This week I've dismantled and assembled flatpack wardrobes, chests of drawers, and bunk beds and so far I've needed three tools for all of them - a phillips screwdriver, an allen key and a small hammer. For a while today I thought I might need a pair of pliers but I was wrong.
More interesting (if you're into this kind of thing) is that two very different items from two different retailers were clearly made in the same factory, or at least using the same parts suppliers. This does make my job easier but it also makes your furniture better than ever.
It seems natural selection and evolution work in the flatpack furniture industry as they do in the natural world. Gone are the half-baked methods of assembly that led to so many rickety bookshelves and collapsing cabinets!.The sturdiest and simplest (the 'fittest') methods have seen off the competition.
Ikea and Tesco (and others) have settled on a method of construction that can safely be used with different materials (solid pine and particle board) to produce sturdy and simple furniture without the need for complicated joints or glue. Better still, the furniture can be dismantled with minimum risk of damage and rebuilt in a new home.
Today I also dismantled and rebuilt a set of bunk beds. Now, if they can just develop a better way of attaching all those slats that job will become a lot simpler too!
Actually, I have an idea... Which way to the patent office?
No comments:
Post a Comment