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Sure, lots of furniture is made to be looked at. What it's for, or even how well it's made is sometimes secondary, especially if it's an antique. But there are some folks who prefer to have furniture that is not only nice to look at but something that isn't going to fall apart within a year. Sometimes these two things are hard to get in one piece.

A good example of this is the computer table. If you look through some of the modern furniture catalogues, you'll notice that many of these computer tables are absolutely gorgeous. The finishes are breathtaking and the style itself is cool, to say the least. And then you get them home and find that some of the shelves aren't all that sturdy and the table itself starts to wobble. Yeah, it looks great but you're a little concerned about slapping a PC, printer, scanner and other peripherals on top of this thing.

And then there's that ugly work bench like model that you just want to slap a sheet over because it looks like something that the cat dragged in. But you get it home and find that you can kick it down the stairs, dump hot acid on the table top and throw it out a ten story building from the roof and it doesn't even scratch. Now THAT is a computer table. Why can't we get the two things together?

The problem of functional vs. stylish doesn't just end with computer tables. The one thing that's really hard to find is a very comfortable chair for your computer, especially if you're going to be sitting in it for eight hours a day. Most of the ones you find in office furniture stores look really great. And then you get them home and after about an hour you have to get up. Then you find one of these really comfortable chairs and they're just about the ugliest things you've ever seen. You're just glad that your computer room is out of eye shot from house guests.

Coffee tables are another nightmare. The really stylish coffee tables of today that you find in your chain stores, come with those screw in kind of legs. The finishes are real pretty but don't go moving that table around too much because those legs are going to fall off for sure. The surfaces are also beautiful but don't go banging on them with anything harder than a number two pencil. They scratch if you just look at them funny. And then there are those really well made antique coffee tables. These are the ones that your grandmother had. They look as ugly as sin and if you banged your knee into it you'd probably break it. Not the table, your knee.

Yeah, it would be nice if somebody would make a chair, a table, a cabinet, or anything for that matter that could take the punishment of everyday life and didn't look like it came delivered to you from the Salvation Army.

Maybe someday.

Michael Russell Your Independent guide to Furniture

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