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[PamfromCT]

No, not me.  We were fortunate enough to know what we liked very early on.  We have replaced upholstered furniture, lamps, etc.  Redecorated rooms vacated by kids leaving home.  We like classic colonial style furniture, some antiques, some Hitchcock.  It fits our home, a colonial style in an old town dating back to the 1600s.  We do have quite a bit of electronics, due to DH’s interest.  We saved and spent our money wisely, and are very grateful to have educated our two children and have a comfortable retirement.  

[Mersha]

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@PamfromCT wrote:

No, not me.  We were fortunate enough to know what we liked very early on.  We have replaced upholstered furniture, lamps, etc.  Redecorated rooms vacated by kids leaving home.  We like classic colonial style furniture, some antiques, some Hitchcock.  It fits our home, a colonial style in an old town dating back to the 1600s.  We do have quite a bit of electronics, due to DH’s interest.  We saved and spent our money wisely, and are very grateful to have educated our two children and have a comfortable retirement.  

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@PamfromCT   I needed a new table and chairs.  I did not want something that was cheap, imported, or put together yourself.  I was looking for USA made.  I stumbled upon a Hitchcock table and chairs from the 1980's on our local Marketplace.  I purchased and love it!   It is a great set in wonderful condition.

Since I loved the set so much, I purchased other Hitchcock pieces including a bench and beautfiul hutch.

I am with you on the "classic" look.

[Katcat1]

Sofas do not go out of style if you purchase a basic style.  If you purchase a trendy looking sofa then yes, it will.  I have the same sofa for 8 years but then I am the only one using it.  It still looks good it has slip covers like a Pottery Barn look although I purchased it at IKEA.  lol   

[CJC]

My newest furniture is 50 years old, dating to my marriage. Most of my furniture is from family, dating to 1940's-60's. It is so well made, solid mahogany and cherry. Not like today's junkie stuff. Aside from the quality, it has great sentimental value. I would not trade a single piece for anything I see in today's showrooms. Is it dated?  Only to outsiders, not to me. I leave that modern farmhouse style to my kids and grandkids to enjoy. 

[wilma]

@patbz 

@haddon9 

My very first dining table & chairs was from the store “This End Up” in the late 80s. That set was built rock solid. My aunt gifted it to me for my first apartment. It came with me to my second apartment and 2 houses once I was married.

We passed it on to my brother when we remodeled our kitchen a few years ago. We knocked the walls out between the kitchen & formal dining room & decided not to buy kitchen furniture. We use the dining table & chairs instead. 

[stevieb]

I don't often buy new major pieces on a whim, as it seems the salesperson is suggesting. While I do think a room's look can become dated, I don't necessarily think new furniture is always required to update a room... I have never just tossed out the old stuff because I wanted a new look, though I have gradually introduced a modified look to a room, over time, by adding new or different pieces... I've also updated rooms by changing out accessories... Most of us simply can't afford a whole house full of new furniture every few years and, more to the point, like much of what we have or we wouldn't have obtained it in the first place... On the other hand, I don't always wait for something to fall apart to replace it... I do agree there are times we just have had our fill of a particular piece and opt to replace it simply because we want to...

[depglass]

Once a salesman told me lots of people buy furniture every 3 to 5 years, I would replace him, not the furniture.

[Regal Bee]

I tend to keep my furniture for a long time. I purchase timeless pieces and take really good care of them.

I do change out accessories often and sometimes small accent pieces just to keep my decor fresh.

[FiddleDeeDee]

Furniture does show it's age/looks dated in the same way fashion does. You can instantly tell the decade a dress was worn if you think about the style/fashion of each decade; there is definitely a "look". So it is with furniture.

Some people purposely decorate to a specific time period; the 50's and late 60's/early 70's, for example. Rarely do you see people looking for the very heavy Victorian items unless they are making that their look due to living in a Victorian home. Home many do you see with looking for the Louis XV style of white furniture with gold gilt trim and blue velvet upholstery? I remember when it was big with certain families back in the day....now it looks dated. 

If you checkout many home decor sites, you'll see the trend now: white/off white furniture with grey and more white and grey. Pottery Barn, Restoration Hardware sell this stuff and YouTubers/Instagram seem to show nothing but it. And in a few years it will update to something else. I have been told by quite a few in the furniture resell business that "brown furniture" has little to no retail value. You can buy GORGEOUS items for cheap. Before Covid, I saw this everywhere. My mothers estate interests no one because it's "brown furniture". What amazes me is there isn't anything that is pressboard, veneer, hollow or cheaply made. I can't find solid wood furniture UNLESS I want to pay thousands at very upscale design houses (not chains but artist-type studios that you see in magazines). But my parents items are like this!!

The fabric is a big issue and I can see that. Prints and colors that scream "old and from 50 years ago". So perhaps updating the fabric is all that needs to be done. Who knows. For me, the older the item, the better. The items I have from their estate are being reupholstered in very light cream. That shade against dark wood is striking. Changing the paint is another huge way to update the look. In the end, do what you love for your home but IMHO, if you don't update along the way, your house will look like a time capsule.

[Harpa]

My kitchen table is quite small with a lot of, shall we say, character. It is definitely early American, perhaps Colonial. I often wanted to take it to a Roadshow. Don't want anything else!

My sofa is over 43 years old, white Pennsylvania House Queen Ann. Also have a QA end table I purchased at the same time. Don't want anything else!

I was forced to change the kitchen chairs. The ladder backs just didn't look right in our kitchen when we moved in. I already had Windsors, and they were more suited to the character of the room.

Then, one time a rather large friend of my DHs sat down and broke one of the Windsors! (Just like Goldilocks!) I was able to keep 2 of my old Windsors and found 2 new ones that perfectly matched.

I think I would be more apt to change things if I had not chosen in the first place.