Few people set out to buy cheap-looking furniture. Like beauty treatments or clothing, it runs counter to the entire point. We buy things to look better, not worse. Sometimes a ‘good deal’ gets the best of us, but as anyone who’s ever tried to save money on highlights knows, that bargain usually comes with a second appointment and a much higher bill. Buy it nice, or buy it twice.
Perhaps most criminal of all is when you did splurge on a certain furniture trend and the piece still reads budget. That’s double jail. While your great uncle may not clock it at Thanksgiving, anyone you’re actually trying to impress will. There are certain telltale details that not-so-silently scream machine-made, polyester-adjacent, corner-cut furniture from across the room – even when the price tag suggests otherwise.
