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. (more…)