6 Home Updates For A Grown-Up Place

Necessity aside, there was a certain charm in lugging cinderblocks into your apartment with your roommates to build a DIY TV console, or collecting cable spools-cum-side-tables to rest your beer cans on. But, now that you're actually gainfully employed (and taking home a paycheck!), your home is more like a sanctuary than a party palace. It might be time to take a critical look around to see whether your furniture fits that vision. Face it — if you're not going sleeveless on winter weekends anymore, and can't remember the last time you used the phrase "pre-gaming," it might be time to upgrade your environs, as well.

If you've got the means, it's worth it to put a little extra money into furniture with good bones. Let's be real: How many times have you had to replace that shoddy, paper-thin dresser from the big-box store? And, making an "investment" doesn't have to mean shopping like a robber baron. There are plenty of well-made, attractive pieces that are just a fraction more expensive than the cheapest styles on the showroom floor. (Remember learning to pick the second cheapest wine on the menu? Just like that.) We've offered up designs at a variety of price points just to prove it. Ahead, we've pointed out the six de facto furniture items that need to be put to bed, and the grown-up replacements your adult life deserves.