@futurebird Furniture has been a choice for at least my lifetime (for those who can afford it) - you can buy something disposable or you can buy something you'll never have to replace, the latter obviously costing more.
You can also buy stuff in the middle, that'll last for quite a while and then go tatty and need replacement. I tend to avoid this stuff and buy at one extreme or the other depending on use case.
Jul 3, 2026, 2:31 PMI've always been a fan of buying disposable crap that fits the need (when it's something relatively urgent like storage for stuff that's in the way) and then looking for a better one to replace it with at leisure now that there is no time pressure
@gbargoud @futurebird Like, we found a freezer for something like £49.99 to keep stuff in for a few days until the repairman could turn up and fix our real one.
Jul 3, 2026, 5:59 PM@TimWardCam @gbargoud @futurebird
We had MFI here in Britain when I was a boy, although it didn't fall apart immediately it wasn't any better than IKEA or Temu and used the same construction methods.
My late father was a decent carpenter and even made some furniture or fixed up older stuff, but as he got older he had both the responsibilties of fatherhood and got a job in the petrochemical industry which meant he had less spare time but enough money to buy at least partly ready made furniture..
@vfrmedia @gbargoud @futurebird My grandfather was a proper cabinet maker. I've still got some of his stuff. It shows no signs of getting old or worn out.