If you're a renter or a regular house mover, it's vital to invest in furniture that's future proof. So that any time you move home, your furniture easily adapts to your new environment. Just the same way you do. Whether that's downsizing after the kids fly the coop, or relocating to a new area for work. If you're frequently on the move then your furniture needs to be adaptable. Ready to pick up, pack up, and put down in an instant. Without re-investing in new items each time the roof over your head changes.
So, with that in mind, here are our top 5 tips for choosing furniture styles that can move with the times. And wherever the wind takes you.
Buy a sofa bed
Even if you have a generous size guest room (or two) today, that could all change in the future. So a sofa bed is a great investment piece of furniture to buy. Not only acting as the main sofa in your living room, but also ensuring you always have a place to sleep visiting guests. Even if you do decide to downsize later on in life.
Willow & Hall sofa beds come with a 14cm deep luxury mattress. Ensuring, first and foremost, that your guests sleep comfortably. They're also super easy to unfold and put away again thanks to our two-fold mechanism. So even if your visitors stay a while, making the bed each morning and night won't be a bother.
Choose modular furniture styles
Another great tip if you move home regularly is to invest in modular style furniture wherever possible. These types of sofa connect together in individual segments, and can be separated and reconfigured to adapt to a new room size or shape. So they're a brilliant choice if you want furniture that can move home easily.
Modular furniture can be divided for ease of access in and out of your home and during the journey in the removals van. Making them lighter and easier to move than regular sofa styles. And best of all, today's modular sofas come in a variety of designs - including sofa bed options. In fact, a modular sofa could be the most future proof furniture item you'll ever own.
Select sofa and armchair styles with removable arms and feet
We always give the dimensions of each piece of Willow & Hall furniture on our website. So that you can measure up and make sure the style you've selected fits comfortably in its intended new home. As well as through any doors, corridors, or corners it needs to pass on delivery day.
But, just because a furniture item fits comfortably in your existing home, doesn't guarantee it will in your next one. And that's where choosing removable arms and feet as a personalisation option comes in handy. Arms and legs can take up vital extra inches of space. That can (on occasion) be the difference between your furniture making it through a doorway, or up a flight of stairs.
Invest in multi-functional furniture items
You can't go wrong with a furniture item that does two (or more) things at once. It's the reason sofa beds were invented after all. And from a future-proofing point of view it makes perfect sense to buy furniture styles that serve multiple purposes in your home.
While a sofa bed is an obvious and great example of this, there are other furniture items that are also great investment pieces for the long-term. A divan or ottoman bed for example comes with internal storage built in. Perfect if your master or guest room size shrinks in future. And likewise, a sofa style with under-seat storage is another way to save space, if you should happen to downsize down the line. You could also consider using an ottoman as both a coffee table in your living room, and/or an extra seat. While a bed in a box is ideal if space is restricted and you need an extra bed for occasional use.
Choose colours and fabrics that don't date
It's all very well investing in quality pieces of furniture built to last, but part of future proofing your furniture means selecting colours you can live with in the long term too. Ideally ones that can stand the test of time, and won't go out of fashion quickly. Otherwise you could end up with a sofa or armchair that's still in great shape, but looks sadly dated.
The safest way to future proof your furniture's appearance is by selecting neutral colours for the biggest items in a room. A colour such as grey, for example, is an ideal choice. Not only does grey pair well with a variety of other colours, and come in a spectrum of light to dark shades. But as a colour it defies time and trends, meaning it won't look dated in years to come. Plus you can easily accessorise it to tie in with any current topical colour trends too.
At Willow & Hall we offer a wide range of personalisation options on all our designs. Helping you get furniture that feels great and looks amazing too. We only use quality solid hardwoods in our frames and we offer bespoke features such as a choice of mattress, seat cushions and more. All of which ensure your sofa, sofa bed, armchair or other furniture item is fully future proof. Wherever life takes you. For more expert advice contact us on 020 8939 3800 or using our contact-us form.