A table is a very basic piece of furniture. In many homes they are at the centre of activity.
We just got a new table in our kitchen and it has elicited so many comments from visitors. Interesting really, I thought a table was a fairly ordinary thing.
But people love this table. So why? It fits the room perfectly, and is just the right size for people to sit around for coffee, to talk, write, carry out the myriad of tasks that you do at a table. It has ‘leaves’ so it can be extended to become a longer table. It has four chairs; strong and comfortable. This table and chairs have transformed our kitchen.
The thing is this table cost just $100, second hand from a used furniture shop. The table looks to be mahogany, maybe 30+ years old. It and its chairs are ‘cool’ in a retro sort of a way.
I think if I had gone to the new furniture shop, I might have found a ‘retro’ 70s style table for $1000 plus.
It’s got me wondering about material things and how we are going to deal with the toughened economic times.
Perhaps we don’t have to throw out desire for material possessions, but we simply reframe them, and shift what we value.
We will all be redefining what we see as important, of quality and what is luxurious.
http://trendwatching.com/briefing/#luxyoury
Are the best products always new?
Can a table with a visible ‘patina’ with a few nicks and sratches add far more value to our house than a flash new dining suite, or a large plasma TV? Is it a centre piece where we can make and share our own food, rather than dining out? Can we sit there and make stuff, rather than buy it, create a new community and a new take on our family?
There’s a new trend called Rough Luxury, that might just fit the bill, celebrating the worn, defining what yoou consider to be luxurious.http://www.roughluxe.com/philosophy.php
May be these toughened times and consumerism blow out might have us look a bit differently at what we truly need and truly value in the way of possessions. And you know, I think it might just lead to greater happiness