Furnishings become major investment

KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
Do you love, love, love your sofa? Do you plan to pass it on to your children and grandchildren as if it were a diamond ring, a family crest or the deed to the farm?
If you follow the lead of the furniture industry, you may have to do that.
Retailers want you to think of your furnishings as a major investment second perhaps only to your house or landscaped yard. The Wall Street Journal reports that many dealers from Williams-Sonoma and Restoration Hardware to Costco are promoting pricey pieces over throwaway chic. Sorry, charity stores.
Restoration Hardware Inc. has a leather sofa in its catalog priced at more than $4,000. Williams Sonoma, which owns Pottery Barn, is offering $5,800 sofas and a $4,000 armoire in a new premium home catalog. Even Target Inc. has expanded its furniture line to include a $900 micro suede sofa, the WSJ says.
The questions remain, are you better off putting that much into antiques, which have innate value? And what happens if your trendy $2,000 ottoman goes out of style?