REPAIR OR REPLACE? DECIDING WHAT’S BEST

There’s always that traditional couch sitting in the living room that doesn’t quite fit in with the modern style of the house. Or that cupboard gifted by a family member that one couldn’t just find the heart to sell because it’s been in the family for a long time. Besides the traditional and sentimental values that pieces of furniture can have, there’s always a dilemma of considering whether you should repair or replace furniture. Replacing furniture can be costly, and can get tiring while finding the right design that’ll go with the house. This reason is precisely why people usually go for professional furniture repairs, and well worth the effort and money. So how does one decide between replacing and repairing?

This article looks to alleviate such confusion by outlining the various factors that will help in deciding which route one should take. After all, the outcome one needs is the process to be as cost-effective as possible!

1. How Much The Furniture Means To You

Was it a gift from a family friend? Or was it your favorite piece of furniture in your childhood home? If it has such traditional value or has been with the family for a long time, it’s better to consider restoration or repair. If it just serves a function in the house, then replacing it might be the best thing to do.

2. What’s Costlier?

Whether it’s hiring a professional to do all your furniture repairs or self-repairing, or if one decides to replace it entirely, the vital thing to be taken into account is the cost. The overall cost of repairing an item of furniture is usually less and turns out to be more practical than buying an expensive one. Proper repair or restoration of furniture can enable it to last longer than its usual time.

3. Overall Aesthetic

With changing styles and modernization, one can find that the furniture style does not suit the home decor anymore. One can take this as an indication to replace it with something that fits the aesthetic of the house and is trendy. A piece of furniture that appears out of place can suck out all efforts one has put in designing the other elements of the space. Blending it with the area around is key to an aesthetically pleasing room.

4. Extent or Nature of damage

One can restore damages such as a tear of paint or varnish, loss of colour, chipping off from the edges without distorting the texture or design of the furniture. It’s usually affordable to procure the materials required for such purposes too. But then again, certain damages are well beyond repair.

These can include breaking of vital parts, or wearing out of material in a way that it won’t be strong enough to withstand the stress as it used it. In such cases, unless furniture repair can restore the strength and texture, the only other way to go is to replace it altogether. Specific furniture designs, no matter how aesthetically pleasing or traditionally valuable it could be, cannot be restored beyond a particular time of its life.

All factors considered, it’s how the furniture fits one’s needs and the overall decor of the house or place that matters in the end. Like Timothy Corrigan, the famous interior designer, said, “Its comfort first, comfort last, comfort always”.

Author bio:

Ester Adams is a farmer of words in the field of creativity. She is an experienced independent content writer with a demonstrated history of working in the writing and editing industry.  She is a multi-niche content chef who loves cooking new things.

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