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Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Whoops! I broke your chair. A question of furniture ethics.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Strolling through an antique store the other day, my friend pointed to a Chippendale dining chair and said: “That’s like the chair I used to have before my cousin broke it.”
Apparently, her late chair collapsed under the weight of a rather hefty cousin.
A co-worker of mine has a similar tale. Her obese niece (rhyme unintentional) sat on her pedestal-legged antique settee, only to have one of the legs break underneath her.
I can’t imagine how embarrassed either party felt; the hostess for having furniture fail, the heavy person for breaking it. In both of the above cases, neither guest offered to pay for the furniture repair, prompting this ethical quandary:
Who should pay for the repair? Should the host or hostess apologize for the incident and take care of repair quietly, or should the guest offer to help with the costs, perhaps assuming responsibility for the antique furniture’s demise?
Do we assume all furniture, even that made centuries ago, should support today’s larger society?
What are your thoughts on handling this delicate furniture faux pas?
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