Brown furniture in 2015

FAST6191

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So I both go to a lot of charity shops, auctions, second hand furniture shops, car boot sales, skips on the side of the road and more besides and also go in a lot of houses. They former set invariably seems to have lots of nice old hardwood and otherwise brown furniture for next to nothing (or nothing/a 3am ninja mission in the case of skips). The latter more often than not seems to have light glued together pine, ikea stuff, plastic covered chipboard or MDF. I suggest the former and seem to get odd looks, and to add insult to injury I have been known to be called to fix the cheapo* stuff where I would have been the equivalent of a hoarder/mad cat lady but for furniture.

*I say cheapo but I fixed this table the other month which could not have been made with less regard for proper joinery, and possibly also regarded the laws of physics/mechanics as a mild suggestion. Turns out the thing cost about £1000.

Now one of my greater failings is I have no concept of fashion. It is usually phrased if you want to know how something works, why something fell over, to put it back up after it has fallen over or how to make something fall over then call me, to make it look pretty then call somebody else.

I do not think it is just the area I find myself in as I go more or less all over the UK and see similar things. Proper antique stuff does seem to go, though speaking to some of the auctioneers and sellers it is very much on the download slope even there. I am not being nostalgic as I am not complaining when my nice new work bench gets to be made out of a lump of solid oak rather than plywood but it sees me raise an eyebrow.
 

DinohScene

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I've got mixed feelings about it.
Tbh, If I can get a cheapo coffee table from a car boot sale, then I cba about the colour, I just get a spraycan and paint it in whatever colour I want.
Not to mention that handed down furniture is usually a lot cheaper and far sturdier.
Not to mention that it looks solid (is solid) instead of flimsy, like the plastic covered chipboard ones.

I do prefer solid tables rather then the extremely cheap mass produced plastic Ikea stuff.
Same goes for other furniture.
When it comes to cups and plates, I can't be arsed if it's cheap or expensive.
Hell, I'd nick some from me mum if I need to.
 

Harsky

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If there's one reason why I will never touch second hand furniture... it's the smell. It either comes from a household with smokers or it's got that strange "other people's house" smell that you don't want in your own house.

I shouldn't be a hypocrite. Chances are my furniture probably stinks as well but if I'm anything like my parents, I'll probably use thise sofa for at least 15 years and then finally haul it to the dump when it can't support my fat ass anymore.
 

FAST6191

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Might as well go with pictures. £15 for the table, it was going to be my new workbench but it went in my mum's kitchen instead. I did not do most of the restoration on this one (half a morning plus curing/drying times all done in among other things) but I can barely steal breezeblocks/cinderblocks for that kind of money.

kitchen_table.JPG
 
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