Ready-to-assemble furniture still around

"History repeats itself, but in such cunning disguise that we never detect the resemblance until the damage is done." Sydney J. Harris (1917-1986), American journalist, "If He's Not Guilty, Why Is He In Court?" 1986

In home furnishings, like so many other things, what was old is new again. And just like most of our clothing, if you save pieces long enough, they will come back in style.

Furniture shoppers are consumed with the retro look, midcentury style and, of course, some have always been intrigued with the Louis designs. Even shabby chic comes onto the radar screen occasionally. And, a lot of us are always on the hunt for the perfect antique.

The old adage is totally correct -- history does repeat itself in, oh, so many ways. It's not just the furniture and design styles that repeat, it's delivery and assembly.

Q: We had a discussion in our group about furniture that could be put together by the consumer. I remember from years back that you could buy bookcases and other fairly simple furniture, take them home and assemble them yourself. My girlfriends say it is just cheap furniture that you buy that way, but I think there were more substantial pieces also. Am I remembering correctly?

A: As it turns out, you're both right. Furniture that the consumer assembled at home was called knockdown or KD. The pieces did tend to be simple, like bookcases and TV stands -- those that could easily fit into a flat box. The easy part was always questionable too. I remember having two friends put together a TV/book cabinet for me back in the day. What was to be an 8-foot-long, three-shelf-high cabinet described as "easy" to assemble came in a box the size of an ironing board. It took them about eight hours, practically ruined their friendship and, when it was finished, it's stability was questionable.

However, even today, most furniture that is produced in quantity comes the same way, in a box, but more than likely to a retailer. They assemble it, put it on the floor, you buy it and then take home a fully assembled piece.

Big box stores such as Wal-Mart and Target display assembled pieces on their floors, but if you buy it, you get the privilege of putting it together when you get home.

Surprise, it's basically all about money -- for the retailer and for you. It's a trade off. If the pieces are pre-assembled, more than likely they will not fit in your car, so you have to pay a delivery charge. If not, then you have to beg or bribe a friend to put your purchase together.

For the retailer, the more pieces they have in boxes, the less storage space they require. They save square footage and the overhead of having delivery trucks and drivers.

The KD pieces today go well beyond the basic bookcase. Dining room tables and chairs, occasional tables, armoires and even upholstered pieces now come in a box. Nothing is sacred.

So you see, old is new once again. KD is still around, just with a new name. It's now called RTA: ready to assemble. Check out new RTA from Avenue Six. You would never know it came in a little box!

Carolyn Muse Grant is the founding president of the Architectural & Decorative Arts Society, as well as an interior design consultant/stylist specializing in home staging. Her Inside Spaces column appears weekly in the Home section of the Review-Journal. Send questions to creativemuse@cox.net.