The forever furniture trend is all about choosing furniture that will become part of the underlying fabric of your home.

We're talking about solid, quality pieces that will never go out of date because they have an underlying sense of class and style.

A few examples:

• Canopy beds
• Chaise lounges
• Captain's desks

Some periods also lend themselves well to forever furniture. Art Nouveau, deco, Jacobean, rococo, and Neoclassical are standouts.

There might have been a piece of furniture in your family for decades or a piece you've held onto the longest. The concept is the same.

How to get in on the trend

If you want to get in on the trend, flatpack furniture that'll make do 'for now' should take a backseat in favour of pieces that will never need buying again.

We don't advocate throwing away perfect furniture, so the first thing to do is take the pieces you'll replace to a preloved furniture shop to clear the way for forever furniture (charity shops might take them, too).

Then comes the exciting part – shopping!

You don't need to buy antiques. For instance, Bedstar sells high-quality bedroom furniture – wardrobes, dressers, beds, etc. – through the luxury brand Willis Gambier.

Other places for forever furniture include:

• Luxury retailers
• Antique shops
• Auction rooms
• Thrift stores
• Online marketplaces

What to look for in forever furniture

Period style

Pick a period you love and shop it wherever you can.

A few favourites:

• Art Nouveau: Swoopy lines and nature vibes. Imagine a chair that looks like it grew from a tree, all curvy and fancy. Stained glass everywhere.
• Colonial: Sturdy stuff your great grandpa would've loved. Simple, no fuss, but it still looks good. Wood is so solid you could build a house with it.
• Rococo: Over-the-top doesn't even cut it. Gold, frills, and enough curlicues to make your eyes cross. Comfort? Who cares when you look this fabulous?
• Victorian: Dark and broody furniture for your gothic novel fantasies. Carvings, tufts, and enough velvet to suffocate a small village.
• Art Deco: Jazz Age cool in furniture form. Shiny, geometric, and screaming luxury. You'd expect to see the kind of stuff in a fancy 1920s hotel lobby.
• Jacobean: Chunky doesn't begin to describe it. Dark oak monsters that'll outlive your grandkids. Carvings like a medieval church door.
• Neoclassical: Fancy schmancy ancient Greek and Roman vibes. Clean lines, light colours, and enough class to make you feel like royalty.
• Mid-century modern: The cool cats of the furniture world. Sleek, fun, and still hip decades later. Your designer friend probably won't shut up about it.

Solid construction

Whether you go down the new or old route, ensure your forever furniture is made from solid wood, ideally with traditional joinery techniques.

Oak, cherry, walnut, ash, redwood, maple, and mahogany are classic hardwoods, while pine is the most common softwood in new and old furniture.

For example, the Nordic Mill Vega and Nordic Mill Connie are made from solid Scandinavian pine with an antique finish.

Pre-finished furniture is the best if you want something you can use right away, but there's something to say about sanding and staining a piece yourself.

You might find older pieces with worn stains, knicks, and even peeling paint, which you can work on to return the furniture to its former glory.

Veneers are okay, too, provided the furniture is made to a high standard—i.e., it needs to have a solid wood frame underneath, not MDF.

Getting over the costs

It usually costs more to buy solid wooden furniture, especially antique pieces that hold collectable value.

But think about it this way – you'll never need to buy that furniture again. That's the whole point of buying 'forever furniture'.