Furniture for My New Apartment - Page 2

Not far from; if I recall correctly, our floors have a more reddish tint.


I've never sat in the Eames LCW for a long time, so I can't speak to its comfort. But they are only for occasional use and will likely be separated and moved elsewhere in the future. In the mean time, guests can sit on the sofa while we brave the plywood .


That might be true, but I have a weird aversion to vintage. I get weirded out by things that have been used by people that aren't family.


Aw, is it so bad? Keep in mind, this stuff is all meant to outlive our stay at the apartment and will be reconfigured and disbursed in the future. Right now, I agree, it's all a bit icon-heavy. Moreover, I'm not concerned with whether other people think 'sheep' when they see our apartment; I just want an apartment that looks nice. The problem is that the classic pieces are often classic because they look so good.


Well, I don't want to be close-minded toward other options, but it's not like we just saw DWR's catalogue and picked out the highlights (even if, incidentally, we happened to do so). We spent time at Luminaire, a big store in Chicago that carries a lot of Italian stuff (Cappellini, Zanotta, Porro, etc.), but a lot of contemporary Italian design leaves me cold. Many pieces are closely inspired by the classics to begin with, some are a little too anonymous, and others are way too weird.

Of course, there is also the issue of cost. We are happy to spend a lot on the sofa, but want to spend less on lounge chairs for the moment. The Eames LCW are nice because they work as lounge chairs, are relatively inexpensive (but not cheap in any objective sense!), and can easily be used in other applications later. We have seen other lounge chairs we like a lot, but either size, price, or adaptability get in the way.

What other dining chairs would you recommend? I am partial to the Chair One:



Well, when we first started going out, we definitely would have disagreed. But as my taste in music has converged on hers, her taste in design as converged on mine.

Thanks for the very thoughtful comments. There's a lot to think about.

I don't want to be what you describe: a striving lawyer with no taste. On the other hand, I don't have or want a 'circle' to impress either. Surely, there is room for something in between, or not along that spectrum at all?


Unfortunately, we don't have anything old like you describe. I don't want to be argumentative, but what is wrong with a thoroughly modernist approach? Is it doomed to be 'matchy-matchy'? I can honestly say that I'm not interested in throwing in vintage or antique pieces--to me, the effect would be equally contrived, implying that we are older and more travelled than we really are. To make things more interesting, we'd rather draw from modern choices. Afterall, we are not trying to decorate in a mid-century manner--even if many pieces originate in that era. If we were trying to decorate as according to a particular period, I'd understand the counter-motivation to look to other ones. But we just like modern design, regardless of age.

I imagine that our home will get more interesting and personalized over time, as we add things we stumble upon. Perhaps, what we start with should be boring or blank. It would be more honest that way. Thoughts?


I don't want to be constrained by prevailing norms, but I also don't want to make a point of breaking them. There would just be too many to avoid--as you say, it depends on your circle.

But your point about developing our taste is well-taken. My fear is that we have shaped our preferences around our choices because we didn't know more or better. Yet, I can say that we are not consciously trying to converge on any norm.

Is this the coffee table you're talking about? It's Cassina, by Lissoni:



It's fantastic. I'll have to show it to the girl. I like the low white-lacquered square in particular.

Perhaps the Juliana chair, to go with the Saarinen table: