It is impossible not to notice how significantly the quality of modern furniture began to differ, in particular, its service life. If a cabinet made in the days of our grandmothers can still maintain functionality, then modern models wear out already in the first 10 years of operation.
Brief information about furniture of the times of the USSR
Speaking about the Soviet period of furniture production, it is worth dividing it into two segments:
- The first is the pre-war era, when this industry was so undeveloped that they mainly used what was created back in the tsarist era. The only things that were made for the needs of citizens were armored beds and simple kitchen sets, represented by stools and simple cabinets.
- The second period is the post-war period. Here the state decided that it was time to think about the needs of the common population. In the period from the 50s to the 70s, mass production of all types of furniture began. But this was done so poorly that the appearance was simply terrifying. More or less decent elements of the headset were made in the Baltic countries. Already in the 50s and 60s, it was possible to purchase veneered cabinet cabinets, covered with a thick layer of varnish. While Belarus, Ukraine, and Russia still “rolled up” something, only vaguely resembling normal furniture.
Soviet furniture
The development of this industry moved slowly enough. This was due to the difficult economic situation. In any case, they always said that in the post-war years the country was ruined. And the state was not thinking about how comfortable it was for its citizens, but about providing everyone with the most necessary. Although, if you look at Germany in the post-war period, they quickly recovered and began to make high-quality products for home improvement, which was not only attractive, but also functional.
One of the successful examples of the development of European production of interior elements was IKEA. By the way, it was from her that the majority of samples of furniture produced in the USSR in the post-war period were written off. But if European manufacturers were distinguished by the quality of the manufactured goods, both in terms of production technology, and in terms of functionality and aesthetics, then in the USSR everything turned out rather wretched and crooked - especially in terms of ergonomics and attractiveness of appearance.
So, it is worth considering in more detail samples of Soviet furniture. Was she so strong and reliable?
The so-called “wall” - cabinet furniture, which occupied most of the room, especially in the Khrushchev. They made it from thick chipboard, so all the doors were so heavy that they warped very quickly under their own weight. Low-quality fittings also contributed to this. The varnish very often chipped off, after which its further destruction and delamination of the chipboard took place at the cleavage site. Dropping such a door on his toe, it could easily be broken.
Despite the fact that the idea was taken from the Swedish Ikea, the implementation was lagging technologically and in terms of design. Therefore, the appearance and quality during operation were not up to par.
Folding book tables. This is another "masterpiece" of Soviet production. As a rule, the legs were so loose that they had to be fixed with brackets and bolts. Since otherwise, the product was impossible to operate. And when folded, they remained maximally non-functional.
Kitchen sets. Poor quality chipboard, unattractive design, even in those days. All this makes such furniture very strange. A full-fledged kitchen set was sometimes impossible to obtain due to the fact that the cabinets in place under the sink could differ in appearance from the rest of the structure.
Sofa sofas. The main objective of this type of furniture was to save space in a small room. But to sleep on it was uncomfortable, both to one person, and together. This was due to a design flaw. Since the individual parts had a slight bias towards the center. Therefore, sleeping on such a couch all the time rolled down to the middle.
Sitting on such a sofa was also inconvenient, since its depth did not correspond to the anatomical features of the human structure. All this happened due to the fact that during the design they were very negligent in the anatomical and ergonomic characteristics.
As can be seen from all of the above, most of the problems related specifically to the appearance and ease of use. But the very quality of the materials from which the furniture was made showed incredibly high results in terms of wear resistance.
The main problem was not in the quality of the material, but in the efficiency of the connection, integration and functionality.
Why did Soviet furniture serve for a long time, but not modern?
If we compare Soviet furniture with objects of foreign production of the same period, then, undoubtedly, it lost to its foreign counterparts in terms of convenience. This was due to the fact that much attention was paid to comfort abroad.
If we compare the Soviet furniture with the one that is produced in the post-Soviet space now, then there is a reverse bias. The appearance and operational characteristics of modern products are improved, and the quality has become much worse. This is due to the desire of industrialists working in this niche to get maximum profit with minimal investment. But since saving on design and convenience means losing to competitors, furniture companies are forced to look for other ways to reduce the cost of their products. This is where the saving on quality occurs. This is not always visible immediately upon purchase, but only manifests itself after a certain period of use, which is what modern manufacturers use.
In the modern world, it is simply not profitable to produce high-quality goods, otherwise in 10 years you will not come to get a new sofa, but you will continue to sleep on a good old one.
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