{"items": [{"author": "Ken", "source_link": "https://plus.google.com/104541722876199850443", "anchor": "gp-1409657689769", "service": "gp", "text": "On the bright side, you don't know how long that cheap furniture was in use before it was discarded. \u00a0Maybe it led a long and fulfilling life.", "timestamp": 1409657689}, {"author": "Justin", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/683372798312?comment_id=683373142622", "anchor": "fb-683373142622", "service": "fb", "text": "it is a sad sight, there is just so much going to waste", "timestamp": "1409658144"}, {"author": "Logan", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/683372798312?comment_id=683377488912", "anchor": "fb-683377488912", "service": "fb", "text": "I was thinking about this yesterday on my way home. The sad part is that you can't reuse it either. At least with wood you can cut it up and still maintain structural integrity.
I wish more people were interested in buying furniture that's nicer than Ikea \"it'll last two moves\" because it's cheap. Good furniture is an investment, and one that may be out of range for a good number of renters, but there's got to be something that could be done with all the sidewalk stuff.", "timestamp": "1409661167"}, {"author": "Rachel", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/683372798312?comment_id=683377708472", "anchor": "fb-683377708472", "service": "fb", "text": "in Philly there were places to buy cheap, used furniture. I greatly prefer that over Ikea, but don't know where to do that in Boston. are there places here too?", "timestamp": "1409661462"}, {"author": "Logan", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/683372798312?comment_id=683378606672", "anchor": "fb-683378606672", "service": "fb", "text": "Rachel: there's an antique market in east Somerville that's supposed to have a lot of used furniture. I've never been but I'd like to check it out. There's always craigslist and Allston Christmas, though the latter is only once a year.", "timestamp": "1409662363"}, {"author": "Sean", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/683372798312?comment_id=683379175532", "anchor": "fb-683379175532", "service": "fb", "text": "Having done this, most of the antique places charge too much. I got most of my good but pre-decorating stuff from estate sales and yard sales.
I think this is an excellent moment for somone of engineering and design persuasion to jump on kickstarter with a bunch of furniture that is: easy to disasemble and reassemble, but is of high quality and looks really nice. Where the design goal is for it to be able to survive a move a year for the lifetime of the owner.", "timestamp": "1409662908"}, {"author": "Logan", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/683372798312?comment_id=683379694492", "anchor": "fb-683379694492", "service": "fb", "text": "Sean, I've wanted to try that for some specific pieces in my apartment, I just haven't had time. Designing and building something like that usually takes a couple of iterations at best, access to materials and tools, and a lot of time.", "timestamp": "1409663235"}, {"author": "Patrick", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/683372798312?comment_id=683379854172", "anchor": "fb-683379854172", "service": "fb", "text": "It takes the place of used furniture. My apartment stuff was decades old when I got it, and still useful when we gave it away or sold it. We got rid of it because we took on stuff from our grandmothers' homes. Reuse is a better system, but it depends on good construction.", "timestamp": "1409663319"}, {"author": "Rob", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/683372798312?comment_id=683382294282", "anchor": "fb-683382294282", "service": "fb", "text": "I wonder if it is a waste, given how much easier it is to make pressboard.", "timestamp": "1409665356"}, {"author": "Jeff Kaufman", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/683372798312?comment_id=683382738392", "anchor": "fb-683382738392", "service": "fb", "text": "@Robert: Plywood adds ~12% to the cost and lasts far longer:
\"All but the snootiest of cabinetmakers typically offer both particleboard and plywood products, but according to Dyer, plywood can cost you 12 percent more than particleboard on average -- ranging from as little as 7 percent to as much as 20 percent higher.\" --http://www.oldhouseweb.com/.../cabinet-box-options-does...
Laminated pressboard looks better when it's new and in good shape, but that period is only a few years.", "timestamp": "1409665719"}, {"author": "Patrick", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/683372798312?comment_id=683386500852", "anchor": "fb-683386500852", "service": "fb", "text": "The wood used to make my old, durable furniture was not sustainably harvested.
Recently bought IKEA kitchen cabinets that combine particle board and solid wood. Clearly designed to last a long time. It might be that they are closer to an ideal by virtue of being both durable and sustainably sourced. Hard to say any bookshelf is sustainable if it goes in a landfill after a couple of years.", "timestamp": "1409668288"}, {"author": "Ariel", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/683372798312?comment_id=683389020802", "anchor": "fb-683389020802", "service": "fb", "text": "Rachel: a wonderful secret is the MIT Furniture Exchange http://web.mit.edu/womensleague/fx/ ; requires a local university ID from at least one person in a group purchasing, but it's mostly high-quality random assortment of all kinds of office and home furniture.", "timestamp": "1409670073"}, {"author": "BDan", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/683372798312?comment_id=683390053732", "anchor": "fb-683390053732", "service": "fb", "text": "Rachel - There's a thrift store in Allston, not far from Union Square, that has a fair bit of furniture.", "timestamp": "1409670554"}, {"author": "Don", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/683372798312?comment_id=683397828152", "anchor": "fb-683397828152", "service": "fb", "text": "Share your feelings. Have only purchased three pieces of furniture new: a couch, recliner and convertible crib/toddler/child bed set. For Raeden I had the same solution: a refinished curb find, a (guessing) 30's-40's era reproduction dresser that was in rough finish but sound construction. After a bit of work it now looks lovely and is solid as a rock. BTW, a friend turned me on to Bartley's Gel Varnish - it is the easiest way to get a tough and beautiful finish in a DIY home job, IMO.", "timestamp": "1409675682"}, {"author": "Ruthan", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/683372798312?comment_id=683405762252", "anchor": "fb-683405762252", "service": "fb", "text": "Some Ikea stuff is made of Real Wood, but I question the long-term prospects of any amount of particleboard in a damp space like a bathroom or kitchen. (The door of the pb cabinet in our bathroom, for instance, sags substantially.)", "timestamp": "1409680699"}, {"author": "Mac", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/683372798312?comment_id=683412244262", "anchor": "fb-683412244262", "service": "fb", "text": "College flea markets are a superb source of furniture. Pick and choose, though. There are usually a couple of diamonds among all the rough crap. Look for pieces that can be knocked down, and have *well engineered* joints and fastening systems that will *not deteriorate* with each use cycle. Another trick I've used extensively is using dishwashing tubs for storage on shelving. Ersatz drawers. Not particularly toddler friendly, unless of course, filled with toddler's toys. Roll-out bins under elevated beds work very well. Designing and building furniture is fun, but the end result usually contains opportunities for further engineering development. And invariably costs as much or more (_ignoring_ time invested) than a quality commercial version. For stability, strong eye screws into studs and furniture, with 1/8\" nylon line tying them together. Tightly knotted and short ends. I have a bamboo shade that rolls up by pulling on a cord. The excess cord is dangerous as hell to a child. I've used plastic boat-style cleats to tie up the cords. There is also an insanely clever, but non-intuitive way to roll up the cord with the shade. The baby locks for drawers and cabinets generally work quite well. By the time my daughters figured out how to bypass them in an instant -- they were intelligent enough to be safe. Child proofing is just another engineering problem. Think through the specs.", "timestamp": "1409684215"}, {"author": "Gianna", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/683372798312?comment_id=683413746252", "anchor": "fb-683413746252", "service": "fb", "text": "Part of the issue seems to be a culture of use/discard/buy again rather than any inherent flaw in, say, IKEA furniture. Of course it's not going to last decades (or more) like solid wood does...but sometimes when you move a lot it's hard to invest in nice furniture that might night fit your next space. We waited over ten years to buy a bed for that reason. However, we have yet to get rid of any of our IKEA furniture for reasons other than it not fitting in our new spaces....we have IKEA Billy bookshelves purchased in 2004 that are going strong, a dining room table of similar age that has no signs of wearing out, a coffee table in similar shape. And none of them are solid wood. Also, IKEA has a 25 year warranty on their (pressboard) kitchen cabinets, so they must expect them to last at least that long.", "timestamp": "1409685001"}, {"author": "Owen", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/683372798312?comment_id=683893280262", "anchor": "fb-683893280262", "service": "fb", "text": "As a rule, I insist on getting modular furniture if it's of any substantial size: things which have very predictable and easily memorable build and teardown cycles and are sturdy with respect to them. (i.e. they can be taken apart and reassembled many many times) as opposed to /this was meant to be built once, but won't survive repeated assembly and construction/.", "timestamp": "1409783431"}]}