I bought a lift-top coffee table from a big box store almost a decade ago. It’s entirely particle board and has seen better days cosmetically, but it’s probably my single favorite piece of furniture. It’s immensely practical for meals, using a laptop, or just bringing your remote/drink/whatever closer to your hand when laying down on the couch. I instinctively try to lift other people’s coffee tables when I visit, and am mildly annoyed when it doesn’t work…
Cast iron or mild steel pans FTW. With care, they will outlast you and are totally nonstick once seasoned.
also, they develop and add to the flavor of what you cook that nonstick pans never will. My inexpensive item though was a stupidly cheap chef’s knife from Ikea. I needed one after moving into my first apartment and I was getting some furniture there (the futon wasn’t bad either, for what it was,) and I still have the knife around even after upgrading to a wustoff.
it was like twenty bucks. and with care it still performs like a champ.
Carbon steel is equally wonderful, esp since you can get much thinner pans that heat up lickedy split. I’d recommend trying one!