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.
*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.