New Companies Rent Furniture by the Month

 

Zachariah Mohammed's living room is filled with things he does not own.

He pays $200 a month for the couch¹, side table, bar cart, dining table and four chairs in his living room. The cost is worth it, says the 27-year-old New Yorker.

Mohammed has moved two times in the past year. That is not unusual in places like New York City.

If he needs to move again, he will not need to carry a couch across the city or worry about whether it will fit in his next apartment. Mohammed's solution is Feather, a new company that lets renters change furniture whenever they want.

Mohammed is a social media manager who lives with his partner and their dog. He told The Associated Press, "We don't want to be stuck with a giant couch."

Feather and other companies aim to rent furniture to young adults who do not want to make big purchases or move heavy furniture. It and similar companies are part of a growing "rental² culture."

Thomas Robertson is a marketing³ professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He told the Associated Press that people who are using furniture rental services likely move and change jobs a lot.

These companies target people who make good money, live in cities and want nice furniture – but only temporarily. The quality of the furniture is a little higher than that of Swedish brand Ikea.

"I'm 32 years old and have lived in 25 different places, five different countries, 12 different cities," says Chan Park. He helped launch⁴ the online furniture rental company Oliver Space last year. Before starting the company, Chan often bought and then threw away low-cost furniture. Then, he moved to a rental apartment in Singapore that already had furniture in it.

"It was probably the first time my adult life that I felt like I was truly at home," Park says.

Such companies mostly only operate in a few coastal⁵ American cities. They offer furniture from Crate⁶ & Barrel⁷, West Elm and smaller brands.

Others have begun renting home goods, too. The high-end clothing rental company Rent the Runway recently added West Elm pillows and quilts. Ikea is also testing a rental service in several countries, including Switzerland and Belgium.

Renting may make sense for a generation that sees life as always moving, says Hana Ben-Shabat. She is the founder⁸ of Gen Z Planet⁹, a research and advisory¹¹ company that studies the generation born between the late 1990s and 2016.

Moving her furniture from New York to Los Angeles would have cost Clarissa Wright $3,000. Instead, she gave away most of what she owned, traveled through Europe for two months and then rented a couch, bed and other furniture in her new place. She pays $255 a month. Feather delivered the furniture and put all the pieces together in one day.

Wright is a 28-year-old marketing advisor¹⁰ for clothing and beauty brands. She says she can change the furniture, add more things or move to a new apartment or city. But right now, she is not sure what her future holds.

"I don't think too far ahead," she says.

That comes at a price. Critics have called the furniture-rental business exploitative¹². Stores like Rent-A-Center target poor people who cannot pay full price for furniture or home appliances¹³. And the company charges higher prices overall¹⁴ than competitors.

For some of the newer furniture rental companies, there are membership¹⁵ costs. There are also costs if furniture is badly damaged.

Margot Saunders is with the National Consumer Law Center. She said, "If people think this is the best way to buy a couch, they are wrong." Saunders added, "They should recognize that they are paying for the convenience of renting."

Words in This Story

couch – n. a long piece of furniture on which a person can sit or lie down

dining – adj. used for eating meals on

giant – adj. very large

brand – n. a category of products that are all made by a particular company and all have a particular name

pillow – n. a bag filled with soft material that is used as a cushion usually for the head of a person who is lying down

quilt – n. a bed cover with stitched¹⁶ designs that is made of two layers of cloth filled with wool, cotton, or soft feathers

deliver – v. to take something to a person or place

exploitative – adj. making use of a situation or treating others unfairly in order to gain an advantage or benefit

convenience – n. the quality or situation that makes something easy for someone by reducing the amount of work or time required to do it

1 couch   

n.睡椅，长沙发椅；vt.表达，隐含

参考例句：

• Lie down on the couch if you're feeling ill.如果你感觉不舒服就躺到沙发上去。
• The rabbIt'sprang from its grassy couch.兔子从草丛中跳出。

2 rental   

n.租赁，出租，出租业

参考例句：

• The yearly rental of her house is 2400 yuan.她这房子年租金是2400元。
• We can organise car rental from Chicago O'Hare Airport.我们可以安排提供从芝加哥奥黑尔机场出发的租车服务。

3 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

4 launch   

vt.发动，推出；发射；n.发射，下水，投产

参考例句：

• The makers are about to launch out a new product.制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。
• Would it be wise to launch into this rough sea?在这样汹涌的大海中游泳明智吗？

5 coastal   

adj.海岸的，沿海的，沿岸的

参考例句：

• The ocean waves are slowly eating away the coastal rocks.大海的波浪慢慢地侵蚀着岸边的岩石。
• This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。

6 crate   

vt.(up)把…装入箱中；n.板条箱，装货箱

参考例句：

• We broke open the crate with a blow from the chopper.我们用斧头一敲就打开了板条箱。
• The workers tightly packed the goods in the crate.工人们把货物严紧地包装在箱子里。

7 barrel   

n.圆桶；一桶的量；枪管；vt.把...装桶

参考例句：

• I drew off three pints of beer from the barrel.我从酒桶里抽出三品脱啤酒。
• The man rolled the barrel into the yard.那个人把圆桶滚进院子。

8 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

9 planet   

n.行星

参考例句：

• Neptune is the furthest planet from the sun. 海王星是离太阳最远的行星。
• Rubbish, however, is only part of the problem of polluting our planet. 然而, 垃圾只是我们这个星球的污染问题的一个方面。

10 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

11 advisory   

adj.劝告的，忠告的，顾问的，提供咨询

参考例句：

• I have worked in an advisory capacity with many hospitals.我曾在多家医院做过顾问工作。
• He was appointed to the advisory committee last month.他上个月获任命为顾问委员会委员。

12 exploitative   

开发资源的，剥削的

参考例句：

• The exploitative activities of this region include farming, lumbering and mining. 这地区的开发活动包括农业、木材业及矿业。
• A strong mutually supportive and non-exploitative community. 一个强固的互助、非赢利性的社团。

13 appliances   

n.器具，器械，装置( appliance的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Dish washer is one of the appliances. 洗碗机是家用电器的一种。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• You can buy refrigerators, stoves, dishwashers, and other appliances there. 在那里可以买到冰箱、炉具、洗碗机和其他家电产品。 来自朗文快捷英语教程 1

14 overall   

n.工作服，工装裤；全面的，全体的

参考例句：

• The shop assistant was wearing a white overall.那店员穿着白色的工作服。
• How much will it cost overall?一共多少钱？

15 membership   

n.成员资格，会员全体，从属关系

参考例句：

• I must renew my membership of the sailing club.我必须延续我的航海俱乐部会员的资格。
• He made up his mind to apply for membership in the Party.他决心申请入党。

16 stitched   

v.缝，缝补，缝合( stitch的过去式和过去分词 )；[引申]把某物连在一起

参考例句：

• If the wound is stitched up skillfully,it will hardly leave a mark. 如果伤口缝合得好，不会落下什么伤疤。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She stitched a pocket on the new apron. 她在新围裙上缝上一只口袋。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》