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DEL.ICIO.USMy life is in chaos, just look at my furniture.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Sitting through a presentation on furniture marketing trends, I was struck by polling data in which homeowners described their worst pieces of furniture; it’s not simply that the piece wasn’t their taste, or failed to serve a great function in their homes. Their least favorite furniture reflected chaos and dysfunction they perceived in their lives.
One woman polled in the consumer study by the American Home Furnishings Alliance said that she hated a cabinet in her home because was a constant reminder that her kitchen was inadequate. Another despised her messy office and desk, explaining it made her anxious.
A man polled explained that while his sofa was quality construction, it’s outdated fabric was garish and not to his taste. Better yet, the sofa was a gift from his mother-in-law.
(This sofa, not the aforementioned man’s couch, was named the world’s ugliest last year by the World Wide Ugly Couch Contest.)
I don’t believe any of my furniture to be outrageously hideous, though I do have a media console that aggravates me. I purchased a piece from West Elm for what I thought was a whopping $400; three and a half hours of assembly later, it’s still crooked, scratched, and just plain unsatisfying. (I kept it because it weighs a ton and the thought of taking it apart made me want to cry. I’d attach a photo, but the item is no longer available online. Go figure.)
Do you have a piece of furniture that makes your skin crawl? Where did it come from and why have you held onto it?
Comments
By Melissa
June 24, 2008 2:47 PM | Link to this
We have a couple of pieces of UGH furniture. We have an old blonde open console/stand that we have our tv on. It has a couple of shelves for our components and tall openings for albums that we stack our DVDs in. It used to be my husband’s sister’s prior to her untimely death in 1985. We’re looking for another TV cabinet to put it all behind closed doors, but in the meantime we’re using it and have for the last 15 years. Yes, 15 years…we’ve just started our search in earnest. The other is our couch - not quite as hideous as the picture above (although my family had a sofa and chair in that print many years ago - makes me shudder to look at it again I think I’m going blind). Our couch is an ugly, cream faux leather (pleather) and has seen better days due to our 2 cats and 3 dogs. We have a new couch on order and can’t wait to put the one we have now to the curb!!
By JJ
June 27, 2008 8:05 AM | Link to this
I have a “redneck” sofa and a smokey glass round coffee table, circa 1970. They are both hand-me-downs from a friend who got nicer furniture. The sofa is green pleather, but my friend covered it in maroon Chenille. It’s two pieces that fit together and form a 1/2 circle. Ugliest damn furniture you ever saw, but hey it was free, and I needed to fill my living room.
I bought new furniture for my basement/den/flop room, and put the redneck sofa upstairs. I would love to switch the rooms, and bring the nice stuff up to the living room, but I can’t do it alone, and I am useless in the furniture moving department. I’ve called movers, and everyone wants $250/hour. So I guess I’ll have to hire some guy friends, and pay them with beer and food…….anybody????