Furniture for My New Apartment

Originally Posted by HORNS

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LK, that box that you have in the picture, at the far right - did you get it at the leather school in Florence? I bought a green one exactly like that this past spring.
No, it is a vintage Florentine leather box. Apparently, it is from a famous maker of such things there, Papini. I keep tins of snuff and a Minox camera in there.

Stores san francisco have a good collection and great offers .

I don't think it makes much sense to put a 6 thousand dollar sofa in an 850 sq ft apartment, but whatever floats your boat. I'm not much of a fan of the design. I've seen more appealing pieces at chain furniture stores for under 1k. Love the design of the rug, though.

I don't think it makes much sense to put a 6 thousand dollar sofa in an 850 sq ft apartment, but whatever floats your boat.

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I've never thought of style and cost or square footage as having anything to do with each other.

Originally Posted by freshcutgrass

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I've never thought of style and cost or square footage as having anything to do with each other.
It would be the equivalent of driving a Ferrari and living in a studio apartment. If you can afford to spend 6k on a couch, you should have a bigger place. In every other section of this forum it's looked down upon when someone blows a large sum of money on a piece of clothing that offers no increase in quality. That couch isn't going to last any longer than a 2 thousand dollar couch, or probably even a 600 dollar couch. I could see if you were living in a 10 million dollar condo, but it's silly to put a 6 thousand dollar couch in a tiny apartment.

A 850 square foot one bedroom apartment cost about $1M or $3500-4000 to rent in Manhattan. So a $6000 sofa for the said apartment doesn't seem out of whack. Your analogy doesn't hold.

If you can afford to spend 6k on a couch, you should have a bigger place.

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Sorry, but again, I don't see how square footage factors into it. A 500 sqft, stylish, downtown pad is more appealing to me than a 3000 sqft suburban house.

Also, your financial limits on real estate does not have to impact your taste in furnishings. After all, it's not the bricks & mortar that matter as much as what you put in it.

That couch isn't going to last any longer than a 2 thousand dollar couch, or probably even a 600 dollar couch.

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I assume we are still talking about the Knoll sofa? In which case, i would have to disagree on principal, even though I am on record as not recommending it in this case. In terms of value, I'd say it is a good investment. Not only does it make a statement as to your level of taste and knowledge about design, it's also definitely of higher quality than your typical big box item.

Long after that cheap and tasteless sofa you purchased has been sent to the curb, for either falling apart or simply fallen out of style, the Knoll will continue being a classic that can go anywhere, and actually hold value. That's why vintage items of this nature are often worth more than the new ones (assuming they are still produced by the manufacturer).

I could see if you were living in a 10 million dollar condo, but it's silly to put a 6 thousand dollar couch in a tiny apartment.

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The vast majority of very wealthy people have little or no creativity or style in this area....this is usually found in people of much more modest means. I tend to admire the latter. You can't buy style, and I can always tell the ones that try.

Originally Posted by scenesreplayed

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boconcept is like ikea on steroids ( a good thing) modern scandinavian furniture at decent prices.

Oh, and it's uncomfortable and made poorly.

Originally Posted by suited

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That couch isn't going to last any longer than a 2 thousand dollar couch, or probably even a 600 dollar couch.

The Knoll couch will last longer. Vintage ones from 40 years ago can be reupholstered and sold for a large fraction of today's MSRP. Also, I've yet to see an attractive $2000 couch, much less a $600 one.

--Andre

Originally Posted by Andre Yew

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Also, I've yet to see an attractive $2000 couch, much less a $600 one. --Andre
Right. Probably because you're a moron, ever think that has anything to do with it? You could find a couch that is practically IDENTICAL to the pictured couch in terms of physical appearance for 2k, easily.

Originally Posted by suited

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Right. Probably because you're a moron, ever think that has anything to do with it? You could find a couch that is practically IDENTICAL to the pictured couch in terms of physical appearance for 2k, easily.

I'm not sure why you need to be hostile. No one's forcing you to buy a Knoll couch, so if you like how your practically identical-looking couch looks, then so be it. But for people who like and care how the original looks in every detail, there is no substitute.

--Andre

Andre,

That's true, of course. But it's pretty harsh and a little arrogant to say you've never seen an attractive couch for $2,000. For most people, that's a lot of coin to drop on a couch.

Perhaps, a $20,000 sofa?

Originally Posted by grimslade

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That's true, of course. But it's pretty harsh and a little arrogant to say you've never seen an attractive couch for $2,000. For most people, that's a lot of coin to drop on a couch.

There was probably a nicer way for me to say it, but it's just a single opinion, and one that shouldn't carry that much weight. Attractive couches are overrated on StyleForvm anyway.

--Andre

You could find a couch that is practically IDENTICAL to the pictured couch in terms of physical appearance for 2k, easily.

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Well, yes...you are correct. But you have to consider the fact that the person in question takes pedigree quite seriously, otherwise they would be purchasing cheap knock-offs like most people. Now before you go off on how pretentious that is, there is a practical angle as well. Decorative items should be considered investments like anything else, and an original design (especially with a big name attached to it) holds more value than a knock-off, and almost always of higher build quality. It also has more pride of ownership value, which is not nothing either (this depends totally on the attitude of the purchaser). I made the same move years ago when the first Chinese manufactured Barcelona chairs started showing up. And I regretted it. Not only am I ashamed to own it...it's worthless. Basically, my philosophy is that I can't afford to shop at Walmart...you have to keep replacing the stuff. But...if we are going to take your $2k as a starting point, I would suggest sourcing an original, vintage/used Knoll sofa, which could be found with a little effort for that kind of money (possibly without even having to re-upholster it). Then you have the best of both worlds.

But it's pretty harsh and a little arrogant to say you've never seen an attractive couch for $2,000.

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Well, there's a massive difference between arrogant and moronic.

For most people, that's a lot of coin to drop on a couch.

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Well, spending $2k on a furniture item of questionable pedigree, build quality or aesthetic value that will either show bad taste, be grown tired of and/or discarded down the road for whatever reason...is not money well spent in my opinion.