movable furniture

Maybe the key to having nice furniture that you can take with you is to try and purchase furniture that breaks down into pieces. I have a desk, for example, made of glass and steel that is easily taken apart and packaged. As a result, it has survived several inter-state relocations without being a damaged in any way. It's a bit industrial looking due to what it is made of, but it works fine for my office. Unfortunately, I don't want glass and steel bedroom furniture.

Another idea might be to go for modular furniture. I've seen some very interesting modular designs for living rooms before. They're usually very minimal designs, but I don't see why some furniture company wouldn't be able to mimic antique styles and yet make them interchangeable in some way.

I'm also a big fan of casters. As cheesy as it may sound, adding wheels to large and bulky pieces of furniture is a "no brainer" to me. I know that it doesn't help when it comes to stairways and multilevels, but it's nice to be able to rearrange the furniture in a room without needing an extra set of muscles. Of course, you need to be sure that you have some sort of locks on the wheels. I'm sure kids would love to ride a large comfy sofa with non-locking casters down a stairway, but the last thing you need is Roller Coaster Furniture smashing into a glass display case or grandfather clock at the foot of the stairs.

I guess there isn't really a solution for people who have to move periodically, except to not get too attached to their furniture. My lovely cherry bedroom set was perfect until our last move, when it arrived with a huge scratch on the side of it. Our coffee table was one of our favorite discussion pieces until it showed up with a large chip on the top edge. Sure, the moving company sent someone out to "fix it" but the snot-colored wood filler that he used doesn't exactly match the honey maple finish.

The best solution is probably to just quit moving...