No matter what we’re buying, quality is almost always a contributing factor to our choice.
Sometimes we’re looking for cheap and easy, and it’s safe to say there’s plenty of that on the market. However, more often than not, we would rather invest in something that is going to look and function better and has a solid chance of lasting longer than the trip home.
It’s an unfortunate fact that we’ve moved out of an age where everything manufactured was designed to last and with the intention for items to be repaired rather than replaced. A sad by-product of increased productivity has been the slow decline of competition for quality – even our luxury items are designed to be replaced every 2 to 3 years.
Replacing or investing
With so many options on the market for nearly every product, the ability to replace something is much more accessible to most of us than deciding to invest in a quality product, to begin with. The mess that our consumerism society may seem like, there are still a few items that we should find the budget for and make the commitment to opt for quality, and a perfect example of this is furniture.
Easily overlooked and readily undervalued, you undoubtedly spend an exorbitant amount of your life utilising the furniture. We’re not just talking about the furnishings in your home; there’s the park bench on your picnic, the boardroom seating in your office, the table at your local café, and the sink in the bar bathroom – we use furniture far more often than we might realise, and not all of it is quality.
You can’t tell me that you’ve never noticed the difference that a quality, comfy seat in your favourite restaurant makes when compared with the wobbly cheap one somewhere else. Don’t try to pretend that you can’t understand why it’s important to include ergonomic office chairs Australia wide for any new office fit out ideas – your back will thank you now, and your bank account will thank you later. No matter where the furniture might be, quality will always be noticeable.
Buying quality matters
In a world where frivolous consumption is leading to the slow decline of the planet, it’s important that we endeavour to move away from the excessive consumption of goods. You’ve surely heard of ‘Boot’s theory of wealth’, and you might even know it’s from a Terry Pratchett novel and a character called Sam Vimes where it originated. If you’re unfamiliar with that fact, the basic premise is that when we buy a cheaper product, we must buy that product more often as it won’t function as well or last as long.
If you’re spending $20 on a pair of El-cheapo shoes every couple of months, you’ll have spent roughly 120 bucks by the end of the year. On top of this, you’ll have thrown out up to 6 pairs of shoes to landfill. Alternatively, if you get yourself a sturdy pair of quality shoes, they might last you for 3 years. Meaning not only have you not contributed to the landfill in that time, but you have actually spent less money in the long run.
All this is a long way to say; if you invest in a sturdy, well-built dining table, couch, or bedside table, you’ll find it works better for your purpose and will last longer.
Why quality sits better
As a rule, high-quality pieces of furniture will always look better than their low-quality counterparts. You can certainly find exceptions to this rule, but I’m sure if you lined up all the boardroom chairs Melbourne has, you’d find that, on average, the quality ones will look more prestigious and inviting.
We all want our homes and businesses to look their best, so it seems a no-brainer to opt for quality options. It’s arguably a shame that our society puts so much value on the ability to own nice things, but it is what it is. Higher quality products will use higher quality materials, which, whilst making the price a little higher, will also elevate the aesthetic of the piece of furniture.
For example, your brand-new sofa will look much more inviting and elevate the vibes of the room if it’s made with quality materials of a high thread count and a solid base. This will also lengthen the time that it looks ‘as good as new’ – lower-quality fabrics are much more susceptible to fading and damage compared with their high-quality counterparts.
Safety in furniture and equipment
Lastly, there are certain areas where you want quality furniture and items due to safety implications. You’d hate to end up in the hospital unexpectedly and find that they were cutting corners on the quality of their equipment. The last thing you need is for the hospital bed to give way – forget adding insult to injury; try adding injury to injury, yikes. This requirement for quality can be spread across all medical and healthcare equipment, including those in care homes.
Nothing will kill medical equipment sales quite like a poorly made product. Nurses and doctors are notoriously overworked in our healthcare systems. They work long hours and have relatively intense jobs (especially since the advent of the Covid pandemic). Investing in quality equipment and furniture ensures that their job is made easier and their load a little lighter. Not to mention, quality products will also mean less work in looking to replace them.
People who work in the care industry (often an overworked and underappreciated industry) are often even more hands-on in their responsibilities. They will regularly have to lift and adjust their patients to sufficiently meet their needs for care. A lot of this is assisted with a variety of helpful furniture items – beds that help lift and relocate (something as little as bed rails in aged care can make a big difference), toilets with an extra contraption for support, etc.
These items of furniture are arguably what make these carers’ jobs possible. While there are many different aged care equipment suppliers to choose from, it’s safe to say that our care workers will invariably appreciate and tend towards those that produce a durable, reliable and quality product over that which breaks down, needs replacing and adds pressure to their job.
Quality can’t be overlooked, especially when it comes to furniture. It’s an investment that includes comfort, usability and even safety. Those factors are too important to compromise on.