Hey, kids, the party’s over.
I’m talking to you, millennials. Sure, we happily put out the welcome mat and filled the refrigerator with all your favorite treats during the pandemic, but it’s time for you to go. Seriously, and I’m saying this from a place of love and total exhaustion, you’ve worn us out.
Since you moved back home a year ago, the grocery bill has tripled. So has the laundry. And, for that matter, the electricity bill because you can’t seem to remember to turn off the lights when you’ve left the room. We’re done with the sleepless nights staring at the ceiling waiting to hear the garage door rumble so we know you made it home safely.
So it’s time for you to leave the nest. It’s time to get your own apartment and buy some furniture. As a parting gift, I can offer some tips:
- Buy pre-owned traditional furniture. Why? You can’t afford quality contemporary furniture and you really don’t want the cheap stuff. It’ll fall apart, probably during your big-game party. Pre-owned traditional furniture is solidly well-made and classic in style. Paint it if you want to make a striking design statement.
- Avoid engineered woods and dressers with backs as flimsy as cardboard. Beware of furniture that’s held together with black hex screws. All are signs of furniture that’s as disposable as a paper plate.
- Look for maple or oak furniture. These are sturdy woods and they won’t fall apart with use. These lighter woods are more popular today with younger buyers than the dark woods such as mahogany.
- Don’t buy glass, that is, resist the urge to get a glass coffee table or dining table. Glass is fragile. You’re going to move a lot in the next couple of years. You don’t want to carry something so breakable up and down the stairs.
- Don’t buy a custom rug, a round rug, or one in an awkward size. Buy a rug in a standard size such as 4x6 or a 6x9. Those sizes are most likely to fit into your next home.
- Think of your furniture as an investment, one that might accompany you from home to home as you mature and your life changes. Don’t buy cheap furniture that you’ll have to discard and replace.
