“Oh yeah,” said the hairdresser on some property/antique/lifestyle television show, “furniture was made to last in them olden days” (she was no expert). Well, was it?
Err...not especially. The bulk of ‘old’ furniture that has survived tends to be well built, for obvious reasons.
Was all the furniture from the Middle Ages made from large lumps of oak? It wasn’t, it’s just that those made of oak have survived – a big lump of oak is very durable! The Victorians were industrialised – they churned out vast quantities of cheap, badly made furniture. Where is it?
Of course, some badly made furniture does survive – but in our experience, it tends to be rarer that than the well made stuff!
So...in 2070 will a hairdresser be looking at a 1970s MFI bedside cabinet and saying “oh yeah, they really made things to last in the olden days”. I think not!
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