apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

A large factor here is perceived value - if you pay $4000 for a chair, you are much more likely to think that there is some intrinsic beauty and value to it (even if you yourself don't see or understand that beauty/value). As a result, you are more likely to believe it looks good and more likely to keep it. If the exact chair (same looks, same craftsmanship) was sold at Ikea for $25, you can bet that a larger percentage of them would show up on the curb because people would let go of them more easily (since the perceived value would be less).
That said, I think this specific Wegner chair DOES have an awesome design and deserves the prestige it gets :)

I have noticed that furniture just isn't made the same and doesn't last as long as it used too. I look at the older wood pieces that my parent's own and that I have acquired and they feel like wood, they are built to last generations and look beautiful after you clean then or polish them. New pieces I have bought is all laminate feeling even if they say it is real wood and just doesn’t have that same quality feel to them. I am much more likely to replace my IKEA TV stand than my 1960’s buffet even though both have plastic pieces on them. I have started buying from local craftsmen to get real wood furniture that I want in my home that I know will last and survive a family lifestyle. I think our society has made it acceptable to make everything disposable when really we should be buying things that will last and if you want to get rid of it, make it so it can be recycled or even better upcycled. We have come so far with our technology and yet we can’t seem to figure out a way to make products considering what will happen to them when we are done with them. Okay I am off my soap box now.

Hear hear, Signe... but you're looking at the problem backward, or rather, you're looking forward while everyone else looks at backward. From the seller's point of view, it's good to view things as disposable, so that people will buy more of them. And you want to make them cheap, so people can afford to buy more of them... it's just a vicious circle. They don't care about what happens to the products when they're discarded; they only care about the money. Change will only come when consumers come together to demand it (and vote with our wallets).

Anyway, I value durability. I can't really afford most 'craftmanship' but if a mass-produced item is durable, I'm okay with that. I think another thing that gets overlooked in some 'green' design is patina. Will the object age gracefully or will it look like a piece of garbage? Particle board or composite is often marketed as 'green' because it uses reclaimed resources (though frequently bound with VOC-laden resins), but it won't last as long or look as good as real wood, which becomes more beautiful with age almost no matter how it's treated, so long as it doesn't get terribly wet.

I try to find stuff at resale shops - I, too, find a lot of old stuff is made better. But I take some things with less than great craftsmanship, give them a fresh coat of paint, and use up any life left in them. And yes, I'm often more casual with these pieces. But nothing usable ever goes to the curb.

Craftsmanship is the ultimate green strategy, but not many people can afford it, since people who used to be making good money as craftsmen are now working at factories or in retail, or whathaveyou. It seems like you'd have to restructure the entire economy and redefine the industrial revolution for craftsmanship to have the green effect that it should. That said, I'm thrilled whenever I find something on etsy that's much the same as a product at pottery barn or target -- but made to last, and without strange chemical finishes.

this chair is incredible. even if i had the money, i still would not buy it. there is so many better things i could do with 4k. if it only takes 5 craftsman 12 hours to produce this chair, thats approx $334 an hour. thats pretty ridiculous. i know these crafts men are talented, but again, thats ridiculous. just my opinion though.

nelsorp: I'm pretty sure there are other things being paid for in the $334 an hour.

for example: wood, glue, fabric, expensive power tools and other machinery for their shop, space to build it in, the wage of their accountant, manager, janitor etc, insurance for the business, the workers, the workers families, and the items themselves.

I don't have 4k to spend on a chair but I do think we're used to having things too inexpensively. sometimes the true price of an item is much higher than what you pay.

I would rather buy my jeans from Diesel for $100 because I know their workers are treated right, have health care, day care, and that they lead the way in the garment industry for not being wasteful.

obviously, not all expensive items are made in that manner, but pretty much all inexpensive items come at a high cost.