Why is it so difficult to give furniture away?

Young people aren’t the dumping ground for your hideous furniture!

You can always tell an antique dealers house. The only "new" things we have are the white goods and tech. All my furniture is inherited, bought from auctions or imported from abroad. I would not have modern furniture if you paid me, It simply does not have the quality.

Google selling vintage mid century furniture UK.
I found these..
Not sure if it's of any use, but good luck!

retrovintageonline.co.uk/furniture-buyer-uk/
www.isyourhouse.co.uk/stuff
www.vintagehomestores.co.uk/sell-to-us

Nothing gets wasted it’s all passed to charity or my kids will take it and send theirs to charity

But that contradicts what others are saying, that charities don’t always want the stuff.

I think it’s great if they do take it. Win win all round.

We're currently facing the exact same situation with my inlaws' house. They always bought decent quality items, but trying to get rid of stuff isn't proving easy. We might end up having to get someone in to do a house clearance. In addition, my MiL spent a fortune over the years collecting Lladro ornaments, and I appreciate tastes have changed and people maybe don't collect them any more, but it seems a shame to just give them to charity.

Had the same problem with a whole range of dark brown Ercol Old Colonial furniture a few years ago when we came to clear my late Mother's house. All in lovely condition, and the three piece suite had even been recently re-upholstered, but no-one wanted to buy any of it. British Heart Foundation eventually took it all away for free. Tastes have changed, and young people in particular seem to be more into the IKEA type of style.

AmberSpyglass

Young people aren’t the dumping ground for your hideous furniture!

It’s not all hideous, and if they can’t afford anything else….

Often hear about domestic abuse victims who are rehoused in places with not a stick of furniture. Surely a use could be found for some items in that situation?

Calendargirl

AmberSpyglass

Young people aren’t the dumping ground for your hideous furniture!

It’s not all hideous, and if they can’t afford anything else….

Often hear about domestic abuse victims who are rehoused in places with not a stick of furniture. Surely a use could be found for some items in that situation?

Totally agree - I often see posts on Facebook from people who have just been rehoused and have literally nothing. Surely taking someone else's unwanted furniture - even if it's not what they would ideally choose for themselves - would help to get them started and until they can afford to get something else?

But there are more people getting rid than there are those who can take things. My mum had a large rosewood table and eight chairs. She paid a lot of money for it and didn’t want to throw it away. She persuaded me to take it, as I have a separate dining room and had children at home at the time. It took up most of the room and because it was highly polished the children couldn’t use it for drawing or similar, and we had to either keep it covered (so not seeing it’s beauty) or risk spoiling it. The constant juggling of placemats was a pain, and the room lost a lot of its functionality as a second sitting room. We got rid in the end, but I didn’t expect young people to want it. My mum was quite upset as even though she didn’t want it herself (and nor did I) she thought someone should be grateful for it as it was expensive. It doesn’t work like that though.

Are there any furniture projects in your area? They can collect furniture and give it to people in need.

We recently offered a fairly new sofa and two armchairs to a local charity - they were very fussy indeed and came to inspect before they sent a van to collect them. I can understand this though, as so many people use charities to unload things that are hard to get rid of, and unsaleable. Our furniture is mainly restored second hand. I like Ercol - but have bought only two new pieces from them over the years as the prices are astronomical. Having seen how beautiful this furniture is, and how well made, I couldn't settle for anything else, so ebay has been my furniture supplier for years.

Grammaretto

It's weird isn't it. Why are people so fussy.
I'm the same and have far too much.
I posted a few things on gumtree for sale and sold 2 old radiators. The rest is still here and I doubt I can give it away
On the other hand I am looking for an old kitchen unit for my workshop. Do people give these away?

Yes.
I gave mine away on - freecycle.

I know, we are not supposed to say that young people today are very fussy- but ain't that the truth. When we got married, we had absolutely nothing. Mouldy furnished flats, then when we bought our first house, we made do with hand-me downs from colleagues, I made bean-bags, OH made a bed with bit of pine and slats, and second-hand shops- and slowly replaced as we went along. And never used credit, or bank of mum and dad.

Truth!

Fleurpepper, exactly, even had to put up with the hideous brown/orange carpets for years - along with the blue/white huge pattern curtains!

We had the same when mil went into care we had to pay the council to take her stuff away.it looked so sad all piled up outside her house. Such a shame.

Yes, many of us made do when we had our first homes, but things have changed for the better. Isn’t it better to be glad of that rather than seeming to want the same for young people today? Remember that we were probably younger, too. I was 21 when we bought our first home, and very few young people can do that now, as prices are so high.

It is sad to see loved ones’ prized possessions going unwanted - I do understand that, but they had the pleasure of choosing and living with things they loved. I also understand that young people want to do the same in their turn.

My "main" dining table is almost 2.5m long and 1m wide. It does not fold.
We have 14 chairs to "go with it" (two need work). I know and accept it won't be easy to re-home eventually but it was perfect for us with a big family as we had it made for us. I think I am reconciled to this - but was pleased this week when one of my daughters commented on what a "really useful table" it was!
Keeping fingers crossed she still thinks this when we eventually move!

Now there are only two of us we tend to sit at one end - but it does nean I can leave stuff out at the other end!

Yes, we're allowed to say it although I must say not all are like that.
But perhaps the young people I'm thinking of are middle-aged people!

calendargirl theres rarely anything thats more than 4 years old ...thats why charities and will take it .Its still in fashion.

We used a Charity called "Stella's voice" they won't take furniture if it hasn't got the Fire label,or lamps with no safety sticker but they will take, knives, forks, spoons, pots pans. Vase's, Bedding everything.
They collect, just mark up what you want to go.
They distribute it to the needy families setting up new homes, after family "trauma".
Just Google to see if there is one in your area.

Our local British Heart Foundation will collect items of furniture.

They won't take upholstered items that don't have a fire safety label.

What about an auction house that way they will collect and yes you will have to pay commission, but at least it will be gone.

Have you tried offering on olio app or nextdoor.co.uk
We've had more success with both these rather than fb

It's all very well 'young people' wanting everything new, but let's face it, many of them will get themselves up to their necks in debt to have it all. I'm glad both my daughter and son were more sensible and saved up to buy what they needed. There are so many young families out there with massive debts now - all for the sake of wanting to go one better than everyone they know on social media. I know that's not the cause for all - and I'm not tarring them all with the same brush, but if I know quite a few in that situation, I'm sure others do too.

The odd piece put outside with a sticker " please take" worked well for me, and for my youngest DD when she and her husband bought a house full of junk. My middle DD has a lovely Ercol dining table and chairs set from grandparents which are for eating, homework, craft projects etc - absolutely not treated with reverence! Interestingly, the furniture seems small compared to much modern stuff, which suits her modest sized house. I noticed the size issue also in relation to china- my wedding set (52 years old ) has smaller plates and bowls than those sold today.