Furniture - Built To Last Or Built For Landfill by Jonathan Howkins

From flat pack to landfill – the journey of ‘modern’ furniture

The life of your average flat-pack piece of furniture is often short-lived. It’s affordable price and simple contemporary aesthetic draws us in, providing a quick fix for modernising our homes. However, the initial attraction soon wanes, as legs begin to wobble, doors and drawers no longer fit, and we grow tired of it. It’s then but a short journey to confinement, hidden away, probably to the spare room or garage, before finally the hammer is wielded and it’s off to the local tip to join its flat pack friends in landfill.

The flat-pack market is now huge. What was started in the 1980s primarily in the kitchen’s market has now extended to all types of furniture – you could pretty much furnish an entire house with flat-pack. What’s more, it’s cheap, easy to buy, easy to deliver (except for the weight of all that chipboard), and some would say, easy to assemble. What’s more it allows us to quickly transform our rooms, allowing us to buy into the desire for a modern, comfortable home, as portrayed by the many TV programmes and magazines.

Of course the furniture it won’t last, but does that matter?

The fact that the furniture will probably be falling apart in five years is not really a problem, as we’d more than likely want a change by then anyway. And also, what can we expect when we only pay those sort of prices?

The furniture is designed to be as cheap as possible. The use of materials, manufacturing and finishing processes, even the number of fittings and screws has to be tightly controlled to ensure the cheapest price.

Nowhere in the designers brief does there seem to be any consideration environmental sustainability and product lifecycle. Flat-pack is virtually 100% non-recyclable.

We must start to look at furniture in a different light. Why is it that we have some furniture in our homes we love, that we have a real attachment to? These pieces, even when we no longer have use or space for them, still have a value and can be sold, refinished or re-used.

These pieces were designed and made to last. In many cases the natural aging and wear and tear, only add to their charm and character. Giving them a greater sense of permanence, lending real character and warmth to our homes.

What of the new furniture today, will provide us with the same feelings in the years to come? We need to see furniture as an investment, something we save for, and consequently truly value and have attachment to, rather than a quick fix that’ll soon be in a skip.

Alternatively flat-pack needs to move, beyond price being the only criteria, if it is to provide us not only with convenience, but also more permanence, not landfill.

About The Author

Jonathan Howkins is Managing Director of Otto Furniture Limited. Otto is is a contemporary furniture design and manufacturing business, with an environmentally responsible approach. Visit the web site http://www.ottofurniture.com.