Here is the follow question/answer for “Furniture” topic:
1. When, in what situations do people in your country buy furniture?
Most people buy furniture at a few main points in their lives. Naturally when people are getting married is one of those times. Another time is when they buy a new flat.
2. How do people decide what furniture to buy for the home or office? What factors do they consider?
Well, they will consider what kind of furniture is needed. They will also look at which room it will go in and how much space they have. The women especially will think about color and style and what design looks best to them. I’d say price is probably the deciding point. They might like something very much, but if it’s too expensive they won’t be able to buy it.
3. In you country families, who usually decides what furniture to buy for the home?
I think it varies from family to family. Nowadays, couples are making more decisions together. In my family, my parents even ask me what I think or like. In the past, often the men made decisions that concerned money, but some of those things are changing now.
4. Do people in your country prefer traditional or modern styles of furniture?
That also depends on the people and the families. I don’t think there is any set preference. From my experience though, I would say many younger couples prefer modern furniture. I think it goes along with other trends in our country. What I mean is that modern or foreign fashions are often more popular and interesting, especially for young people. Maybe I’m different in this way though because I think many pieces of traditional furniture in our country are very beautiful. They are also often made better than the modern things.
5. Have there been any recent changes in the kinds of furniture that people in your country use?
Well, as I said a lot of foreign influence has come into our country and this is affecting what people buy, including furniture. A very popular furniture store right now is IKEA, this is a store from Sweden and its style of furniture is a big change from the recent and distant past. I think that if people have the money they may return to the quality furniture from years gone by. Over all, though, the predominant style of furniture that people in my country use is modern.
6. What factors should a furniture designer consider when designing a piece of furniture?
The use of the particular piece would be the first consideration. A designer would also have to think of the market he is targeting. This would usually indicate the cost of the finished product. This in turn will influence what materials he can use within that price range.
7. What are the qualities of a good furniture designer?
I’d say he needs to be artistic and imaginative. At the same time a designer also has to have quite a bit of practical sense. It’s generally no use to design something that is beautiful but impossible to construct. Or maybe the designer can figure out how to build it, but it ends up so expensive that no one can afford it. In any design field, there are people who design something more for art’s sake: they don’t really expect anyone to buy it or they hope to find a collector to buy it as a piece of art more than as something useful.
8. What kinds of housing are there in your country?
There are many kinds of housing just as in other countries. There are flats and houses and also villas, but of course most people can’t afford anything other than flats. That is at least the case in the cities. In the rural areas, there are many people who live in houses, but these are usually very simple houses and these people are usually farmers.
9. How do people decide on the kind of housing they choose to live in?
In reality I don’t think most people have a lot of choices. Unless they are very rich, and these people are few in number compared to the general population. Most decide on flats because that is all they can afford. Usually people will try to choose something as close to their workplace as possible. Unfortunately, even in that there is not much choice and many people still have to spend a lot of time travelling to and from work.
10. For most people in your country, what is an ideal house?
I think if most Chinese people could choose any house they wanted, they would choose a private individual house rather than a flat. They’d also want something with a garden where they could have flowers and trees and even grow some vegetables. They would also want something big enough that they could have members of their family live with them or at least a place they could stay if they came for a visit.
11. How has housing changed in your country?
Nowadays people live in flats and often these are in tall buildings if in big cities. In the past most lived in houses even if they were small. Some cities had courtyard houses where many family members lived together, and there was a garden in the middle where they could enjoy the outdoors together. You’ve probably heard of these. They are interesting to foreigners.
12. How will housing change in the future?
I can imagine there will be more flats in the big cities that will be in taller buildings and with more modern facilities and equipment built into them. I hope though that some designers will do something to see that there are more park areas in between the buildings. I think city planners are making a big mistake by cramming in so much concrete. More green areas would be an important change to make in the future.
