Disaster Furniture Survey

SECTION 1: PARTICIPANT BACKGROUND

1. 1. What type of disaster affected you?

Earthquake

Hurricane

Fire

Flooding

Tornado

Other (please specify)

2. 1a. Where was your disaster-affected home located (City, State)?

3. 2. When did the disaster impact your home? (Month/Year)

4. 3. What type of home was impacted by the disaster?

Single Family Home

Multi-Family Home

Trailer

Cabin

Other (please specify)

5. 4. Did you own the home you were living in at the time? Or were you renting?

Own

Rent

6. 5. What was the extent of damage to your home and belongings?

Total loss (home and all contents)

Major damage (home damaged, most furniture lost)

Moderate damage (some furniture salvageable)

Minor damage (most furniture intact)

7. 6. Where are you currently living?

Rebuilt/repaired original home

Temporary housing (FEMA trailer, rental, etc.)

Staying with family/friends

New permanent home

Other (please specify)

8. 7. How would you describe your current recovery phase?

Still in crisis/immediate survival mode

Actively rebuilding/replacing essentials

Refurnishing and making it feel like home

Mostly recovered, fine-tuning

Fully recovered

SECTION 2: FURNITURE REPLACEMENT JOURNEY

9. 8. What furniture item did you miss most in those first weeks after the disaster?

Bed/mattress

Kitchen table and chairs

Living room seating

Dresser/clothing storage

Other (please specify)

10. 9. What matters when you replace furniture? Check all that apply.

Weight

Colors

Materials

Size

Cost

Ease of Access

Comments or particular feedback on qualities

11. 10. What were your biggest challenges in replacing furniture? Check all that apply.

Cost/affordability

Transportation/delivery

Finding what you needed

Timing/availability

Quality concerns

Assembly difficulty

Storage while rebuilding

Other (please specify)

12. 11. What room did you furnish first?

Bedroom

Kitchen/dining

Living room

Children's rooms

Other (please specify)

13. 12. Where did you get your replacement furniture? Check all that apply.

Donated/charity organizations

Retail stores (Walmart, Target, etc.)

Online (Amazon, Wayfair, etc.)

Thrift stores/secondhand

Family/friends

Insurance money purchases

Mix of sources

Other (please specify)

SECTION 3: FUNCTIONAL REQUIREMENTS

13. When choosing furniture now, what's most important to you?

Rank each item from 1-10, with 10 being extremely important

14. Affordability

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Not important

Extremely important

15. Durability/longevity

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Not important

Extremely important

16. Easy assembly

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Not important

Extremely important

17. Lightweight/easy to move

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Not important

Extremely important

18. Multi-purpose functionality

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Not important

Extremely important

19. Attractive appearance

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Not important

Extremely important

20. Quick availability

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Not important

Extremely important

21. Water resistance

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Not important

Extremely important

22. Mold resistance

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Not important

Extremely important

23. Fire resistance

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Not important

Extremely important

24. Easy to clean

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Not important

Extremely important

25. Compact storage

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Not important

Extremely important

26. Other (specify and rate importance 1-10)

27. 14. How important is it that furniture can be easily moved or relocated?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Not important

Extremely important

28. 15. How important is water, mold, and fire resistance in furniture for you/your area?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Not important

Extremely important

29. 16. What's a reasonable amount of time to wait for furniture delivery after ordering?

Same day

1-3 days

1 week

2-4 weeks

More than a month

Timing doesn't matter

SECTION 4: DELIVERY & ASSEMBLY CONSIDERATIONS

30. 17. How were roads and access to your home affected after the disaster?

No access for weeks/months

Limited access (small vehicles only)

Some delays but manageable

Minimal impact

31. 18. Would you have been interested in local assembly help when you were replacing furniture?

Yes, definitely

Yes, if affordable

Maybe

No, prefer to do myself

No, had family help

32. 19. If local community members were trained to help with furniture delivery and assembly, would that appeal to you, and would you be comfortable with that?

Yes

Other (please specify)

33. 20. If furniture was available free-of-charge to you immediately following losing your home, would you have been able to accept it, and store it somewhere?

Yes

Other (please specify)

34. 21. How many months post-disaster did it take for you to be able to refurnish your home?

1-3 months

3-6 months

6-9 months

9-12 months

12-18 months

18 months - 2 years

over 2 years

35. 22. Would you consider furniture delivery to be one of the more overwhelming aspects of refurnishing your home? If yes, why?

Yes

Comment:

SECTION 5: ORGANIZATIONAL PARTNERSHIPS

36. 23. Which organizations did you work with for disaster recovery assistance? Check all that apply.

FEMA

Red Cross

Salvation Army

Faith-based disaster organization

Local churches

Community organizations

County organizations

Long-term recovery groups

Other (please specify)

37. 24. Which of these organizations would you most trust to provide furniture? Check all that apply.

FEMA

Red Cross

Salvation Army

Faith-based disaster organization

Local churches

Community organizations

County organizations

Long-term recovery groups

Other (please specify)

38. 25. How important is it that furniture comes from a company that has researched and studied furniture design specifically for people impacted by natural disasters?

1 2 3 4 5

Not important

Extremely important

SECTION 6: DESIGN PREFERENCES

39. 26. What colors make you feel most at home?

Warm, natural wood tones

Neutral colors (beige, gray, white)

Bold, cheerful colors

Dark, rich colors

Mixed/varied

Doesn't matter

40. 27. What fabrics do you like most in furniture?

Natural fabric (cotton, linen, wool): comfort, breathability, and sustainability

Synthetic (polyester, nylon): easy to wash and spot clean

41. 28. What materials are you more likely to want in your furniture?

Plastic

Metal

Wood

42. 28a. Does this differ by room? If so, how?

43. 29. How important is it that furniture looks "nice" vs. just being functional?

Appearance is very important

Somewhat important

Function over form

Doesn't matter at all

44. 30. Many furniture choices today include dressers and nightstands with fabric drawers (see image below). Fabric drawers are supported with metal frames. Would you replace your furniture with fabric drawer furniture?

Never

Maybe, but I'm skeptical

Probably, as long as they don't present a glaring issue.

I'd prefer fabric drawers

45.

46. 32A. Which of these dressers would you NOT accept (See images numbered 1, 2, 3 4, below)?

1 2 3 4

47.

48. 32B. Why would you not accept this dresser?

Looks cheap

Not my style

Don't like the color

Other (please specify)

49. 33A. List the following dressers in appearance, from most likely to choose, to least likely to choose.

50. 33B. Are any of the above dressers stylistically offensive enough to turn down? Select all that apply.

Yes, A

Yes, B

Yes, C

Yes, D

No, they are all fine.

51. 34. Would you accept a free dining set that has benches for seating, rather than chairs?

No, I only want dining sets with chairs

Benches are not my preference, but it wouldn’t stop me from saying yes

I actually prefer bench seating

52. 35. Apart from a sofa, what would be the next important item to have in a living room furniture package?

Loveseat

Recliner

Coffee Table

Ottoman

Other (please specify)

53. 36. If a free living room package did not include an ottoman, would you refuse it?

Yes

54. 37. If a free living room package included a loveseat instead of a recliner, would you refuse it?

Yes

55. 38. Which is more important to you in a sofa: Style, or Comfortability?

Style

Comfortability

56. 39. If offered a free brand-new mattress in a free bedroom set, would you accept it?

No, mattresses are important to me, and I don’t want someone to choose for me

Choosing my own mattress is a plus, but not enough to make me turn down a free one

Absolutely. Mattress shopping is overwhelming and most mattresses sleep the same regardless

SECTION 7: FUTURE CONSIDERATIONS

57. 40. Has this survey experience changed how you think about furniture purchases?

Yes, significantly

Yes, somewhat

Not really

No, not at all

58. 41. Would you be interested in furniture designed to be more disaster-resilient?

Yes, definitely

Yes, if reasonably priced

Maybe

No, not necessary

SECTION 8: DEMOGRAPHICS

59. 42. What's your age range?

18-29

30-39

40-49

50-59

60-69

70+

Prefer not to answer

60. 43. What’s your gender?

Male

Female

Prefer not to answer

Other (please specify)

61. Household composition:

Single adult

Couple, no children

Family with children under 18

Multi-generational household

Prefer not to answer

Other (please specify)

62. 44a. How many family members?

63. 45. Annual household income range:(Optional)

Under $25,000

$25,000 - $50,000

$50,000 - $75,000

$75,000 - $100,000

Over $100,000

Prefer not to answer

CLOSING QUESTIONS

46. I acknowledge that I will be contacted for a short phone interview in order to receive the $100 Visa Gift Card.

You will be contacted in the next 3 business days for a short 15 minute phone interview regarding this survey. You will NOT receive the $100 Visa Gift Card without this permission.

47. I acknowledge that my anonymous quotes and feedback may be used in the summary report to help the furniture company understand survivor experiences.

SIGNATURE AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I confirm each of my survey responses and give my full permission for Emma M. Churchman LLC & Sauder Manufacturing to use this information, as well as quotes by me, related to this survey.

66. First name

Last name

67. Email address

68. Cell phone

Cell phone

69. Address

Add Line 2

Address line 2 (optional)

Zip code

City

State

Country

I confirm and agree to all of the above.