February 01, 2005
Tiptoe through the Tulip Tables.
I have this friend who somehow, magically, stumbles upon fantastic vintage furniture. Yards sales, thrift shops, curbs-- he scours them all, and you would not believe what he finds. Amazing Knoll look-alike sofas from dental waiting rooms, futuristic lamps, glass & chrome coffee tables, authentic midcentury chairs, you name it. And all for next to nothing.
But by far his greatest finds to date (in my opinion) are by designer Eero Saarinen. He somehow snagged an original Saarinen dining table with matching tulip chairs, and one perfect blue wool Saarinen side chair. While he was still in college, and broke. Imagine!
I don't have that kind of karma. In fact, I may even have the opposite luck-- I hone in on the most expensive stuff in the store, every time. Like radar. I miss the curb and go straight for the museum, then head home empty-handed.
One way around this: knockoffs. I've said it here before... But oh, how I love the knockoffs. They're not as great or well-constructed as the originals, don't get me wrong, but I also need not take out a mortgage to buy a table I can be proud of.
A table, for instance, like this amazing, amazing bargain from Ikea:
Another great dealer in (slightly more pricey) reproductions: White on White.
And then there's Two Jakes, carrier of real, fake, and reproduced designs.
Do any of you know of other knockoff treasure troves? Or places that deeply discount the originals?
More importantly, do you know anyone willing to sell me a mint-condition bent plywood Eames chair for under a hundred bucks? Anyone? No?
Damn.
Posted by Lara at 02:04 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
January 10, 2005
Find.
Out shopping for a friend's birthday present this evening, I couldn't resist poking around inside a local furniture and interiors shop called Mostly Modern (7th Avenue in Park Slope between 11th & 12th Streets)... "Hey," I thought, "I could find someting for her in here." I was kidding myself, of course. I just can't resist a good furniture store, even if I'm late, starving, or on fire, even when I have absolutely no money, even when I boast an apartment entirely too full of stuff already.
Mostly Modern is pretty cool. As the name implies, it deals in mostly modern furniture--primarily 20th century originals and reproductions, as well as a great selection of accessories by Angela Adams. I must admit: I have never been able to afford a single thing in the place, even though I've browsed a lot.
But. Today.
As I pictured retro 1950s throw pillows on my very traditional friend's french-country-type couch (remember, I was pretending to birthday shop), something caught my eye next to an expensive original Eero Saarinen tulip stool. Oooh, it was a red Ludwig Mies van der Rohe ottoman. I crept closer. My hand reached for the pricetag, expecting three digits at least, and more likely four...
Wait, only $75?
$75?
$75!
Shocked, thinking it was a typo, I questioned the clerk. Yup, he assured me it was $75. I inspected the piece more closely. Yup, it was a total fake. Instead of supple, buttery Italian leather upholstery, it was a covered in a poly ultrasuede. In place of the classic 23x21x15 dimensions, it was a diminuitive, apartment-friendly 18x17x15. The steel legs didn't have the same great swooping curves, and they weren't as pure and shiny and chrome-y as Mr. van der Rohe surely intended.
But I didn't care. I laid my money down, and walked ten blocks and up three flights with a fake Fendi of an ottoman under my arm. Now it's happily & comfortably underfoot as I write this entry.
I can't imagine a day when I'll easily be able to drop a thousand dollars on an ottoman anyway, and my new little imitation is absolutely perfect for me. Well. For now.
Oh, and I got my friend some really pretty earrings.
Posted by Lara at 09:06 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack