. This also mirrors the divide currently present in the furniture industry; low cost, low quality versus high labor, high quality. Another unique facet of old furniture is the construction methods. Heat, glue and other adhesives have replaced woodworking techniques like doweling and joining, no doubt to save on labor costs. With all this information in mind, next time consider restoring or recovering your old furniture in lieu of purchasing new.
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