Furniture Choices for Young Adults
Your late twenties and early thirties are a transitional time. You’ve outgrown the days of furnishing your home with a $20 hand-me-down sofa and milk crates, but you may not feel settled enough to invest heavily in decorating. After all, is this really your forever home? Furniture shopping can be daunting, especially if, like me, you’re not keen on collecting items just for the sake of owning them. Still, a few simple pieces can transform a space. I found myself staring at a piece that wasn’t stunning but fit my budget and seemed easy to transport and assemble. It wasn’t until the salesperson explained the downsides of pressboard furniture that I paused to listen.
I didn’t even know what pressboard furniture was. I just knew the piece in front of me was affordable, would fit in my car, and could be assembled at home. Apparently, I needed a crash course in the furniture industry, and the salesperson was happy to oblige.
“Some claim pressboard furniture is stronger due to its construction, but that’s not entirely true,” he said.
My blank stare must have tipped him off that I was clueless about the debate. He explained that pressboard furniture is made by pressing and heating various wood slats together to form a fabricated piece. This process results in uneven grains, knots, and imperfections, creating air pockets that weaken the material. Despite some arguing it’s stronger than average wood, this didn’t add up to me. The salesperson smiled as I started to catch on.
I was drawn to the convenience of pressboard furniture. It came in a box I could easily load into my car, assemble in the room it would stay in, and be done. No need for movers or heavy lifting—I could carry it piece by piece without straining my back. It looked decent enough for my calm home environment, so what did it matter if it wasn’t as strong as steel? Ignoring the salesperson’s advice, I bought the boxed piece, hauled it upstairs, and opened the instructions.
Lessons Learned from Pressboard Furniture
Assembly wasn’t my forte, but I figured the directions would be straightforward. Three hours on the living room floor later, I discovered a major downside of pressboard furniture: deciphering those instructions was a nightmare. It was a beautiful day outside, and I was stuck indoors wrestling with a puzzle. With a friend’s help and her “half-borrowed” Allen wrench, I finally got it together.
A year later, when it was time to move, I borrowed her Allen wrench again to disassemble the piece, along with two others I’d acquired. Moving them intact seemed risky—they might break. This revealed another pressboard drawback: disassembly was as tedious as assembly. Over the next two years, I moved once more. By the time I settled into my current home, my three pressboard pieces looked like thrift store rejects. This stung because I’d paid good money—about $300 for the cheapest piece, which isn’t much in furniture terms, but I could’ve bought similar banged-up, flaking, peeling items for $300 total at a thrift shop. Worse, I still felt guilty for not returning my friend’s Allen wrench set before moving.
Furniture was never a priority for me. I valued utility, function, and a decent appearance, believing wall hangings and throws could do more for a space than furniture. But when I replaced my pressboard pieces after just three years, I opted for high-quality solid wood furniture. It’s beautiful, required no assembly team or tools, and the delivery team was careful not to damage my home.
I expect these pieces to last far longer than the three years my pressboard furniture did. Standing there with my Visa, I felt a bit sheepish, reminded of the salesperson who tried to warn me about pressboard’s pitfalls. My stubbornness had cost me, but some lessons are best learned through experience.
