Laughable

[prov163]

I do think the downturn of 2008 had an impact but it was a long time coming. Once American steel was decimated you start to see a serious decline in the quality of products, tools and appliances mainly.  Coupled with a corporate paradigm of making quality control subservient to bottom line, people decided that if they were going to lose quality anyway, they might as well save money doing it. And the race to the bottom began. I think that's why boutique tools companies are becoming more prevalent. There is a bigger segment of the American public looking for a well produced American or at least North American tool. Just look how many are in the woodworking world. If there wasn't a market they wouldn't be proliferating. 

That attitude is slowly starting to creep into furniture which has endured some horrendous trends in both design and quality. And while I'm sure Eric will call foul on this, I actually believe that the rustic movement has had a positive, though disturbing, impact on the craft of woodworking. People see a value in solid wood, but still haven't been willing to pay for the better quality design, construction and materials that are inherent in fine furniture. 

I believe we're on the cusp of seeing that change. As the economy improves more people will see the value of having a piece of custom made, high quality furniture in their home. 

All that said, mostly I hope and pray that Walmart will do humanity a favor and begin enforcing a reasonable dress code. 

[Martin-IT]

It all depends what you called rustic: http://www.adkmuseum.org/exhibits_and_events/special_events/detail/?id=357.

It is next to Lake Placid, NY.

Do you get 1700$ for an end table: http://abidingbranches.com/store ? they do, and they sell them.

People that buy them, have the adirondack great camp to put it in.

They are not lookalike rustic, the great camp had such furniture 100 years ago. 

But, I think the finishing does not include nail in the butterfly.

If you have this: http://www.jpmorganadirondackgreatcamp.com/index.htm, you will need the real rustic furniture that goes with it.

 

 

[dvanvleet]

This topic is so good. All this "rustic crap" drives me crazy as well because, like others have stated, you can go to a big box store, grab construction wood, get you a pocket hole jig, crappy stain and go to town. I met with a local retail shop owner here, in order to get some of my stuff in the store, and said "all anyone wants anymore is cheap painted furniture". I live in midtown Atlanta, which is not a cheap area, as a rule, so I was really surprised by that comment. I've also read stories where Millennials are selling their family antique furniture! I couldn't believe it, but if you analyze it, it makes some sense. Millennials are very transient, not tied down and most do not own a house (can't afford a house actually).

Anyways, as other have stated, I'm ready for this trend to be over. 

[AceHoleInOne]

The term is "urban" built with old world care.

One of our local furniture chains sent in the mail a "coffee table magazine." What a bunch of shit. They had a really nice designed dining table and chairs - the fricken finish was a dark cherry and was all blotched to shit. Anything to sell as "URBAN" Seeing gobs of wood filler is really cool and hip. Whats next - bent over nails beat below the surface?

 

-Ace-

[wtnhighlander]

The term is "urban" built with old world care.

One of our local furniture chains sent in the mail a "coffee table magazine." What a bunch of shit. They had a really nice designed dining table and chairs - the fricken finish was a dark cherry and was all blotched to shit. Anything to sell as "URBAN" Seeing gobs of wood filler is really cool and hip. Whats next - bent over nails beat below the surface?

 

-Ace-

Only if they are 'artisinal' nails.

 

Come hang out with me at www.mrmccormickmakes.com

 

 

[wdwerker]

"  www.mrmccormickmakes.com " 

so you have joined a cult and are recruiting now ?

[wtnhighlander]

 

 

 

 

"  www.mrmccormickmakes.com " 

 

 

so you have joined a cult and are recruiting now ?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Absolutely! Can I offer you some Kool-ade?

[Llama]

8 hours ago, dvanvleet said:

Millennials are very transient, not tied down and most do not own a house (can't afford a house actually).

The situation is only made worse with the increased regulation surrounding home loans. Many banks do not take into account student loan repayment as it should be calculated. Instead they assume a certain percentage of the loan, so most people out of college now are well above 50% income to debt... Added to this the some banks require 4 years of employment. How do you do this right out of college??

More to it than transient millennials.

 

[BonPacific]

32 minutes ago, Llama said:

The situation is only made worse with the increased regulation surrounding home loans. Many banks do not take into account student loan repayment as it should be calculated. Instead they assume a certain percentage of the loan, so most people out of college now are well above 50% income to debt... Added to this the some banks require 4 years of employment. How do you do this right out of college??

More to it than transient millennials.

Work your ass off and have poor parents so you qualify for grants. I had zero student debt coming out of college a few years ago. My wife and I bought our house around two years after graduating.

Seriously, my advice to all students: Take a year off after highschool and work hard. I had a 40h job, plus an extra 4-8 hours of janitorial work. Minimum wage in a blue state will be fine. Save every penny you make, live at home to save cash. Go to an in-state school. Once you get into school, find a 20h a week side job. Apply for every scholarship and grant you can. Do it right, and you'll have money in your pocket when you walk out the door.

Bonus points for running start and AP courses. Those are the cheapest college credits you'll find. Doing your AA at a community college also helps.

[Llama]

I'm all for that... Hard work never hurt anyone. 

Many of the banks are requiring 4 years of steady work at a certain income level before they will award a home loan. This has changed in the last 2-3 years. Obviously, not all banks are the same... But it is getting harder for people to get home loans. When we bought our first house, it was very simple. This time around, holy shit.. I'm pretty sure they have my blood sample on file. And we have damn good credit, and a very low income to debt ratio. Just BS hoops... Boxes to check to make sure the money didn't come from Bin Ladens nephew or something. I have no idea, but it was frustrating.

I do love the "go to a local school" argument. There are some colleges that cost real money to go to. Even local ones. 

12 minutes ago, BonPacific said:

Do it right, and you'll have money in your pocket when you walk out the door.

This completely depends on what you want to be when you grow up too. If you want to be in marketing, sure... If you want to be a Doctor, probably not.

[Minnesota Steve]

53 minutes ago, Llama said:

I'm all for that... Hard work never hurt anyone. 

Many of the banks are requiring 4 years of steady work at a certain income level before they will award a home loan. This has changed in the last 2-3 years. Obviously, not all banks are the same... But it is getting harder for people to get home loans. When we bought our first house, it was very simple. This time around, holy shit.. I'm pretty sure they have my blood sample on file. And we have damn good credit, and a very low income to debt ratio. Just BS hoops... Boxes to check to make sure the money didn't come from Bin Ladens nephew or something. I have no idea, but it was frustrating.

 

As someone who spent 10 years working for in the Mortgage industry before the whole thing collapsed in 2007.

That's a good thing.

 

Back on topic... I stopped in at West Elm a few weeks back, only because it's next door to Five Guys and I was hungry.   They had a wonderful reclaimed pine bedroom set that looked a lot like the time I tried to turn a old white oak pallet into a raft when I was 12 years old.  

 

At least my raft floated. :-)

 

 

[Llama]

11 minutes ago, Minnesota Steve said:

As someone who spent 10 years working for in the Mortgage industry before the whole thing collapsed in 2007.

That's a good thing.

Agreed... But many people don't see that as a factor when talking about lazy millennials that buy rustic garbage.

[BonPacific]

9 hours ago, Llama said:

I'm all for that... Hard work never hurt anyone. 

Many of the banks are requiring 4 years of steady work at a certain income level before they will award a home loan. This has changed in the last 2-3 years. Obviously, not all banks are the same... But it is getting harder for people to get home loans. When we bought our first house, it was very simple. This time around, holy shit.. I'm pretty sure they have my blood sample on file. And we have damn good credit, and a very low income to debt ratio. Just BS hoops... Boxes to check to make sure the money didn't come from Bin Ladens nephew or something. I have no idea, but it was frustrating.

I do love the "go to a local school" argument. There are some colleges that cost real money to go to. Even local ones. 

This completely depends on what you want to be when you grow up too. If you want to be in marketing, sure... If you want to be a Doctor, probably not.

Sure it depends on your bank. We bought our home a year and a half ago, and the hoops weren't excessive. Not sure if they counted my years as part-time or not. Got loan quotes from USAA and our local Credit Union. That's another tip for anyone else, always check your local credit union, so much better than the average bank.

My statement does revolve around 4-year paths. Though grad school for the sciences (thinking specifically biochem) is fully funded where I am. Don't know any doctors or pre-meds.

I don't think the "rustic" trend is due to millennials/yuppies any more than some other generation or demographic. It's what's fashionable right now, and I don't know about you, but I have never understood fashion. It's not worth getting pissed about unless your running a furniture business, in which case you probably already know you're at the mercy of the market.

[Llama]