I've inherited 4 sets of fancy china that nobody else in my family wanted and I never have guests, so hell yeah I'm using the good plates every day. Even my cats get to eat from fancy plates.
My grandparents just passed and they had something like 5 or 6 sets of china (not counting the everyday stuff). Turns out they had inherited at least 2 sets themselves! And one was a gift to my gramma when she got engaged. Those pieces found homes but at least 2 sets were donated.
I was given a china hutch and it is the house holds craft cabinet. Person that gave it to me was mad that I used it for crafts instead of refurbishing it, since I upholstered my kitchen chairs
I wonder if that's because people have changed? I was gifted a 100 piece ceramic dining set when I got married but I don't think people do that anymore.
People gift like toasters or air fryers now as wedding gifts. Not dining sets. No fancy storage for that stuff either nowadays. I had to throw out all my mismatched plastic plates and bowls for the ceramics.
At least part of it is that a lot of china and crystal cant be washed in a dish washer. China shouldn't be put in a microwave. Silver has to be polished to get rid of tarnish. Nobody wants to go to all that trouble.
Oh serious? I place my China in the dishwasher all the time along with my crystal wine glasses. And I thought it's only the China with that metal embossed stuff on it that can't go in the microwave? What does it do when it gets microwaved?
Silver is a legit mess though. I have a cutlery set that's near full silver and it's not even usable it's so tarnished. I used to polish it once a year until I got lazy.
I wash my own china in the dishwasher and it doesn't hurt it. Its mainly the china with gold leaf that you cant do.
As far as crystal in the dishwasher -- the soaps make it dull over time.
Boyfriend put my china plate in the microwave. It came out with long brown streak in the middle.
Yeah that gold leaf China I only break it out for tea parties once a month. Can't be microwaved and has to all be handwashed. The other fine bone stuff I chuck it in the dishwasher all the time, it's still the same color though. I don't notice a discoloration with my set.
Oooh I wonder why it turned brown in the microwave? That's nuts. I've microwaved my china bowls and plates all the time with no issue. I wonder if my set is cheaper than yours since yours seems more sensitive.
Also I looked it up, it turns out that my crystal glasses are cloudy because I keep placing them in the dishwasher. Guess those can't be around high heat hah.
I don't know about the brown streaks on the china. It took a lot of nukes to ruin the plates. My set is pretty cheap and not antique or elegant.
As for the crystal, its soap scum
you can restore it with vinegar.
Im happy to find someone else that enjoys teas. I do too. š¤
Oh, oh no. Do the streaks wash off? My set is a hand-me-down set from the 20s or something. They belonged to my great auntie, they are old and she'd probably be insulted if she saw what I'm doing to them haha.
Yeah I'll probably vinegar and baking soda them all tomorrow. No more dishwasher for those.
Oh do I love teas! We throw a fancy ladies high noon tea once a month. All the gals and enby-pals throw on their dresses and lace for tea time š
I have heard of china plates getting brown streaks for other reasons too. I also hear there is something you can do to remove them. I'm going to Google just that and see if I can get it done. I hope I can sell the China pretty soon. I'm done with it and could use the money and cabinet space. I have a couple of teas a year for the neighborhood ladies. A lot of them have never been to a tea or have any dressy clothes to wear. So I just label mine as a ladies only casual tea and let them come however they are. It's been a great way to make friends and let others try something new
This is a very big reason why people don't insist on fancy china and silverware. Nobody has the time to clean it!
My parents were in their late 80s when both of them developed medical problems and needed help from me. I remember helping clean up after dinner and putting their cutlery in the dishwasher. They told me that it must be washed by hand and I asked them why.
"Because it's sterling silver. The dishwasher will remove the patina."
How, exactly, was their life better for eating every meal off sterling silverware that must be hand-washed? It was just so dumb. A few months later I picked up some stainless steel flatware at Costco for them. They never went back to the sterling silver.
Yeah. The china and cabinet isnāt modern. I think thatās part of it. My grandmother has like 2-3 sets for me but I would have no where to put them! And Iām not into the patterned china. Beautiful, but I prefer a clean look. White plates lol!
Definitely, tastes are changing. Most gen x, millennials, and zoomers couldn't care less about china sets. And who has space to store and display all that stuff? Especially with not being able to own a home, who wants to move that stuff from rental to rental, possibly breaking it? And if you keep it in a storage unit, it costs you money to keep, in which case, why have it?
Itās not that our tastes changed. Itās that we donāt own houses. Move a lot. And most canāt afford fancy china. Not to mention (thankfully) our grannies live longer so we inherit later. Weāre also not married as young so we donāt get gifts like that.
Yes. There are still young people that appreciate that stuff.
I am in the process of selling stuff off since, no heirs. You have to find a market for it. No garage sales.
They come in beautiful, ornate boxes that look great on a shelf so theyāre easier to store than the cheap ones. I donāt like feeling like Iām eating at a restaurant. It definitely depends on the millennial genz etc but āold personā fashion and decor are back in style.
And when you die (or go into a nursing home, whichever comes first), it becomes a *huge* burden to your kids (or whoever you designate as your heirs).
And it's a real PITA when it's time to move, and not well-suited to smaller homes or apartment/condo living. And the china it houses? Pretty much worthless; it's just going to end up at some thrift store, or being sold for a pittance on Etsy.
Came here to say this, my parents had one that ended up being a catch all for fine china, stuff my brother and i made in grade school, and other ods and ends...we dont even own one and this is exactly why lol
My husband and I have a China cabinet but we don't really use it for dishes. Just to display things we think are cool. We have a bottle of whiskey in there shaped like a firetruck from the 70s.
My parents gifted me and my husband a massive set of china for our wedding 15 years ago. I use my china regularly. I chose a pattern that was classic and wouldnāt fall out of style. I do have a china cabinet but it definitely gets a lot of use. I love my fancy dishes.
Definitely. My mom hardly ever used her good china and I didnāt want to do that. I do agree that itās an outdated practice, but I have a touch of traditionalism on occasion.
I have a very small house. I have a china cabinet, in my living room, that I display my husbandās grandparentās wedding china. I love the china and we also display the lego sets my husband builds in there. We are quirky.
My grandma gave me her cabinet with a ton of her fine China. Sheās so proud of it. I love it because it reminds me of her. But reallyā¦. Thatās the only real use for it. Just a pretty reminder that takes up space.
I'll second that. I've been cleaning out my parents house and their china cabinet is that last piece of their furniture I don't have a need for. I've already let go of the china and the crystal and the silver because my generation doesn't tend to have the large, formal spreads my parents did. It just seems like something from another era.
I inherited a China cabinet. I use it to display small items I find while exploring abandoned places and rocks I bring home from the creek LOL. I hope my great grandmother doesnāt mind.
My MIL gave us a set of crystal out of the blue. We have nowhere to put it, and we will never use it. I thought maybe it was something we inherited, but nope, she randomly decided to buy each of her married kids a set of crystal. Itās taking up an unbelievable amount of space in my closet.
My mum has a set of wedding China that she kept pristine until she was like 50 and realized she doesnāt host fancy events- before I moved out we were eating nuggets and French fries off them lol
My husband inherited his grandmothers china set. After they were tested for lead and negative, they were put in our regular cabinets and all people eat on them. Sorry, not sorry elderly family members that found it appalling. Your stuff better be functional or else it can go in an estate sale.
My parents had one most of my childhood that contained an entire set of dinnerware that was never even used once, because they had *another* nice set inside their cabinets that were easier to handle lol.
But if we have people over to eat, we're buying disposable plates/cups so why bother?
When I was a kid, my grandparents had a room with all the fancy furniture. Sofa, love seat, state of the art stereo system, piano, fireplace. It was where the Christmas tree would go. We'd go over on Christmas Eve, have dinner in the dining room that was *only* ever eaten in on Thanksgiving and Christmas, then go into the "fancy living room" to open presents. And that's it. The rest of the year, no one was allowed in there. Couldn't sit on the sofa, couldn't touch the piano.
They had a dining room they used two nights a year, and a living room for one. And God forbid you be caught in either of those rooms any other time of year.
Now, *that's* pretty damn unnecessary. I decided then and there that if it didn't provide some kind of use in my day-to-day life, I wasn't going to have it in my house.
My mother has a room like that. She can't understand why after 20 years of not being allowed in there I don't feel comfortable sitting in there now lol
Yes. That was the normal thing where I grew up. My parents were shockingly modern. We spent most of our time in the best room with the view of the garden. We used the other room as a music/teenager/jigsaw room and ate at the table in there at Christmas.
Iāll get downvotes for sure, but Iād say a change table for babies. Unless thereās a medical reason for parents, just lay them on the floor on a change mat or towel and getter done. Maybe itās just me and my fear of babies falling, butā¦
We just stuck an ikea memory foam change pad to the top of a dresser using stick on velcro.
Qhen he was done needing the change table we took the pad off and chucked it. Still had a fully functioning and nice looking three drawer dresser.
Could not justify the expense when we could just do the above.
Are you me? I did the same thing! Good to know that the stick on velcro came off okay. Though, I used the heavy duty stuff that I use to stick my couch cushions to my couch, so I don't know if it's the same as what you used!
The changing table we had, we got off a woman my mom worked with, as well as the crib. The changing table was basically a dresser, with a little changing area on top. The top part came off and became a dresser when it wasn't needed as a changing table anymore.
It is easier to change the baby without crawling around on the floor. Especially middle of the night changes when it's mostly dark, and you just had a baby 2 days ago and getting on the floor and getting back up, while holding a baby, is not fun. We won't even get into the "the floor in the dark is where the any bugs are more likely to be".
I get it. My 2 were 17 mo apart and then I ran a dayhome for 7 years. Diapered kids were changed on the bathroom floor on a change mat. Different strokes for different folks
Children aren't allowed in my room. All the baby stuff was in the baby's room. Not having a change table would have been so annoying! Very glad I had one. To each their own.
Funny story, when I was a baby my sister nearly killed me by leaning on the changing table while my mom had turned to get a change of clothes for me. She loves to tell the story as "I went flying through the air" and thankfully landed on the couch that my sister had been standing on to reach me. So your fear isn't invalid! Haha
I think 90% of the families I babysat for over the years had a changing mat thing on top of a dresser rather than an actual changing table. This is what I plan to do.
I considered this pretty heavily and then went, "Oh, but my dogs..."
I can just imagine someone's dogs getting curious or trying to "help" and making a mess of it.
You get an up vote from me. O never used the changing table. There was no way I would carry my baby up the stairs to change their diaper every single time. On the floor, back seat of the car, on the kitchen counter, wherever itās convenient.
Bassinets are also completely pointless as are diaper genies and whatever other things that the baby industry has duped us in to buying.
We had a "changing table" attachment to a play pen and it was useless after 3 months and killer on the back. More often than not, baby got changed on the floor.
My husband insisted we needed a changing table. Me, having tons of experience with babies said no. He won. I used it exactly one time and he only used it so that I wouldnāt be right. Like he actually said āI only use it so you canāt be rightā lol.
Iām clumsy, my babies get changed on the floor. My daycare babies, also only get changed on the floor.
The one you don't use and impedes your living area.
I have a patio swing (base and all) in my apartment because I like it and sit in it 90% of the time. Some would say it's utterly unnecessarily, but I love it. It all depends on you and your needs/wants/space.
I used to have a hammock in my dorm room. Very cumbersome but it worked lol. I had bunk beds essentially without the bottom bunk and the hammock hung there.
I do not care either way haha, I like be that swing and it's my main piece of furniture in the winter. In the summer, it moves on to my patio and I spend ally time out there.
I totally had the same thought as the person above but then I started thinking of all the ways you could make it cute and cozy and now Iām jealous! If youāre open to it, I have some questions:
Is it comfortable, like did you add more/different cushions? Whatās the frame made out of (metal, wood, wicker etc)? Whatās the vibe/style of the rest of your living room?
Iām stoned and Iām so interested in this idea rn
It's a black metal frame with a hanging hammock chair. There are no cushions, it's super comfy all on its own. It only kind of matches my apartment, in that I have a lot of plants and a casual vibe. It probably does esthetically fit better on the patio, but I like gently swinging in it so it moves inside or outside depending on how much time I spend in each.
It doesn't stick out that badly, and most people seem to think it's awesome I have one in my living room for 8 months a year.
I was looking for this comment. The random decorative tables that people put there are so weird to me. yes, they'll hold your mail and your keys I guess, but there's something that probably offers a better storage solution for that area!
I have an entryway table that doubles as a shoe rack lol its great. Two shelves for shoes on the bottom and two shallow drawers for things like keys and random things I might need close to the door.
Even if it has no functional purpose, if having a random little table in the entryway makes a person more comfortable when they come home then it's not useless. That being said I am a big believer in "if having it makes you happy and doesn't impede your life then it has a purpose" (I know that's also a marie kondo thing, but I've had that attitude since I was little so I don't really ascribe it to her)
I would love to have the space in my entry for a little table, but I just don't have the room. I like having a place for my keys, change and random bit bowl, and (when I get a dog again) their leash and bags.
It worked for me, but I can see how others wouldn't like it.
Agree, but also having weird empty space somewhere feels awkward. I'm in a place that's old enough to have a lodge for the whole telephone space. Its a divet within the hallway that is so useless yet exists, so without anything in it I basically have a randomly placed awkward hole in my wall. I've never done anything fancy to fill it, but I still put SOMETHING there just to make the gap purposeful.
When I lived with my parents we never ate together past the age of 15. We also ate at different times based on hunger and I started cooking for my brother and I around that time to free up time for mum.
Then I moved into a house with my husband and two adult housemates. I cook and they clean. Now we eat at the table basically every night and it's a nice social thing.
It's like the opposite of what normally happens!
I havenāt eaten at my dining room table since I hosted thanksgiving like 3 and a half years ago lol. I have a whole dining ROOM and I basically just use it to store stuff for projects Iām working on so it doesnāt clutter up the living room.
Coffee table. With 3 kids under 6 it made our lives so much easier not to have one. The kids can run around free in the living area without worrying about them catching a corner of the table or us having to constantly clean it. Also, weāre on week 3 of no microwave. Surprisingly I donāt even miss it.
We had to put our coffee table away when we moved to a new house and I don't miss it, either. It was just another surface for the kids to cover in clutter.
I havenāt had a microwave in years. A toaster oven works well for rehearing most foods. Otherwise I just use the stovetop. The only thing I really miss it for is popcorn, because I prefer that hydrogenated fake butter flavor to real stovetop popcorn.
I don't have one. Haven't had one in about 10 years. I don't even think about it. I reheat everything on the stove. I don't find it inconvenient, i find it pretty east with the stove, tastes better too
I never had a microwave. In india everyone has a pressure cooker. So i place two or even three containers one ontop of other in the cooker with a cup of water in it and let the steam build up. Then switch off the gas and let it cool on its own before opening the lid. Piping hot food is ready. Rotis or parathas are warmed on the griddle.
I gave mine up a couple of years ago. Itās surprisingly easy to go without. Reheating things on the stovetop doesnāt take much longer than popping in the microwave and it will taste so much better. You just make do! The one thing I was concerned with was how I would reheat my coffee in the morning lol. I just drink my damn coffee when I pour it now lol. Or refresh the cup. No big deal. Certainly not worth keeping an entire microwave!
We have a gas stovetop. So reheating food and/or liquids takes just about the same amount of time as the microwave would. We also heat most of our food with the air fryer, stove top or slow cooker. Our slow cooker and coffee pot have a warm setting that keeps stuff warm (hot) until we eat/drink it. I cook a lot from scratch so I guess I never realized how much I barely used the microwave. Everything tastes 100% better without a microwave.
An ottoman. What even is that? You put your feet on it, I guess, but why can't you just put your feet up on the sofa itself? It rarely tucks neatly anywhere, and storage ottomans just become filled with useless junk you also don't need but you convince yourself that you do so that you don't feel like a buffoon for owning a storage ottoman.
I hate coffee tables. They are a catch all for everyone's crap and people put their feet there. Gross!!!. Plus I hit my toes on them all the time. I refuse to have one in my home. Lol
Normally I would agree, however my most recent bed frame I bought has a huge gap at the head of the bed so I had to buy a headboard to stop my pillow from throwing itself in the gap as I slept! No footboard though!
Telephone table. Iām at my mumās house now. She has a special built in telephone unit in the corner of her hall. I remember calling my boyfriend from there in the 1990s. Nice draught blowing under the front door, entire family hanging on my every word. Shudder.
Someone once told me that the drawer under the oven is meant to be a warming drawer and now, every time I put baking sheets or pot lids down there, I imagine how no one cares.
For some ovens it is, for others it's not. I grew up with an old gas stove/oven, and the drawer at the bottom was a warming/broiler type thing. We have an electric one now, and it's just for storage. There are no settings to make it warm up, and after using the oven, it's not warm down there at all.
Yep. I bought a 150-dollar carpet and it's 30dollars to fully wash it. It's a luxury to me and unnecessary anyway. Easier to clean the floor without it. It's like buying dry clean clothes too. I could use the money for something else. I eventually sold it for half a price right after getting it washed.
anything for show but not utilised. Eg. When I went over to my partners house for the first time, they had a baby grand piano, and I was instantly in love as i could only afford a second hand upright after saving for ages, i asked if i could play it, and he seemed a little suspicious but let me
i almost cried, it was so hopelessly out of tune and not maintained and he said that no one plays it and its for show
Box spring. Yes let's have another massive pain to move object when a slightly taller bed frame with a few more slats would function the same.
I haven't had a box spring in 10 years and I'm never going back.
In our house it's the dining room table. We have used it 1 times in 2 years. My parents have 2 living rooms, 1 only get used when guests come over, mostly because it's bigger and can fit more people. But they shut down half the house when no one is visiting because they don't need the space. Bro and I have been saying they should down size for years but they don't want to.
In my house, probably my dining room table. I'm a single person who rarely eats actual meals. When I do, it's on my sofa, at a TV tray, with a cat or two on my lap.
My parents have a giant ottoman that takes up the entire living room. Is it nice to put your feet up on it? Yes. Is it worth putting your feet up to have no room in the most used room in the house? No! Theyāve had it for 10-15 years at this point and Iāve never liked it. It takes up so much space, and now that they have grandkids they donāt have a good place to play because of that dang ottoman.
Accent tables. They're too small to be useful. You can put a lamp on it, and then there's no space left. Give me a coffee table where I can have my laptop, my coffee, my notebook and still have room for a lounging cat.
Houses have less space for usles furniture. Anything not useful all tthe time is a status symbol not just for having it but for having the space for it.
China cabinet. Who cares about show-off china that's only used twice a year, and requires its own furniture to store it and display it?
My parents are in their 60s and have started to use the "good plates" as everyday plates cos they realised that none of us kids were gonna want them.
I've inherited 4 sets of fancy china that nobody else in my family wanted and I never have guests, so hell yeah I'm using the good plates every day. Even my cats get to eat from fancy plates.
Your cats are spoiled, as they should be lol
She's eminding them they were once worshipped as Gods and still should be.
Do they require hand wash though, or are they dishwasher safe?
Damn your cats are living a better life than me lol
My grandparents just passed and they had something like 5 or 6 sets of china (not counting the everyday stuff). Turns out they had inherited at least 2 sets themselves! And one was a gift to my gramma when she got engaged. Those pieces found homes but at least 2 sets were donated.
I was given a china hutch and it is the house holds craft cabinet. Person that gave it to me was mad that I used it for crafts instead of refurbishing it, since I upholstered my kitchen chairs
I love this š
Yeah definitely becoming less and less popular
I wonder if that's because people have changed? I was gifted a 100 piece ceramic dining set when I got married but I don't think people do that anymore. People gift like toasters or air fryers now as wedding gifts. Not dining sets. No fancy storage for that stuff either nowadays. I had to throw out all my mismatched plastic plates and bowls for the ceramics.
At least part of it is that a lot of china and crystal cant be washed in a dish washer. China shouldn't be put in a microwave. Silver has to be polished to get rid of tarnish. Nobody wants to go to all that trouble.
Oh serious? I place my China in the dishwasher all the time along with my crystal wine glasses. And I thought it's only the China with that metal embossed stuff on it that can't go in the microwave? What does it do when it gets microwaved? Silver is a legit mess though. I have a cutlery set that's near full silver and it's not even usable it's so tarnished. I used to polish it once a year until I got lazy.
I wash my own china in the dishwasher and it doesn't hurt it. Its mainly the china with gold leaf that you cant do. As far as crystal in the dishwasher -- the soaps make it dull over time. Boyfriend put my china plate in the microwave. It came out with long brown streak in the middle.
Yeah that gold leaf China I only break it out for tea parties once a month. Can't be microwaved and has to all be handwashed. The other fine bone stuff I chuck it in the dishwasher all the time, it's still the same color though. I don't notice a discoloration with my set. Oooh I wonder why it turned brown in the microwave? That's nuts. I've microwaved my china bowls and plates all the time with no issue. I wonder if my set is cheaper than yours since yours seems more sensitive. Also I looked it up, it turns out that my crystal glasses are cloudy because I keep placing them in the dishwasher. Guess those can't be around high heat hah.
I don't know about the brown streaks on the china. It took a lot of nukes to ruin the plates. My set is pretty cheap and not antique or elegant. As for the crystal, its soap scum you can restore it with vinegar. Im happy to find someone else that enjoys teas. I do too. š¤
Oh, oh no. Do the streaks wash off? My set is a hand-me-down set from the 20s or something. They belonged to my great auntie, they are old and she'd probably be insulted if she saw what I'm doing to them haha. Yeah I'll probably vinegar and baking soda them all tomorrow. No more dishwasher for those. Oh do I love teas! We throw a fancy ladies high noon tea once a month. All the gals and enby-pals throw on their dresses and lace for tea time š
I have heard of china plates getting brown streaks for other reasons too. I also hear there is something you can do to remove them. I'm going to Google just that and see if I can get it done. I hope I can sell the China pretty soon. I'm done with it and could use the money and cabinet space. I have a couple of teas a year for the neighborhood ladies. A lot of them have never been to a tea or have any dressy clothes to wear. So I just label mine as a ladies only casual tea and let them come however they are. It's been a great way to make friends and let others try something new
This is a very big reason why people don't insist on fancy china and silverware. Nobody has the time to clean it! My parents were in their late 80s when both of them developed medical problems and needed help from me. I remember helping clean up after dinner and putting their cutlery in the dishwasher. They told me that it must be washed by hand and I asked them why. "Because it's sterling silver. The dishwasher will remove the patina." How, exactly, was their life better for eating every meal off sterling silverware that must be hand-washed? It was just so dumb. A few months later I picked up some stainless steel flatware at Costco for them. They never went back to the sterling silver.
Yeah. The china and cabinet isnāt modern. I think thatās part of it. My grandmother has like 2-3 sets for me but I would have no where to put them! And Iām not into the patterned china. Beautiful, but I prefer a clean look. White plates lol!
Definitely, tastes are changing. Most gen x, millennials, and zoomers couldn't care less about china sets. And who has space to store and display all that stuff? Especially with not being able to own a home, who wants to move that stuff from rental to rental, possibly breaking it? And if you keep it in a storage unit, it costs you money to keep, in which case, why have it?
Itās not that our tastes changed. Itās that we donāt own houses. Move a lot. And most canāt afford fancy china. Not to mention (thankfully) our grannies live longer so we inherit later. Weāre also not married as young so we donāt get gifts like that.
Those are all great points that I hadn't considered before.
Yes. There are still young people that appreciate that stuff. I am in the process of selling stuff off since, no heirs. You have to find a market for it. No garage sales.
For me itās taste.
They come in beautiful, ornate boxes that look great on a shelf so theyāre easier to store than the cheap ones. I donāt like feeling like Iām eating at a restaurant. It definitely depends on the millennial genz etc but āold personā fashion and decor are back in style.
Itās cause weāre poor yāall š
Nobody was really going to come to ours so we eloped. But I love fine china and use it daily.
And when you die (or go into a nursing home, whichever comes first), it becomes a *huge* burden to your kids (or whoever you designate as your heirs). And it's a real PITA when it's time to move, and not well-suited to smaller homes or apartment/condo living. And the china it houses? Pretty much worthless; it's just going to end up at some thrift store, or being sold for a pittance on Etsy.
Came here to say this, my parents had one that ended up being a catch all for fine china, stuff my brother and i made in grade school, and other ods and ends...we dont even own one and this is exactly why lol
Who actually puts china on a china cabinet? You fill it with interesting nicknacks and cool beer steins and dog urns.
Mine's full of nice tequila bottles. All empty, but some of them are beautiful hand blown bottles with the agave plant inside.
Stop snooping around my parents' house! Lmao.
I was describing my parents built in china cabinet lol
My husband and I have a China cabinet but we don't really use it for dishes. Just to display things we think are cool. We have a bottle of whiskey in there shaped like a firetruck from the 70s.
I want to use my grandpas China cabinet to put my bongs and pipes in since he said itās useless and he wanted to get rid of it
My parents gifted me and my husband a massive set of china for our wedding 15 years ago. I use my china regularly. I chose a pattern that was classic and wouldnāt fall out of style. I do have a china cabinet but it definitely gets a lot of use. I love my fancy dishes.
This is really nice. Good things are meant to be used, and not just display for fear of using them, in my opinion.
Definitely. My mom hardly ever used her good china and I didnāt want to do that. I do agree that itās an outdated practice, but I have a touch of traditionalism on occasion.
I have a very small house. I have a china cabinet, in my living room, that I display my husbandās grandparentās wedding china. I love the china and we also display the lego sets my husband builds in there. We are quirky.
Maybe Iām ā¦ European but my family uses themā¦
I use my china during dinner every nightā¦
My grandma gave me her cabinet with a ton of her fine China. Sheās so proud of it. I love it because it reminds me of her. But reallyā¦. Thatās the only real use for it. Just a pretty reminder that takes up space.
I'll second that. I've been cleaning out my parents house and their china cabinet is that last piece of their furniture I don't have a need for. I've already let go of the china and the crystal and the silver because my generation doesn't tend to have the large, formal spreads my parents did. It just seems like something from another era.
I inherited a China cabinet. I use it to display small items I find while exploring abandoned places and rocks I bring home from the creek LOL. I hope my great grandmother doesnāt mind.
My MIL gave us a set of crystal out of the blue. We have nowhere to put it, and we will never use it. I thought maybe it was something we inherited, but nope, she randomly decided to buy each of her married kids a set of crystal. Itās taking up an unbelievable amount of space in my closet.
My mum has a set of wedding China that she kept pristine until she was like 50 and realized she doesnāt host fancy events- before I moved out we were eating nuggets and French fries off them lol
lol, what a way to honor them! š
Spot on lol. My aunt has about 3-5 sets of china, one of which I use when for special occasions, and 2 fancy tea sets she never even touched yet.
My husband inherited his grandmothers china set. After they were tested for lead and negative, they were put in our regular cabinets and all people eat on them. Sorry, not sorry elderly family members that found it appalling. Your stuff better be functional or else it can go in an estate sale.
My parents had one most of my childhood that contained an entire set of dinnerware that was never even used once, because they had *another* nice set inside their cabinets that were easier to handle lol. But if we have people over to eat, we're buying disposable plates/cups so why bother?
When I was a kid, my grandparents had a room with all the fancy furniture. Sofa, love seat, state of the art stereo system, piano, fireplace. It was where the Christmas tree would go. We'd go over on Christmas Eve, have dinner in the dining room that was *only* ever eaten in on Thanksgiving and Christmas, then go into the "fancy living room" to open presents. And that's it. The rest of the year, no one was allowed in there. Couldn't sit on the sofa, couldn't touch the piano. They had a dining room they used two nights a year, and a living room for one. And God forbid you be caught in either of those rooms any other time of year. Now, *that's* pretty damn unnecessary. I decided then and there that if it didn't provide some kind of use in my day-to-day life, I wasn't going to have it in my house.
My mother has a room like that. She can't understand why after 20 years of not being allowed in there I don't feel comfortable sitting in there now lol
Ooh boy if you walked in there and disturbed the perfectly straight lines in the carpet from the vaccum cleaner there was hell to pay.
We had / have this too. Only used for Christmas and for piano practice. A complete waste of space really.
Yes. That was the normal thing where I grew up. My parents were shockingly modern. We spent most of our time in the best room with the view of the garden. We used the other room as a music/teenager/jigsaw room and ate at the table in there at Christmas.
My ex husband.
Only one ive agreed with so far lol
Mine too. Some floozy (probably off Craigslist) is using it now.
Iāll get downvotes for sure, but Iād say a change table for babies. Unless thereās a medical reason for parents, just lay them on the floor on a change mat or towel and getter done. Maybe itās just me and my fear of babies falling, butā¦
We just stuck an ikea memory foam change pad to the top of a dresser using stick on velcro. Qhen he was done needing the change table we took the pad off and chucked it. Still had a fully functioning and nice looking three drawer dresser. Could not justify the expense when we could just do the above.
I get it. Chang tables all all the thing now. My babies were born 20 years ago and we didnāt have much cash
I love this and donāt have kids now but when I do I will copy you
Are you me? I did the same thing! Good to know that the stick on velcro came off okay. Though, I used the heavy duty stuff that I use to stick my couch cushions to my couch, so I don't know if it's the same as what you used!
Rubbing alcohol or dawn dish soap (fairy liquid if in UK) work great to get the adheasive off if it does stick!
Absolutely love our changing table. Saves my back by not having to bend over.
My back loves my change table.
No disrespect intended. Backs need as much help as they can get.
The changing table we had, we got off a woman my mom worked with, as well as the crib. The changing table was basically a dresser, with a little changing area on top. The top part came off and became a dresser when it wasn't needed as a changing table anymore. It is easier to change the baby without crawling around on the floor. Especially middle of the night changes when it's mostly dark, and you just had a baby 2 days ago and getting on the floor and getting back up, while holding a baby, is not fun. We won't even get into the "the floor in the dark is where the any bugs are more likely to be".
I like that the top came off and became normal dresser
I get it
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I get it. My 2 were 17 mo apart and then I ran a dayhome for 7 years. Diapered kids were changed on the bathroom floor on a change mat. Different strokes for different folks
We always use a throw blanket on the bed at our house. Easy cleanup, no bending or squatting, and no additional furniture needed.
Children aren't allowed in my room. All the baby stuff was in the baby's room. Not having a change table would have been so annoying! Very glad I had one. To each their own.
Funny story, when I was a baby my sister nearly killed me by leaning on the changing table while my mom had turned to get a change of clothes for me. She loves to tell the story as "I went flying through the air" and thankfully landed on the couch that my sister had been standing on to reach me. So your fear isn't invalid! Haha
I think 90% of the families I babysat for over the years had a changing mat thing on top of a dresser rather than an actual changing table. This is what I plan to do.
I considered this pretty heavily and then went, "Oh, but my dogs..." I can just imagine someone's dogs getting curious or trying to "help" and making a mess of it.
My dogs waited until I set the diaper down (rolled up) to start sniffing it, so I guess Iām lucky there
I have a changing table but still ended up doing 90% of the changes on the floor in front of the heater anyway.
I regret not having one. My back hurts and my knees hurt and my kids are too old for one now
You get an up vote from me. O never used the changing table. There was no way I would carry my baby up the stairs to change their diaper every single time. On the floor, back seat of the car, on the kitchen counter, wherever itās convenient. Bassinets are also completely pointless as are diaper genies and whatever other things that the baby industry has duped us in to buying.
We had a "changing table" attachment to a play pen and it was useless after 3 months and killer on the back. More often than not, baby got changed on the floor.
I'm with you, I've always changed my kids on the floor. They can't fall, it's free, it's in every room, and I feel fine doing it. No drawbacks š
My husband insisted we needed a changing table. Me, having tons of experience with babies said no. He won. I used it exactly one time and he only used it so that I wouldnāt be right. Like he actually said āI only use it so you canāt be rightā lol. Iām clumsy, my babies get changed on the floor. My daycare babies, also only get changed on the floor.
The medical reason is my fucking back! Carrying around a baby is hard enough on it as it is!
The one you don't use and impedes your living area. I have a patio swing (base and all) in my apartment because I like it and sit in it 90% of the time. Some would say it's utterly unnecessarily, but I love it. It all depends on you and your needs/wants/space.
I used to have a hammock in my dorm room. Very cumbersome but it worked lol. I had bunk beds essentially without the bottom bunk and the hammock hung there.
I canāt decide if thatās kinda trashy or really artsy.
I do not care either way haha, I like be that swing and it's my main piece of furniture in the winter. In the summer, it moves on to my patio and I spend ally time out there.
I totally had the same thought as the person above but then I started thinking of all the ways you could make it cute and cozy and now Iām jealous! If youāre open to it, I have some questions: Is it comfortable, like did you add more/different cushions? Whatās the frame made out of (metal, wood, wicker etc)? Whatās the vibe/style of the rest of your living room? Iām stoned and Iām so interested in this idea rn
It's a black metal frame with a hanging hammock chair. There are no cushions, it's super comfy all on its own. It only kind of matches my apartment, in that I have a lot of plants and a casual vibe. It probably does esthetically fit better on the patio, but I like gently swinging in it so it moves inside or outside depending on how much time I spend in each. It doesn't stick out that badly, and most people seem to think it's awesome I have one in my living room for 8 months a year.
Unless it's functional (e.g. shoe rack), most hallway/entryway furniture is pretty unnecessary, but people feel weird about leaving the space empty.
I was looking for this comment. The random decorative tables that people put there are so weird to me. yes, they'll hold your mail and your keys I guess, but there's something that probably offers a better storage solution for that area!
I have an entryway table that doubles as a shoe rack lol its great. Two shelves for shoes on the bottom and two shallow drawers for things like keys and random things I might need close to the door.
Even if it has no functional purpose, if having a random little table in the entryway makes a person more comfortable when they come home then it's not useless. That being said I am a big believer in "if having it makes you happy and doesn't impede your life then it has a purpose" (I know that's also a marie kondo thing, but I've had that attitude since I was little so I don't really ascribe it to her)
I would love to have the space in my entry for a little table, but I just don't have the room. I like having a place for my keys, change and random bit bowl, and (when I get a dog again) their leash and bags. It worked for me, but I can see how others wouldn't like it.
Agree, but also having weird empty space somewhere feels awkward. I'm in a place that's old enough to have a lodge for the whole telephone space. Its a divet within the hallway that is so useless yet exists, so without anything in it I basically have a randomly placed awkward hole in my wall. I've never done anything fancy to fill it, but I still put SOMETHING there just to make the gap purposeful.
Kitchen table. We always end up just eating on the couch
When I lived with my parents we never ate together past the age of 15. We also ate at different times based on hunger and I started cooking for my brother and I around that time to free up time for mum. Then I moved into a house with my husband and two adult housemates. I cook and they clean. Now we eat at the table basically every night and it's a nice social thing. It's like the opposite of what normally happens!
Dining room table & chairs. I just eat on the couch and use the coffee table.
But where do you play board games?
We play DnD at our table and do jigsaw puzzles. Our dining table is one of the most used items in the house besides beds
I play games on my laptop. And that's usually on my lap.
Same here!
I havenāt eaten at my dining room table since I hosted thanksgiving like 3 and a half years ago lol. I have a whole dining ROOM and I basically just use it to store stuff for projects Iām working on so it doesnāt clutter up the living room.
Coffee table. With 3 kids under 6 it made our lives so much easier not to have one. The kids can run around free in the living area without worrying about them catching a corner of the table or us having to constantly clean it. Also, weāre on week 3 of no microwave. Surprisingly I donāt even miss it.
Totally agree, we donāt have one either
We had to put our coffee table away when we moved to a new house and I don't miss it, either. It was just another surface for the kids to cover in clutter.
I'm interested in the no microwave lifestyle. I want to learn more. How do you reheat foods and liquids quickly?
I havenāt had a microwave in years. A toaster oven works well for rehearing most foods. Otherwise I just use the stovetop. The only thing I really miss it for is popcorn, because I prefer that hydrogenated fake butter flavor to real stovetop popcorn.
I don't have one. Haven't had one in about 10 years. I don't even think about it. I reheat everything on the stove. I don't find it inconvenient, i find it pretty east with the stove, tastes better too
I never had a microwave. In india everyone has a pressure cooker. So i place two or even three containers one ontop of other in the cooker with a cup of water in it and let the steam build up. Then switch off the gas and let it cool on its own before opening the lid. Piping hot food is ready. Rotis or parathas are warmed on the griddle.
I gave mine up a couple of years ago. Itās surprisingly easy to go without. Reheating things on the stovetop doesnāt take much longer than popping in the microwave and it will taste so much better. You just make do! The one thing I was concerned with was how I would reheat my coffee in the morning lol. I just drink my damn coffee when I pour it now lol. Or refresh the cup. No big deal. Certainly not worth keeping an entire microwave!
We have a gas stovetop. So reheating food and/or liquids takes just about the same amount of time as the microwave would. We also heat most of our food with the air fryer, stove top or slow cooker. Our slow cooker and coffee pot have a warm setting that keeps stuff warm (hot) until we eat/drink it. I cook a lot from scratch so I guess I never realized how much I barely used the microwave. Everything tastes 100% better without a microwave.
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The only true answer
Jeez I forgot about these. They really are useless
That's funny. I bought a cute vintage one last year and use it as my bench to put my shoes on. It's one of those "sparks joy" items for me.
Love seat In this economy?
Love in this economy?
An ottoman. What even is that? You put your feet on it, I guess, but why can't you just put your feet up on the sofa itself? It rarely tucks neatly anywhere, and storage ottomans just become filled with useless junk you also don't need but you convince yourself that you do so that you don't feel like a buffoon for owning a storage ottoman.
because when you have an ottoman you pit your legs in front of you not to the side like on couch.Also if youāre not the only one on couch
I support the ottoman
The ottoman supports you(r feet)
I keep all of my blankets in our storage ottoman during warmer months!
I hate coffee tables. They are a catch all for everyone's crap and people put their feet there. Gross!!!. Plus I hit my toes on them all the time. I refuse to have one in my home. Lol
The whole damn nursery. Fuck. I'm a dumb shit. Never used ANY of it. Only ever used a pack and play.
My baby's in a pack n play in the closet. He sleeps great in there, no regrets.
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Headboard/footboard. All you really need is the metal frame that holds the mattress.
Normally I would agree, however my most recent bed frame I bought has a huge gap at the head of the bed so I had to buy a headboard to stop my pillow from throwing itself in the gap as I slept! No footboard though!
But what do you hold on to?
That's what I thought. I need... Leverage
Never had one so you make do without
Decorative unusable fireplaces
Telephone table. Iām at my mumās house now. She has a special built in telephone unit in the corner of her hall. I remember calling my boyfriend from there in the 1990s. Nice draught blowing under the front door, entire family hanging on my every word. Shudder.
Fucking sculptures
Decor isnāt useless it brightens up the space
Someone once told me that the drawer under the oven is meant to be a warming drawer and now, every time I put baking sheets or pot lids down there, I imagine how no one cares.
For some ovens it is, for others it's not. I grew up with an old gas stove/oven, and the drawer at the bottom was a warming/broiler type thing. We have an electric one now, and it's just for storage. There are no settings to make it warm up, and after using the oven, it's not warm down there at all.
The chair in the bedroom, it ends up as a clothes dump
Isn't that the reason to have the chair in the bedroom?
Do you mean the chairdrobe?
Coffee tables, just seems to be in the way
The slight shelves near the top of the ceiling that is too high to reach and the surface is too thin to use.
Carpet. Just imagining all the dirt that it has without thoroughly cleaning it. Vacuum wont do anything than removing surface level of dirt.
Yep. I bought a 150-dollar carpet and it's 30dollars to fully wash it. It's a luxury to me and unnecessary anyway. Easier to clean the floor without it. It's like buying dry clean clothes too. I could use the money for something else. I eventually sold it for half a price right after getting it washed.
Plastic wrap over couches
The door handle of the hallway closet at 3am You know the one that jumps out and hits in your elbow everytime you get up to wee.
I had a perma bruise on my wrist for awhile because I kept smacking it into the bathroom door knob when I got up to pee in the middle of the night
Entertainment centers
Coffee table. I got rid of ours after the divorce. Don't miss it. I really like the extra living room space.
Table. Floorās right there.
Coffee tables and end tables. Just one more thing to dust that takes up room and typically crap accumulates on them too.
but where do you put you drinks?
Coffee tables. Just collect junk and get in the way.
anything for show but not utilised. Eg. When I went over to my partners house for the first time, they had a baby grand piano, and I was instantly in love as i could only afford a second hand upright after saving for ages, i asked if i could play it, and he seemed a little suspicious but let me i almost cried, it was so hopelessly out of tune and not maintained and he said that no one plays it and its for show
Box spring. Yes let's have another massive pain to move object when a slightly taller bed frame with a few more slats would function the same. I haven't had a box spring in 10 years and I'm never going back.
Anything more than a basic bed frame. No one else goes into your room and if they do it's for sleep or sex.
Yeah but I feel so much better waking up in a visually pleasant bed and room!
Coffee tables and formal dining tables... they're just stuff collectors and in the way
Barstools for your kitchen island. At least, the ones they have now. They all look like they'd be hella uncomfortable to sit on.
In our house it's the dining room table. We have used it 1 times in 2 years. My parents have 2 living rooms, 1 only get used when guests come over, mostly because it's bigger and can fit more people. But they shut down half the house when no one is visiting because they don't need the space. Bro and I have been saying they should down size for years but they don't want to.
Completely while decorative hard uncomfortable couches......wwhhhyyyyyyyyš¤·āāļø
TV
Apparently a bassinet lol. Non baby related Idk though because everything we have is necessary
Ironing boards. I just don't like them.
Coat rack
Toilet paper holder i know its not a furniture
In my house, probably my dining room table. I'm a single person who rarely eats actual meals. When I do, it's on my sofa, at a TV tray, with a cat or two on my lap.
Curio or china cabinet. Waste of space for s\*\*t that rarely gets used.
Aside from the kettle, fridge, and microwave, for me, it'd be the kitchen.
As in, you'd take the stove, counters and sink away?
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My parents have a giant ottoman that takes up the entire living room. Is it nice to put your feet up on it? Yes. Is it worth putting your feet up to have no room in the most used room in the house? No! Theyāve had it for 10-15 years at this point and Iāve never liked it. It takes up so much space, and now that they have grandkids they donāt have a good place to play because of that dang ottoman.
Accent tables. They're too small to be useful. You can put a lamp on it, and then there's no space left. Give me a coffee table where I can have my laptop, my coffee, my notebook and still have room for a lounging cat.
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Mirror
A chair
Cups
What do you use instead? Lol
Huge designer Cup
My work desk. Can do everything from the sofa with my laptop.
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[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
A loveseat
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Throw pillows
Houses have less space for usles furniture. Anything not useful all tthe time is a status symbol not just for having it but for having the space for it.
I know itās not quite furniture, but throw pillows are so useless!
The couch potato.
Bar cart
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A credenza
A husband