Imperfectly Perfect. Now What?

Despite our conditioning to constantly cycle through things, parting ways with furniture often makes us feel bad.

There’s massive guilt associated with dumping furniture, especially when it’s imperfect—you don’t want to give someone something you yourself don’t want, you don’t want to pay to fix something you don’t intend to keep, you can’t donate it, and landfilling it wrecks your conscience.

As a result, people tend to store pieces, out of sight, for long periods of time. Eventually, the guilt lessens as the unwanted piece devolves into something closer to junk status. Thus, making the final disposal easier to bear.

This emotional labor is an interesting consequence of our linear systems of consumption.

Who exactly benefits from these systems? Me? My community? Skilled trades? Small businesses? The environment? Non-profits? Artists? The future? #systemschange

Thank you Marie Hebrock for your research, “Where Furniture Goes to Die. Designing for Sustainable Behaviour in a Practice Perspective.”