how often do you replace furniture?

[lovin'fl]

How long do you use furniture for? And what quality do you buy (from low end to high end)? Curious because my bedroom set, from Haverty's, is 14 and not in great shape. Wondering if it's time for new. I know the mattress needs replacing (also 14).

 

[disykat]

I keep furniture pretty much until it dies. My bedroom dressers etc. are 25+ years old and I'm sure I'll never replace them. Not because I still love them, but because they are sturdy, serviceable, and a definite last priority on the list of things to spend money on. I don't buy high end, but sturdy and not too stylized. (My bedroom furniture is not even a set, but rather pieces we added over the years as we needed and could afford more storage. We got married 28 years ago so many things are over 25 years old. We have replaced all parental hand me downs at this point - though there is an old dresser in one of my kid's old rooms that I painted leftover from DH's childhood!)

My dining/kitchen table is about 20 years old and needs replacing or refinishing. I've been trying to get up the gumption to refinish it for the last two years because replacing simply isn't a budget priority. It's still very sturdy, just ugly and worn.

I bought good living room furniture about 12 years ago and it's still in good shape. Most of the family room furniture was replaced after a 20 year run about 2 years ago.

We replaced our 20 year old mattress a few years back, but now it's in one of the kid's old rooms (aka what is now the guest room.)

The only pieces of furniture that we replace fairly regularly are our 2 desk chairs in the den (maybe every 5 years?) and our favorite piece of tv watching furniture (reclining loveseat) in the family room (about every 7 years or so.) Those are the only pieces I really anticipate changing out because they wear out from use.

I don't have qualms about people being able to tell the year I bought my furniture from it's style. I just try to buy what I like, and that usually holds over time. I'd much rather spend my money in other ways than replacing still serviceable furniture!

I love to wander furniture stores and look at home decor, but spending the money to continually update is something I can't really fathom doing.

 

[Meriweather]

Until it is worn out or no longer usable.
All my wood furniture.....dining tables, beds and dressers, etc are 40 years old.
Mattress is 15 or so....looking at replacing it soon.
Couches lasted only 6 or 7 years when kids were younger. We have replaced those a couple of times in the last 10 years.....this set is just 6 months old.

 

[Happyinwonerland]

We have owned our current furniture for 12 years, and much of it is need of replacement. Our couch has been put through the ringer ( 2 dogs and a kid), and our mattress is no longer supportive. We tend to buy middle of the road pieces and use them until they are falling apart.

 

[lovin'fl]

I keep furniture pretty much until it dies. My bedroom dressers etc. are 25+ years old and I'm sure I'll never replace them. Not because I still love them, but because they are sturdy, serviceable, and a definite last priority on the list of things to spend money on. I don't buy high end, but I do buy sturdy and not too stylized.

My dining/kitchen table is also about 25 years old and needs replacing or refinishing. I've been trying to get up the gumption to refinish it for the last two years because replacing simply isn't in the budget. It's still very sturdy, just ugly and worn.

I bought good living room furniture about 12 years ago and it's still in good shape. Most of the family room furniture was replaced after a 20 year run about 2 years ago.

We replaced our 20 year old mattress a few years back, but now it's in the guest room.

The only pieces of furniture that we replace fairly regularly are our 2 desk chairs in the den (maybe every 5 years?) and our favorite piece of tv watching furniture (reclining loveseat) in the family room (about every 7 years.)

I don't have qualms about people being able to tell the year I bought my furniture from it's style. I just try to buy what I like, and that usually holds over time. I'd much rather spend my money in other ways than replacing still serviceable furniture!

I feel same way. My kitchen table set also needs refinishing and I am too lazy. I was thinking maybe I'd get a new mattress but keep box spring and maybe get a new bed but keep dressers. The bed split where the metal goes in the wood to put together and it was way too high for our elderly dog anyway so we took bed apart and put in garage (need to take to dump). I may get new lower bed (like a metal or upholstered that will go with any dressers). Need new area rugs, badly, but waiting for when we have no more pets (elderly dog...accidents). Same with need for new bedspread.

 

[RUDisney]

Our original sofa is in my DS's lair in the basement. One of our second sofas started to wear on the leather cushions, so that's in the lair, too.

We kept the rest of the family room furniture set in the family room and bought another sofa that is in the same color leather.

My DD's bedroom was my BFF's bedroom set from when she was growing up. We bought her a new bed a few years ago as a surprise when she came home from college, but the end tables, dresser and chest of drawers are at least 50 yo. We'll replace them when she moves into her first real, non school apartment. She can take them with her then.

We buy good quality, higher end pieces that wear out slowly, I guess.

 

[lovin'fl]

We have owned our current furniture for 12 years, and much of it is need of replacement. Our couch has been put through the ringer ( 2 dogs and a kid), and our mattress is no longer supportive. We tend to buy middle of the road pieces and use them until they are falling apart.

This is us too. Current sofa is only about 4 years old and was not really used for most of that time (was in basement) and our kids are all off to college now so it should last longer than the last couple. But it seems, when looking back, that all my bedroom/dining furniture lasts about 14 years (plush stuff lasted way less). It's not real good wood, middle of the road. And the 3 kids and dogs (had 2 for many years) mucked up the wood furniture (scrapes and stains like marker, nail polish...etc). Not to mention stinking boy dog would pee on legs of furniture (stopped, oddly, when sister dog died).

 

[soccerdad72]

Whenever my wife says so

 

[FlightlessDuck]

As others have said -- until they are worn out. We replaced our couches after 11 years. We replaced our mattress after 15.

Still have the same dressers -- in fact, they are dresses I had when I was a teenager.

 

[RedAngie]

If it wasn't so expensive and wasteful, I'd want new furniture every 3-4 years. Not the whole house at once, but maybe two rooms per year until everything was replaced, and then start all over again. I enjoy browsing furniture showrooms.

I did buy a new living room sofa in the spring, and the kitchen table and chairs are five years old, but everything else is at least 11 years old. In the spare bedroom I have a dresser that was part of my teenage bedroom set. Circa 1973.

I'll probably replace the family room sofa and loveseat next year. They're starting to look worn and shabby.

 

[amberpi]

Depends on the piece...I have a lot of Knoll stuff I should be able to hand down. Things like textiles I replace every 3-5 years depending on stains. Unfortunately, I've bought expensive fabric pieces and it doesn't matter, they stain all the same; so now they come from Ikea! A classic Barcelona chair OTOH has a longer life than I expect I will.

ETA: My mom has mostly 100+yo items in her house (outside of couches, etc.) which would look horrible in my house and my "antique" stuff would look horrible in hers. It just wouldn't work, ya know? It's furniture, do what works for your place and enjoy it be for a year, a decade, or a century, right?

 

[Gumbo4x4]

Whenever my wife says so

THIS is the correct answer, always and forever.

 

[RedAngie]

Whenever my wife says so

THIS is the correct answer, always and forever.

At least two smart men on the DIS. Who knew?

 

[QueenIsabella]

Some of our pieces are decades old--DH's grandfather was an upholsterer, and we have several pieces that he made. Our couch was made especially for my FIL as a wedding gift (in 1959), They have been re-covered, but they'll outlast me.

We also have some 70's-era wood pieces that we inherited from my MIL. Even our hutch (granted, it doesn't get hard use), we bought used over 25 years ago.

Most of our newer stuff is in worse shape, except for the nice leather pieces my MIL bought us as gifts. And we treated ourselves to a well-crafted king bed that I'll probably die in--it's lovely! We just bought it a couple years ago--up until then, we were sleeping on a crappy mattress and frame. I said if we didn't get a new bed, we might as well not bother. So, we bought one. The stuff in the kids' room could probably all stand to be replaced.

 

[SC Minnie]

We keep them as long as possible. We bought some very nice solid wood furniture when we first married and are still using it 26 years later and it still looks good. We've replaced our couch twice since we got married. The first time we replaced it was only because we had moved and it didn't fit well in the room size.

The furniture in our spare bedroom is over 100 years old. DD's old bedroom furniture is the same set I used in college.

 

[tvguy]

LOL. Much of our furniture was inherited.
DW bought our dresser 38 years ago, still going strong.
We purchased our headboard, bed frame, and family room couch when we got married 36 years ago. Mattress on the bed has been replaced twice, but those going strong.
Our guest bedroom headboard ,frame and dresser was purchased by my In Laws when they got married in 1955. Still going strong, but the mattress has been replaced.
Our living and family room furniture are a mix of inherited and purchased items. Newest item it a Lazy Boy chair we bought 13 years ago. Oldest is a marble table dating to the 1920's. The actual living room set my parents purchased in 1950, and some how I did not destroy it growing up.

Really, it depends on the quality of the furniture and how it is treated. Decent quality furniture treated decently will last a life time.

 

[DLgal]

When it starts to fall apart and/or I just get tired of looking at it.

We buy a mix of Ikea and Pottery Barn (quite the opposite ends of the spectrum, I know)

The PB pieces are sort of timeless designs that I imagine we will have for a VERY long time (master bedroom set, dining table and chairs, couch, kids bunk bed). We have already had them over 10 years and they still look brand new. The couch will likely be replaced in another 5 years or so. The kids bunk will be replaced when they outgrow it.

We just replaced all our old Ikea living room furniture with a mix of new Ikea (entertainment center) and Pier 1 (coffee and side tables). I love Ikea. It's cheap, but holds up well and some lines are very classy and timeless and solid wood (Hemnes, for example). We have numerous Hemnes pieces in our home.

 

[mamamary]

Our bedroom set is just under 30 years old. We bought a nice set and it has held up well. My kitchen table is also that old. I don't think it was too expensive but it will just not wear out. It still looks brand new although the style is dated. The chairs did not last. I think we are on set number 3 of chairs. My husband said we should just buy a new table but I'm thinking of maybe updating it somehow. Haven't found how though. Our living room and family room furniture we got at the same time right after we got our dog. The dog immediatly chewed a whole in our brand new couch - within a few weeks of getting it. Other than that it looks brand new. Luckily hole is hidden on the side. Our couch/loveseat in the living room is starting to wear a little thin in spots. I'm trying to get maybe a year or two more out of it. Unless you look close you can't see it. Both those sets were on the expensive side. My kids bedroom furniture is pretty crappy. Ikea for my son and it's almost falling apart. Needs replacement. My daughter got hand me down from my sister in law and she is still using it all these years later. It's good furniture but not nice looking. I may chalk paint her dresser to spruce it up a bit.

 

[NYCgrrl]

For the most part I buy furniture to last my lifetime and that of whatever future generations want to keep it. Did take me almost 35 years to find just the right coffee table and dining room chairs though. Interim, I used thrift shop and hotel sale finds that were inexpensive and got the job done.

 

[Floridaman999]

I'd say we average replacing stuff at about the 10 year mark.