I want to start off that i recognize how incredibly privileged i am to be able to be around cool old pieces of furniture. That being said if one has the luxury of time (which is a huge privilege unto itself) then they can usually find nice old furniture for cheap.

I had this thought the other night sitting in my living room, I LOVE being around nice old pieces of furniture. Mostly its the old wood that gives me wood, the close patterns of rings telling me an old growth tree was felled to create this piece really interest me. While that is sad in a way, that a beautiful old tree died to make this furniture, i think of some quote i cant remember the origin of but goes something like this: “if you are to destroy something to make something else, it better be more beautiful than the thing you destroyed”

Now i totally butchered that but you get the idea. There’s something so calming I get from just having my mission style dresser or that redwood table, or even the rickety old chair my dad fished out of a house thirty years ago (it was old then too). I like the stories they tell in their age, the dents, scratches, and little imperfections that come from the life being lived around them. I also like that older pieces of furniture are usually capable of being restored if you know what you are doing (I don’t but I will someday!). These are things that cannot be said for the particle board Ikea piece that completely fell apart when you sneezed on it that one time.

Now i don’t want to bash the new age stuff. There’s something to be said for just how cheap and accessible furniture has become, and now a lot more people can lovingly furnish their places for a lot less money, but that comes at the price of quality. and on top of that the Ikea stuff is almost impossible to fix! I know because I’ve tried! once that particle board splinters its basically game over. Its not a trade off that I usually prefer. unless I’m desperate I will usually go without, while i scour craigslist for the perfect dresser or the best Table I can afford. And usually the price difference evens out over time because the old stuff lasts so much longer.

On the more woo-woo side there’s just a greater sense of peace and comfort I get when I’m surrounded by cool old furniture in my living environment. It could be because I was raised around it, or that I just love the natural look of wood so much, but it calms me nonetheless.

A lot of my friends are like this too, willing to go the extra mile and drive out to an old farm with their Honda civic just to stuff a cool bookshelf in their trunk. That’s probably why we are friends. I love the adventure inherent in that, I’ve met some total characters while buying shit off of Craigslist, and driven to places I never would have been too otherwise (like Kent, who the fuck goes there??) (Seattle joke).

In the broader sense I would encourage more people to pursue acquiring pieces of quality furniture because its better for the world if we do. But I will always understand that not everyone has the luxury to be scrolling Craigslist on the toilet at 11pm on a Tuesday, so no sweat homie. you do you. Ill just be over here getting upset when someone doesn’t use a coaster on my nice coffee table. (Looking at you ALEX).