Is Refurbished Furniture Right for You? Here’s What You Need to Know

Ida Gorecka • December 12, 2024

Your workspace needs an upgrade. Your team deserves quality office furniture. But when reviewing current market prices, the figures can be startling. Three months' lead time for office chairs? £20,000 for ten desks? There must be a more practical way to create a professional environment without compromising your budget. For forward-thinking businesses, there is - and it might surprise you. Let's explore a solution that could transform your approach to office furnishing.

The Truth About Modern Refurbished Office Furniture Standards

Forget any ideas about patched-up chairs or wobbly desks. Today's refurbishment transforms quality second-hand office furniture into pieces that look and work like new. Think of it like restoring a premium car - every part gets checked, tested, and either restored or replaced. Only the best pieces make the cut, and they're chosen specifically for their solid build quality and long-term reliability.

Skilled professionals take each piece apart, inspect every component, and fix or replace anything that's not perfect. When a chair or desk leaves the workshop, it's ready for years of daily use. Every mechanism, every adjustment feature, every surface gets brought back to original specifications.

The Quality of Refurbished Office Chairs and Desks

Quality office furniture for sale is built to last - not just for a few years, but for decades. The best manufacturers like Herman Miller, Steelcase, and Haworth design their furniture knowing it can be refurbished later. They use strong materials and smart, modular designs that stand up to heavy use and make future repairs straightforward.

Look inside a quality office chair during refurbishment, and you'll find something surprising. Even after years of use, the core mechanisms often work perfectly. The gas lifts, tilt mechanisms, and structural components - the expensive parts that really matter - usually have plenty of life left. Once restored, these pieces perform just like new ones - especially those expensive ergonomic office chairs with all the adjustable features.

The Environmental Impact of Refurbishing Office Furniture

Here's a fact that might surprise you: every refurbished desk or chair keeps about 40-80 pounds of material out of landfills. Since most refurbishment happens locally, you're also cutting down on shipping pollution from new furniture made overseas. When you multiply this across an entire office, the environmental impact becomes clear.

Each piece of office furniture has an environmental cost from its original production - materials, manufacturing, shipping. When you choose refurbished office furniture, you're basically recycling all that embedded energy and preventing the need for more manufacturing. For companies tracking their environmental impact, these numbers add up to measurable progress toward sustainability goals. It’s possible to actually calculate the carbon savings and include them in environmental reports, just like we do at Coggin SOS.

Availability of Refurbished Office Chairs and Desks

Need office furniture next week? While new pieces often have lead times stretching 8-12 weeks or longer, Coggin SOS maintains a ready supply of quality refurbished office furniture. We keep a comprehensive inventory of chairs, desks, and storage units on hand, and can quickly source additional pieces through our extensive network when needed.

This rapid availability makes a real difference. Whether you're expanding your team, relocating offices, planning an office clearance, or replacing damaged furniture, waiting three months for furniture isn't just inconvenient - it's costly. Quick access to quality pieces can keep your projects moving forward without delays.

Adaptable Second-Hand Office Furniture: Perfect-Fit Solutions

Need a desk that's slightly smaller? Want chairs that match your colours? Refurbished furniture can be adjusted to fit your exact needs. Whether you are looking to resize your desks to suit your new layout, or thinking about a new shape to match your new workspace identity, refurbishing your existing portfolio can offer a low cost, effective and environmentally friendly solution. Corner workstations can be adapted to fit tricky spaces. Chairs can be reupholstered in fabrics that go beyond the standard corporate blues and blacks - you get durability and style that matches your new workspace design.

This flexibility means you're not stuck with standard sizes or limited colour options. Your furniture can be tailored to your specific requirements while maintaining its professional appearance and structural integrity.

How Choosing Refurbished Office Furniture Affects Your Budget

Outfitting an office with refurbished furniture can dramatically reduce costs compared to buying new. A complete workstation with a desk, chair, and storage costs a fraction of the new price. These savings can be redirected to other business priorities like technology upgrades or employee training.

The benefits extend beyond initial cost savings. Refurbished furniture comes with comparable warranties to new pieces and offers similar longevity. You'll often find maintenance costs are lower since these items have already proven their durability. Plus, you get the advantage of immediate delivery rather than waiting months for new furniture.

When considering quality, warranties, customisation options, and delivery speed, refurbished furniture offers exceptional value. You don't have to compromise between staying within budget and maintaining high standards - refurbished options often provide both.

Want to Choose Refurbished?

If you're considering refurbished furniture for your workspace, at Coggin SOS we can help you understand all your options. Our specialists can walk you through our refurbishment process, show you examples of completed projects, and help you evaluate what would work best for your needs.

Visit our showroom to see the quality of refurbished furniture firsthand, or contact us to discuss your workspace requirements. Whether you're looking to refurbish your existing furniture or purchase professionally refurbished pieces, we're here to help you create a workspace that works for your team and your budget.

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Reworking Workspaces: How Refurbished and Resized Office Desks Save Money and the Planet

By Ida Gorecka • June 2, 2025

Our approach to workspace design is evolving as organisations recognise the enormous waste and environmental impact of the traditional "buy new, dispose later" furniture cycle. Every year, organisations across the UK retire thousands of perfectly usable office desks-not because they’re damaged, but due to layout changes, branding updates, or relocations. These desks often end up in landfills , despite being made from valuable materials that require large amounts of energy and resources to produce. This disposable mentality is costing your business money AND damaging the planet by wasting valuable resources. But what if there was a solution that saved you money while reducing your carbon footprint ? By choosing refurbished and resized office desks, you can make smarter, more sustainable choices that help reduce waste , cut costs , and create premium-quality offices - all without the lengthy lead times that accompany new furniture purchases. If you've never considered refurbished desks before, you're in the right place to learn why they should be your obvious choice for your next project. But even if you have, keep reading for valuable insights into how refurbished and resized desks can improve sustainability initiatives, maximise cost savings, and support long-term business goals. Curious to see what’s available? Browse our current inventory of high-quality refurbished desks-updated daily and ready for fast delivery.

Finding the Balance: Quality Seating Without the Environmental Cost

By Ida Gorecka • May 25, 2025

Did you know that the average office worker spends around 1,700 hours a year sitting in their chair? That's a staggering 70% of your working life spent in a single piece of furniture. Yet many organisations overlook the importance of quality seating, either settling for cheap chairs that quickly deteriorate or spending a fortune on brand new premium options. Refurbished office chairs offer the perfect balance of comfort , quality , and sustainability that today's offices need. At Coggin SOS, we've helped hundreds of organisations discover that you don't need to compromise on quality to make environmentally conscious choices. In fact, opting for refurbished office chairs can provide high-quality seating at up to 80% less than the cost of buying new. In this article, we’ll explore why refurbished office chairs aren’t just a good option-they're often the smarter one. From environmental impact that can tick off your ESG targets to ergonomic design and cost savings, this is your guide to finding the perfect seat. Our warehouse is stocked with top-brand refurbished chairs - ready to deliver in days, not weeks. Get in touch to check availability.

Closing the Loop: How Office Furniture Can Drive the Circular Economy Forward

By Ida Gorecka • May 19, 2025

Ever thought about how your office furniture connects to sustainability ? Probably not. But perhaps you should. The circular economy isn't some distant concept only relevant to manufacturing giants or packaging companies. It's a practical model that directly impacts how you furnish, update, and clear your office. At its heart, the circular economy challenges you to keep materials in use. It's your chance to reject the standard "buy, use, discard" approach that has dominated the industry for decades. It's your opportunity to turn office furniture from a recurring cost into a lasting asset. At Coggin SOS, we partner with organisations like yours across the UK, helping you transition to a circular furnishing model: refurbishing , reusing , and responsibly recycling your office furniture. Our mission is straightforward: help you make your furniture last longer, cost less, and waste nothing. Explore our wide range of refurbished office furniture in our inventory . You'll find quality, sustainability, and value, all waiting for you in one place.