re: WSJ - Significant increase in poor quality furniture in the US

Outside of upoholstered furniture I have built every thing in our house. I built my daughter a simply queen sized storage bed room suit (bed base with drawers, bookshelf headboard, 2 night stands and a 6 drawer chest and mirror) for less than $600. Very simple design but exactly what she wanted and its far better than anything that we could have bought and cost about 1/3 as much...plus we did it together so we spent some time together and she hopefully learned something (mostly how to cuss properly LOL). Of course I don't build mattresses and we have 2 couches and 2 recliners that we buy replace every 3 years or so but the tables and dressers and hard chairs that I have built just keep on going. We have a bedroom suit I built 35 years ago that is still as solid as the day it was finished.

I was at a good will store a few weeks ago dropping some stuff off and I always go in to see if there are any tools I can't live without. They had a pretty nice bedroom suit someone had donated - dovetailed drawers, solid wood rails, stiles drawer boxes and drawer fronts. 2 night stands, head, footboard, rails and a 6 drawer dresser. Good will. $1000 and it was sold. I could have built the same thing for $500 even as high as hardwood lumber is today and it'd be an heirloom piece that is passed on. Most of it is junk and all of it is overpriced.