When we choose something, the first thing we notice is how it looks. And yes — design matters. Some people love calm and the classics; others, minimalism and the contemporary. Plenty challenge convention altogether and, even in a field like furniture, pick loud, sometimes frankly absurd pieces.
Taste is shaped by everything that shapes a person: genetics, upbringing, tradition, culture, education, the people around us. There are societies that, for all their powerful artistic and architectural traditions, are not inclined to surround themselves with refined objects — an ascetic, «IKEA» way of living suits them. And there are more domestic cultures, where people like to make a home as comfortable and as stylish as their own idea of comfort demands. One person will happily change their furniture every year; for another, having to get used to a new interior more than once in a lifetime is a small tragedy. That is why furniture design is as varied as it is — and why, before typing «kitchen table» into a search box, it is worth digging around in yourself, talking to your family, talking to whoever designs your space, and working out what it is you actually like.
Veneered MDF, laminate, composite and glass tops all have an honest place in the market, and the stability of a material — how predictably it behaves over the years — deserves to weigh heavily in the decision. But if you settle on solid wood, do it knowingly: with its seasonal movement, and with its quiet insistence on staying alive for years after the tree stopped growing. In exchange, the texture and the warmth you will feel year after year are things no glass top will ever match.
Beyond appearance, a piece of furniture has plenty of less obvious properties. I have written about some of them already, in Why solid wood shrinks — and why it's not a flaw. I will write about others.
Can it be repaired?
Repairability is the criterion almost nobody thinks about when buying furniture, and I consider it one of the most important there is. Imagine: you buy a kitchen table for several thousand euros, and during Sunday lunch someone sets a hot fondue pot down on it. Or a glass of wine is left standing overnight. Or something heavy is dropped. Or a plant pot simply lives there. How does the piece behave? Perhaps the table stands where direct sun reaches it all day, or where humidity and temperature swing sharply. Perhaps the house is full of wonderful children exploring the world with a pair of scissors in their hands.
And sometimes, after the purchase, comes the feeling that it just isn't you. What then? Throw it out? Selling a table second-hand is only worth it if it can pass for an antique. Which is why some manufacturers, confident in what they make, offer to buy their pieces back, or to repair them at the workshop.
So go ahead and choose. We will keep you informed — and we will be waiting for you with the right choice.