Flat-pack furniture is built to a price, not a lifespan. Solid wood is built the other way around — and the difference shows up exactly where you don't expect it: the joints.
Joinery is the whole story
Cam-lock and dowel joints (standard in flat-pack) loosen with repeated use because they rely on friction, not structure. Mortise-and-tenon or dovetail joints, used in solid timber pieces, get tighter under load, not looser. That single difference is why a well-made wooden table outlasts three flat-pack replacements.
The real cost per year
A flat-pack table at a third of the price that needs replacing every 3–4 years costs more over a decade than one solid piece bought once. Wood also ages well — scratches sand out, joints can be re-glued, finishes can be refreshed. None of that is true of particleboard.
Every Milo and Ridge table we build starts as a single species of solid timber, cut and joined in our own workshop — not assembled from a box.