Why Refurbished

Furniture can live far longer than we expect

Some furniture has already been in use for centuries. Museums across the UK and Europe care for everyday objects such as tables, chests, chairs and beds that were made hundreds of years ago and are still structurally sound today. In fact, the V&A alone holds about 700 whole furniture pieces made before the year 1700. This demonstrates that furniture doesn’t suddenly become unusable because time has passed, so long as it is properly cared for.

Our refurbishment process restores what time and usage have worn down. It allows furniture to keep doing what it was always meant to do: be used.

Refurbished is better for the planet

In many cases, the most sustainable furniture is the furniture that already exists. Refurbished pieces avoid the environmental cost of manufacturing new ones – harvesting timber, running factories, and shipping goods internationally. Studies show that refurbished furniture can save carbon emissions equivalent to many times the weight of the furniture itself over its lifetime, depending on materials and size.

If you’d like to explore this further, we go into more detail in the How to Furnish Sustainably section.

Refurbished homes feel more personal and interesting

Opening yourself up to refurbished furniture opens up a much wider range of styles and eras.

Interior design traditions like eclectic and transitional styles actively encourage mixing pieces from different eras, materials, and contexts. Older furniture often brings proportions, craftsmanship, and details that are no longer common in mass production today.

You can find out more about how to mix periods and styles effectively here.

The result is rarely a single “look.” Instead, rooms feel layered, lived-in, thoughtful – and, most importantly, unique – much like this home or this home.

Better quality for the same (or lower) price

It is often the case that mass-produced, modern furniture doesn’t last as long as traditional furniture.
While this is true, it is often mistakenly attributed to cheaper raw materials like chipboard. In practice, a piece of furniture will break mostly in its joints (usually when assembling furniture, moving it around or applying too much load on it) and in its finishing (usually from exposure to sunlight or moisture). Rarely do we receive furniture items with structural damage in their core panels.

Neither of these failure modes have to do with the raw materials – both are a result of compromises fast furniture manufacturers make on both processes and quality control.

Our refurbishment process involves checking and strengthening the joints of all furniture items that require it, and refinishing the items with high-quality, sustainable products [Link: How we refurnish]. This means the furniture you get is very often of higher quality than mass-produced. Furthermore, we deliver and assemble the furniture for you, saving you from the risk of damaging your furniture during assembly.