With instructions that are notoriously longwinded and complicated, and a set of Allen keys to assemble everything instead of screws, flatpack furniture is quite the ordeal for many, and for others, it’s the stuff of very real nightmares! Some self-assemblers even end up breaking or damaging the item of furniture through sheer frustration and anger.
However, despite knowing what potentially lies ahead when buying an item of flatpack furniture, we still go ahead and do it in our millions every year, whether that’s because its easier to get flatpack items home from the shop, more designs are available, or perhaps we fancied the challenge! Fortunately though, with an abundance of Professional Flatpack Assembly companies to help us navigate our flatpack nightmares with ease, buying this notoriously frustrating type of furniture no longer has to be associated with such negativity and drama.
The history of flatpack furniture
Pioneered by the Swedish furniture store Ikea in 1956, flatpack furniture has an innovative history, with an Ikea employee allegedly removing the legs from a table in order to fit it into the boot of a car, which led to the concept of furniture being bought in parts, to be fitted together at home. Subsequently becoming part of the famous Ikea concept, it was one that proved popular in other parts of the world, and before long, Ikea stores were popping up all over the globe.
What are the environmental benefits of self-assembly furniture?
Despite it getting such a bad rap, flatpack furniture does actually have plenty of green credentials, such as the fact that due to its reduced size, shipping costs can be reduced, helping to reduce the carbon footprint. With transporting this type of furniture from A to B made so simple and so much more sustainable, designers have been able to produce interesting and unique pieces without having to attach such a hefty price tag to them to accommodate transportation costs and limitations.
What are the environmental drawbacks of flatpack furniture?
Despite a reduction in carbon footprint associated with transporting flatpack furniture, the fact still remains that because flatpack is favored by many due to its lower price tag, much of it is made from cheap and non-sustainable materials such as chipboard and MDF.
Can you buy sustainable flatpack furniture?
For those who are willing to pay a little more for their flatpack furniture, there are designers out there trying to minimize the use of non-eco-friendly materials by using high-quality green materials like bamboo instead, while also trying to minimize how much plastic and metal are used. It’s important to take into consideration the fact that while factory-finished furniture is often of high quality and may well last for many years to come, the product’s carbon footprint is heavily impacted by how much space such items take up when being transported and delivered. In terms of sustainability, it simply makes sense for items of furniture to be as small and compact as possible when being transported to delivery sites.
Ultimately, if you want to buy flatpack furniture with less of a harmful impact on the environment thanks to it being crafted from sustainable woods like bamboo, you absolutely can. And, when you hire a company specialising in Flatpack assembly in Birmingham, you get the best of both worlds; an attractive and sustainable piece of furniture that you don’t have to worry about having to assemble yourself.
