I was able to tag along on a trip to the world’s largest furniture market. In three and a half days, we visited thirty showrooms, and that was less than ten percent of the total. Yes, indeed, that is a lot of home décor! It was certainly a quality experience in many ways.
Twice a year, in April and October, a hundred thousand buyers converge on The High Point Market in North Carolina to view the latest trends in home furnishings and décor. They meet with suppliers and manufacturers, and if they own a store, they order furniture, lighting, fabric and accessories for their sales floors for the next season.
As I digested everything I saw, I thought about the stuff we own. After spending a relatively short period surrounded by beautifully designed, high-quality, customizable furniture, returning to purchasing inexpensive knock-offs is very difficult. Once you see and experience quality and meet the original manufacturer of a distinctive piece, it spoils you forever. It’s not just home furnishings, though. We can say the same for clothing, footwear, electronics and more.
Inexpensive Items Create Clutter
Throughout my career, I have helped clients organize, redecorate, and renovate their homes and offices, assisting them in finding new homes for items they no longer want or for things that are worn out or broken. Then, I started thinking about how we buy and dispose of unwanted “stuff.” And how, if we buy poor quality, we dispose of that “stuff” a lot more often.
When we buy something inexpensive, we usually don’t think much about what we’re doing. Many of my clients explain that they own an unused item because it was on sale at the time. They bought it with very little thought as to where they would put it or if they would even use it. Perhaps we do the same thing with home décor.
If we don’t invest much time or money in an item, it quickly becomes disposable. If we base our purchases only on price, I suspect we sometimes make the wrong decision. Most people take a substantial amount of time to weigh their decisions when buying a car or a house, as it is a huge investment. What if you looked at buying home furnishings and décor in the same way?
Invest and Enjoy a Quality Experience
If you take your time, hire an expert to help you choose the perfect pieces, and then shop for quality and longevity, you will be truly invested in—and truly enjoy—your home décor. The pieces you choose will last for many years, and if you choose wisely, they will move with you from one home to the next. You will love what you have, treat it carefully and enjoy it daily.
You will also be doing a good thing for the environment. If you shop less frequently but buy better quality for everything in your life, you save precious resources. Think about the:
- raw materials needed to manufacture everything we buy
- fossil fuels used to ship what we buy around the world.
- “stuff” we throw in the landfill because it wears out too quickly.
Think before you buy. Be willing to wait for what you really want and save for what you really love.
What’s topmost in your mind when you buy things for your home?