Hello World! Welcome Friends! It’s hard to pull the wool over the eyes of the modern consumer. In the internet age, people don’t have to take brand messaging and marketing spiel at face value anymore.
There are countless sources of information available at our fingertips to help us check out what we’re being told. We can read user reviews, ask communities on social media or forums, compare and contrast claims with what other brands are doing.
All in all, the modern consumer is savvy, empowered with information and quick to pounce all over anything that they feel crosses the line between ‘selling’ a product and being economical with the truth. Brands have to be careful about what they say. Even simple words can become a hotly contested bone of contention.
One such word is luxury. Luxury holidays, luxury hotels, luxury bed linen. It seems like everything is sold as ‘luxury’ these days. And consumers are wise to it. They understand that, in most cases, luxury is code for – it will cost you more. Which means that whenever they see the word ‘luxury’ tagged onto a product or brand, they are immediately asking a question – what exactly do I get for the extra cost?
We see this in the furniture sector all the time. There’s luxury furniture and then there’s luxury furniture. Brands that think they can lazily waft the word around and think shoppers will swallow it. And those that actually have something to back up their claims.
There’s nothing wrong with wanting a touch of luxury for your home. As a word, luxury carries connotations of style, comfort, sophistication, quality. These are all very desirable things to look for when purchasing furniture. But overuse of the word makes it harder to separate products that will actually deliver these qualities from those that simply carry an inflated price tag.
So what actually counts as luxury furniture these days? What makes the extra cost worthwhile, a sound investment even? Here are three features to judge every piece of furniture you see labelled as ‘luxury’ against.
Build Quality and Craftsmanship
Top of the list for sorting the wheat from the chaff is how well made a piece of furniture is. To make a judgement on this, we would always recommend seeing a piece of furniture in person before you buy. Or failing that, read as many customer reviews as you can find, looking specifically for comments on build quality.
Genuine luxury furniture is made with visible expertise and eye for detail. It will usually be hand crafted rather than factory assembled, or at least put through a rigorous inspection process. As much as anything, it is built to last, which ultimately means you are getting good value.
Sure, low cost furniture is easy on the wallet, it’s functional, it does a job – for a while. But where cheaper furniture starts to creak, crack, fade and fray within perhaps two, three, five years, the best made pieces will endure a decade or more looking and performing at their best. It ultimately means you end up replacing furniture less often. But that knowledge that you have a high quality item in your home that will stand the test of time is in itself a luxury many people consider worth paying for.
Premium Materials
One of the signatures of a top quality, artisanally crafted pieces of furniture is the choice of premium materials. This goes hand in glove with expert craftsmanship and build quality. With all the skill in the world, you still can’t make furniture out of cheap, flimsy materials that will last as long as the finest, hardest wearing materials. It’s why you inevitably have to pay more for hardwood furniture than products made out of MDF, for example.
At the same time, choice of materials also has a huge impact on the aesthetic side of things. Again, premium hardwoods like oak, teak, maple and walnut are so highly sought after (and command a premium price) at least in part because of how visually appealing they are. The natural grain structure and color of these types of woods make them very attractive even before a skilled craftsperson gets to work on them.
Eye-Catching Design
But of course, a plank of even the most beautiful timber does not a piece of luxury furniture make. Here again we return to the skill and expertise of the people who make (and design) the furniture.
As well as being built to last, genuine luxury furniture should be built to look great – and, in our opinion, in as many different settings as possible. To our mind, there’s too often an over-emphasis on ‘luxury’ items being ostentatious and flamboyant. Not that there’s anything wrong with a little extravagance in design, in the right place. But it’s often a sign of people trying too hard.
Great designs are eye-catching, yes, but over the top, no. There’s elegance and sophistication in simplicity, too. Most of the time, you find that form and function go together. If a piece of furniture looks ‘well-made’, solid, durable, like it’s had an expert hand put it together, then it usually carries its own aesthetic appeal anyway.
On top of that, you don’t need to go overboard. It’s often the subtle touches, the clever little innovations in design, the playfulness with forms, that give us the greatest pleasure.
Click the links below for any posts you have missed:
Your Guide to a Roofing Company in Greenville, South Carolina
How to Successfully Remodel Your Home On a Budget
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Make Your Home Eco-Friendly With These Amazing And Simple Improvements
Why It’s Important to Properly Maintain Your Roof
Top Tips for Moving House in Adelaide
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Toodles,
[…] What Counts as ‘Luxury’ Furniture? Three Features to Look Out For […]