Objects & Craft
Repair is cheaper than replacement and almost nobody does it
Most household objects fail in a small number of predictable ways, and most of those are fixable with basic tools.
Objects & Craft
Furniture, textiles and the things worth keeping for thirty years.
20 articles · updated August 11, 2026 · page 1 of 2
Objects & Craft
Buy furniture slowly, and leave the gaps
Rooms furnished in one purchase read as showrooms. The good ones accumulate, and the gaps are part of it.
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Objects & Craft
A mattress is a support system and it has a shorter life than the bed
Comfort is personal, but the things that determine how long a mattress lasts are not, and they are rarely on the label.
Objects & Craft
Chairs are the hardest thing in a house to get right
A chair has to fit a body, take repeated load at its weakest joints, and still look like an object. Most fail at one of the three.
Objects & Craft
A rug that is too small makes a room look smaller
Size is the decision that determines whether a rug pulls a room together or floats in the middle of it looking apologetic.
Objects & Craft
Bed linen quality is about fibre and weave, not thread count
The number on the packet is the least reliable indicator of how sheets will feel after twenty washes.
Objects & Craft
Shelves sag for reasons you can calculate before you build them
A shelf bends according to its span, its thickness and what is on it, and the relationship is steeper than most people expect.
Objects & Craft
What you are paying for when something is handmade
The premium is not craftsmanship as a sentiment. It is specific, and it shows up in materials, tolerance and repairability.
Objects & Craft
Looking after wood furniture without ruining the finish
Most damage to timber furniture is done by well-meant maintenance, dry air and radiators rather than by use.
Objects & Craft
Storing textiles: moths, light and damp are the three threats
Clothes and blankets are not damaged in storage by time. They are damaged by insects, sunlight and moisture, all of which are…
Objects & Craft
What to check before you pay for second-hand furniture
A ten-minute inspection separates a piece that will last another fifty years from one that will be firewood in two.
Objects & Craft
Flat-pack is good at some things and bad at others
The format is not automatically poor quality. It has specific strengths and specific failure points, and both are predictable.