Is Ethan Allan good furniture?

[SkinnyGoomba]

Crate and Barrel, West Elm and similar stores are the Invicta of furniture.

The real thing is available at Designs within Reach.

That old EA table looks nice and well made, but unfortunately EA now specializes in filling the needs of McMansion crowd (whats left of it) where people fill their over-priced aluminum sided, particle board and plastic homes with equally overpriced veneered particle board furniture.

If you want contemporary designs that are well made you can commission a local furniture maker and receive something much nicer for the same amount of money or less.

 

[Artisan Fan]

Originally Posted by SkinnyGoomba

Crate and Barrel, West Elm and similar stores are the Invicta of furniture.

The real thing is available at Designs within Reach.

That old EA table looks nice and well made, but unfortunately EA now specializes in filling the needs of McMansion crowd (whats left of it) where people fill their over-priced aluminum sided, particle board and plastic homes with equally overpriced veneered particle board furniture.

If you want contemporary designs that are well made you can commission a local furniture maker and receive something much nicer for the same amount of money or less.

We did a custom dining set at Norwalk and the quality has been terrific in 9 years of use so far.

 

[DocHolliday]

Originally Posted by SkinnyGoomba

Crate and Barrel, West Elm and similar stores are the Invicta of furniture.

The real thing is available at Designs within Reach.

Design Within Reach hasn't had much of a track record on this lately.

Hopefully they're turning things around.

 

[SkinnyGoomba]

Originally Posted by DocHolliday

Design Within Reach hasn't had much of a track record on this lately. Hopefully they're turning things around.
You can walk into the store on Nassau St. in Princeton and Walk out with iconic furniture designs not found in Mcmansions or EA. They Sell Knoll, Herman Miller, ect.

 

[ruben]

I don't think newer EA furniture is that much different in quality than the old stuff-like the table the original poster posted.

Originally Posted by SkinnyGoomba

That old EA table looks nice and well made, but unfortunately EA now specializes in filling the needs of McMansion crowd (whats left of it) where people fill their over-priced aluminum sided, particle board and plastic homes with equally overpriced veneered particle board furniture. If you want contemporary designs that are well made you can commission a local furniture maker and receive something much nicer for the same amount of money or less.
Again, venner =/ cheap furniture. I also don't think you could get anything made, or at least made to a high standard, for cheaper than what EA sells it's stuff for. The profit margins on a lot of this stuff are razor thin, I saw a new pine table thing a few months back with a price lower than what you'd pay for the wood alone, even if you used crappy dimensional lumber.

Originally Posted by SkinnyGoomba

You can walk into the store on Nassau St. in Princeton and Walk out with iconic furniture designs not found in Mcmansions or EA. They Sell Knoll, Herman Miller, ect.
Um, you see plenty of DWR stuff in McMansions. You'd think they give out Barcelona chairs as closing gifts. It's been a while since I've been in an EA store, but didn't it used to skew a little lower than the McMansion crowd? It may have changed since.

 

[SkinnyGoomba]

OK, I get it now, SF loves Ethan Allen Furniture and Modern Design created by Modern Architects is something that is prevalent in McMansions.

Jesus I had it wrong this whole ******* time, thanks SF!

 

[johnapril]

Do the scratch test.

 

[CHenry]

Originally Posted by johnapril

Do the scratch test.

E-A furniture wears well; all the stuff I have bought from them--tables, armoires, beds, case goods and upholstery has stood up to interstate moving without any problems, several times now. The wood is all hardwood, unless they are making use of pine or other softwoods for a purpose (e.g., seats for Windsor chairs.)

If you are looking for Knoll or other companies' copies of iconic 20th century designs, or are looking for the kind of stuff you might find from a small manufacturer (Thos. Moser and similar) or studio pieces (George Nakashima, copies of A&C designs, etc.) then you are obviously not looking at Ethan Allen. But if you want to have stuff that stands up well, isn't cheaply made and is made with good materials, they are fine.

Barcelona chairs belong in big commercial lobbies, the kinds with travertine walls and thick glass and chrome doors. As seating goes, they are more for looking at than actually sitting in.