Is your Furniture Worth Fixing? 5 Indicators of Quality Craftsmanship

According to ServiceMagic.com, an online resource matching homeowners to contractors, the average price of furniture repair is $237. That's quite a pretty penny when you consider that you can go to any IKEA or Rooms to Go and find a sofa for $400 to $1,200. The fact is, though, that high quality furniture can be incredibly expensive (a new couch from a semi-fancy furniture store can easily run $3,000 or more, and sofas selling for more than $5,000 are far from unheard of).

While it doesn't make much sense to spend $250 to extend the life of your $400 couch for three years, with very high quality furniture, the couple hundred bucks it costs to extend the life of the piece for decades is a far cry from what it will cost to replace it with a similar quality piece. If you are considering replacing your existing furniture, here are a few telltale signs that repair is just as good (if not better) an investment than replacement!

1. It has been around Forever
If a piece of furniture has survived not just a few decades in your home, but in a few previous homes, there's a good chance that it's worth fixing. Even if the piece is less than attractive in its current condition, furniture that has already gone the distance is likely to do it again if it is properly repaired.

2. It is Made of Quality Materials
Tables and chairs made of solid wood can last for generations. Furniture upholstered in leather can actually grow more appealing with age. On the other hand, furniture made covered in cheap fabric or constructed from manmade board rather than solid wood can age quickly and unattractively. It can be difficult to distinguish between a quality material and a material that is sub-par if you don't know what you are doing (especially since some materials that might be considered "low-quality" can end up being used very successfully in some very high quality pieces). If in doubt, there's no shame in asking the opinion of someone in the know.

3. You Know you Paid Plenty for It
The old adage of "You get what you pay for" certainly applies to furniture in the majority of cases. Though it is certainly possible to pay thousands of dollars for a table that is worth far less, the likelihood that a shop dealing in high prices will also deal in low quality is slim. Reputable shops can't stay reputable for long if they are selling shoddy furniture, so buying from these places is a good way to ensure that what you are purchasing is top quality.

Note: Purchasing an expensive piece that goes out of style before it wears out is a far more likely scenario, but remember: distinctive pieces that are out of style can easily end up being highly prized pieces for vintage shops and collectors a few years down the road!

4. It was Purchased Fully Assembled
As a general rule, furniture that is purchased as a complete piece is often of higher quality than "flat-packed" furniture that is assembled at home. Though not a completely infallible indicator, this rule is hardly something to dismiss, either. Furniture makers that focus on quality do not want that quality to be diminished by a homeowner putting a piece together improperly. While you CAN get some flat-pack furniture that will last quite a while, in general, purchasing furniture that is fully assembled is more likely to bring you a high quality piece.

5. It was Commissioned and Custom Built
Custom built furniture is not as popular as it once was. Sadly, today's craftsmen have fewer and fewer venues to "show their stuff" as the market becomes flooded by mass produced pieces of inferior quality. If you are planning to purchase a new piece of furniture and want the highest quality possible along with the ability to help design the piece to your exact specifications, custom furniture makers can still be found (and are generally well worth the effort). ServiceMagic's figures show that the national average cost of building custom furniture is $5,500. While this figure might seem high to some, for those who know the kind of quality and longevity that comes from a custom built piece, it is an investment that pays off in a very real way!

Rate This Article

OVERALL RATING Be first to rate this article!

YOUR RATING

Saving Rating...

Log-in to save your ratings!

Recommend This Article

Digg
Reddit
Del.icio.us

ServiceMagic Articles To-Go