How about

- There are 8 billion people on the planet now and there isn't enough high quality furniture quality wood to make stuff for all of them.

Up until the time of industrialization there just wasn't that much furniture per person in comparison to what we have now.

The reason 'real' wood furniture is more expensive is not that there isn't demand or artisans creating it, there are likely more than ever. Go buy hardwood without knots and see how much the materials alone set you back.

The trade off isn't 'really good furniture' vs 'kinda suck furniture'. It's 'really good furniture' vs 'no furniture at all'.