I have to say…it is unfortunate that these old and well made pieces of furniture are not wanted very much. But it is what it is. We have a woman in our town who takes old furniture and repaints it and repurposes it.
We also have a couple of women’s shelters. When they are setting up apartments, they will take things for an apartment set up. But they won’t take damaged items or items in poor condition. They just don’t have the manpower to fix things up.
Many of the used furniture stores we had near us have gone out of business. And many stopped taking large pieces of furniture a long time ago.
Guess I am too much of an addict to HGTV, hoping that someone can upgrade, restore, or improve our old quality products.
Sign of the times, I guess.
Now that all three of my children have gone through IKEA and particle board furniture, they are beginning to ask about quality furniture and why the prices are so high.
Honestly there is plenty of “old” furniture that I would not want. ARENT there styles from the last you don’t like?
People have different likes and dislikes. And peoples tastes can and do change over decades. All the furniture in my moms house is in near perfect
Condition . But there probably is hardly a piece I’d want to have.
I’m not advocating throwing it in a garbage bin. But I get too much joy snd satisfaction from home decor that makes me happy to keep something just because it’s still functional.
The torn upholstered chair has been requested by my cousin’s daughter who took a local Community College class in fine furniture upholstery. She loves the chair pictures and wants to keep it!
Funny how other friends and family have also asked for the chair after she posted. She hasn’t yet described what she’s going to do to upgrade it. I’m curious to see what she ends up doing!
D20’s theatre teacher also liked when we donated building materials, paint and supplies, and extra material or pieces of clothing that could be repurposed into costumes. The kids had low budgets and grand concepts; they appreciated everything they could get.
This is an interesting thread. I have never had anything refused at our local PTA thrift stores. They will even take rags. They work with a recycler for those. The only thing they don’t take is non-working electronics. I would have had no problem getting rid of that table and chairs.
When I cleaned out my parents’ house I took 6 loads of stuff to the Salvation Army.
People around here would’ve jumped all over that set. I see it on Facebook every day.
I don’t know if it’s regional or if it is just the type of neighborhood but around here people put still useable furniture at the curb for the taking. Often the night before trash pick up (Our regular trash pick up would not take furniture you have to call for a special pick up on a different day). Maybe some HOA’s don’t allow for this?
When my parents moved to an apartment in 2016, we inherited their dining room set; my husband has always loved it. While the table was a mid century modern table, the chairs were heavy wood with black leather seats with nailheads. We downsized in 2017 and while the table barely fit our townhome, the chairs were just too heavy for the space. We kept 6 of the 10 chairs around the table, and the other 4 went to storage.
I wanted to get new chairs that were more opened and lighter, but mom would not hear of me getting rid of them. The leather was dried and cracked, so at the very least, they needed recovering. The price alone was not worth it to me, as the chairs were too much for the space. I kept them as it would make mom unhappy to give them up. I did try a few consignment shops, but they had no interest, and told me no one would want them; they said they knew they were expensive chairs, but they still did not want them. I thought about seeing if an upholsterer might want them, as they could recover for cheap and turn around and sell them, but then the pandemic hit, so I never looked into it.
My cousin moved last spring, it was planned before the pandemic, and she didn’t have room for her dining room chairs and knew I loved them. She gave me her chairs, which look great with mom’s dining table. As mom hadn’t been in my home due to COVID, I didn’t tell her until a few months ago! I dreaded telling her, but in the end, she was ok. Now I have her 10 chairs in my storage unit! I will try again to see what I can do with them.
Your mid-century table and chairs are gorgeous, and as mentioned HOT right now. That would sell quickly in our part of the country, but I’d keep for the memories. We have a 1920’s set from my Grandmother, that is not hot now, but I love it (It was about 20 years ago though). It is the only piece I have from her home. No one in my family wants it – for now. I didn’t either when I was their age. Unfortunately I think that will change as they have their own families, and start their own traditions.
Our city has a yearly large item trash day. Most semi-valuable items at the curb are snatched before they head to the land fill. Artists, crafters, and up-cyclers are happy. Metal items are usually snatched for recycle value. Houses cleaned. Landfill saved. Win-win for everyone!
I’m hoping the next generation sees the value of up-cycling. Quality is SO MUCH BETTER on most past furniture. Unfortunately, their time is valuable, and fewer people have the skills to fix or re-purpose. But you would hope that their concern for the environment would translate into reusing and recylcing more.
It looks too good to dump. List it on OfferUp (free or for a charge) or list it on eBay for local pick up. You could also put it outside your house on the sidewalk with a sign ‘FREE please take!’ - somebody will take it!
On our local Buy Nothing facebook, I’ve seen posts “advertising” free items that are out at the curb (often with a statement that they will update if item has been picked up). That gives a broader set of eyes than just the street traffic.
