I think you can make things last a lot longer than what salespeople will tell you if you take good care of it. I just donated a bunch of my furniture today (no place to put it when I move to a small place in 4 weeks) and the guys were surprised when I told them one bedroom set was built in 1985 and the other was built in 1997 and it was furniture for children. But my parents raised my brother and me to take good care of our things so they last forever. I'm sitting on a sofa we got in 1995, with my feet propped up on a table my parents bought when they got married (1974). The furniture I am replacing my donated furniture with is also from when my parents got married. If you buy high quality and take good care of it - there is no reason it shouldn't last upwards of 10-15 years.