Furniture for My New Apartment

Why does everyone want to decorate their home like Captain Kirk's quarters?

Originally Posted by Fuuma

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6) Flokati are a pain, I'd only have one around the bed as it's nice to lie in it. Looks very 70s playboy though.

+1 Flokati are a pain, but...

I still love them; it's the Greek in me. They remind me of my childhood.

My grandfather had a flokati business, and I actually have a bunch of them around (looking to sell). I even have some books on flokati that he published.

Mafoo, I'd be happy to help you if you decide to go with a flokati or have any quesitons while deciding. PM me at your convenience if you're interested.

Originally Posted by iammatt

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Make sure you don't get something with sharp angles to go with the tulip table. It doesn't look good.

I would second, or third, the idea of a white lacquer coffee table.

Nice point about the angles; my fiancee isn't particularly enamored with the Juliana chair anyway. What about something with lots of angles, like the Chair One?

The white-lacquered table is almost a done deal; we both like it and Cassina has it in stock.

Originally Posted by Fuuma

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1) I don't dislike the Saarinen table and chairs in the least (keep in mind I have a Jacobsen egg chair and LC3 sofa so I'm also a fan of some classics), I just feel that with some of your other choices it will be too much of a good thing. Your suggestion to switch chairs is a step in the right direction. I'd also ditch the table but that's me.

We definitely don't want our livingroom to look pre-packaged. I guess I assume that as our living spaces increase in size, the concentration of the classics will decrease. We figure that buying classics we like helps ensure that we will have a use for them later on, even if they are not optimal in our current situation.

Originally Posted by Fuuma

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2) I'd keep some of my Ikea furniture for now and keep looking and learning, your appartment doesn't have to look complete. My comment about the Armani wasn't an attempt at dissing the brand, I just find that when you start to learn more about suiting it is quite possible that you'll understand what compelled you to seek the Armani and maybe find that something else is more to your newly acquired standards. I still like armani over brioni or canali but I also know why I do (I don't wear any of those so the point is moot).

I admit, I am no expert on modern design or architecture. I just like it in concept. I find that when I have a philosophical inclination toward something, I am far less likely to stray from it.

Unfortunately, the Ikea furniture would not survive removal from our current apartment, nonetheless the trip to our new one.

Originally Posted by Fuuma

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3) There are various antique dealers and even flea markets where you can find something that tickles your aesthetic senses, you don't have to seek older pieces but your idea about at least mixing in some contemporary might be the start of an answer.

Contemporary is great, so long as it is modern in appoach. The post-modern (as vague a thing as that is) is far less appealing. In other words, spare and minimal is good; a chair that looks like a giant foot is not.

Originally Posted by Fuuma

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4) That Cassina table is a nice piece (I like white lacquer too) but the bold profile makes it so low it is mostly an annoyance, you might end up trying to throw it out the window after bending over picking artbooks one time too many.

Practicality is certainly hampered, but I like the space that is created by going low--particularly in a small apartment. Anyway, if our coffee table is less useful, we'll be more inclined to eat at our dining table (which we never do now).

Originally Posted by Fuuma

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5) I assume you're mostly into light shades of furniture but I'd still keep looking at darker and more substantial pieces, you never know. GDL has a good look going on with the sofa and painting; it looks like he lives there, not showroomy in the least.

Well, the problem is that we want a neutral color for the sofa, but also want to make sure it is easy to work with in the future. A light ivory color should match all wood floors and be easy to accessorize with other pieces that may be brighter or bolder in color. A brown or tan sofa would risk clashing with wood floors and grey leather looks awful to me. Leather is strongly preferred--particularly for the F. Knoll sofa (in fabric, you don't get the buttons).

Originally Posted by Fuuma

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6) Flokati are a pain, I'd only have one around the bed as it's nice to lie in it. Looks very 70s playboy though.

Well, you suggested mixing things up .

Originally Posted by Fuuma

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7) I don't know if you're asian or asian-american but is there something from your ancestral country that brings a warm feeling to your heart? That might also be an option if you want to spice thing up but to avoid a vintage that you don't connect with...

Well, we have no furniture of the sort. But I can imagine collecting Chinese antiques and art in the future. I do, however, have a large-scale calligraphy of my name by a famous Chinese artist--it matches one made for my brother. That thing is going up.

Originally Posted by Manton

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Why does everyone want to decorate their home like Captain Kirk's quarters?

Don't you want to go boldly where no man has gone before? Anyway, it's not like we're getting an Aarnio bubble chair.

The one thing I'd caution against is buying too much too fast. Make it a process, as your tastes will surely evolve, just as I'm sure your tastes have evolved since joining the forum.

I love the Saarinen table. I think it's absolutely beautiful in its simplicity. However, it definitely has strong connotations to the space-age era, though with the marble top, less so. I agree with others that the matching tulip chairs are a little overwhelming, especially in a small space.

I love Eames, but I'm not crazy about the LCW chair. Sits very low and I'm kind of tall.

Eh...it looks a little too affected. Like a DWR showroom minus a Noguchi coffee table. Just please don't get that metal plating socal got for his floor.

Originally Posted by haganah

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Eh...it looks a little too affected. Like a DWR showroom minus a Noguchi coffee table. Just please don't get that metal plating socal got for his floor.

That didn't come built-in???

Originally Posted by Renault78law

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The one thing I'd caution against is buying too much too fast. Make it a process, as your tastes will surely evolve, just as I'm sure your tastes have evolved since joining the forum.

+1. I would start with the sofa and a dining set, but leave the Eames LCW and other loungey things out for now.

Originally Posted by mafoofan

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

I was thinking about the all-glass one that comes in three pieces, but the one you linked to is nice as well. In-stock is a big deal, otherwise it takes forever, like EG-shoe repair forever.

A lot of modern furniture is pretty low, and I find that's a big part of their aesthetic.

--Andre

The Knoll sofa is one my favorites from that time too, but I think you should keep in mind that everyone else has all the pieces you are planning on buying too. After you spend all this money, you will see the same furniture in all the magazines, in all your friends houses, in all the offices, etc. No matter where you go, you will not be able to get away from your home furniture

On the other hand, I don`t think there are many people that have that Knoll sofa in leather with an Eames chair in tweed cloth. Usually it`s the other way around

Originally Posted by mafoofan

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That didn't come built-in???
No. It's from Thom's Spring '07 line.

Originally Posted by mafoofan

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Don't you want to go boldly where no man has gone before? Anyway, it's not like we're getting an Aarnio bubble chair.
That would be AWESOME. I thought of getting one but realized it would simply take up too much space.

Originally Posted by Andre Yew

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In-stock is a big deal, otherwise it takes forever, like EG-shoe repair forever.
Meh, 8-10 weeks was my experience with Cassina.

Originally Posted by Dragon

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The Knoll sofa is one my favorites from that time too, but I think you should keep in mind that everyone else has all the pieces you are planning on buying too. After you spend all this money, you will see the same furniture in all the magazines, in all your friends houses, in all the offices, etc. No matter where you go, you will not be able to get away from your home furniture

Originally Posted by T4phage

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B&B's Void low table in grey is also nice.

Indeed. What are the dimensions? It might be a bit large for our space. My only complaint is that it has more visual mass than I'd prefer.

Originally Posted by Dragon

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The Knoll sofa is one my favorites from that time too, but I think you should keep in mind that everyone else has all the pieces you are planning on buying too. After you spend all this money, you will see the same furniture in all the magazines, in all your friends houses, in all the offices, etc. No matter where you go, you will not be able to get away from your home furniture

On the other hand, I don`t think there are many people that have that Knoll sofa in leather with an Eames chair in tweed cloth. Usually it`s the other way around

Well, my friends don't all have this furniture; we're all 25-28 years old. Anyway, I'm not concerned about setting ourselves apart.

Unfortunately, it appears that the Eames chair in tweed won't be happening. Herman Miller will only take the customer's own fabric for contract sales.

Originally Posted by RJman

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That would be AWESOME. I thought of getting one but realized it would simply take up too much space.

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Originally Posted by Manton

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Why does everyone want to decorate their home like Captain Kirk's quarters?

I LOLed.

I like modern furniture less and less.

Originally Posted by GQgeek

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I LOLed.

I like modern furniture less and less.

You strike me as a Carlo Rampazzi fran.

Originally Posted by mafoofan

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Well, my friends don't all have this furniture; we're all 25-28 years old. Anyway, I'm not concerned about setting ourselves apart.

It`s not so much about setting yourself apart, but more that you will see your pieces in many other places as well. You will walk into an office and see your sofa, be invited for dinner and eat on your dining table and chairs, etc. After seeing all your iconic pieces all over the place, you might go crazy and need a shrink which will ask you to sit down and relax on an Eames chair.