apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I always feel a little weird buying new stuff thats supposed to look vintage, but I love this chair!

Does anyone know the quality of Urban Outfitters furniture?

I have seen some of their furniture in person (mostly crap), but this chair actually appears to be pretty well made. And the price point is pretty high by UO standards...

$300 for this? Let's face it Urban Outfitters isn't known to have the best quality in furniture. Even worse, you can't even test drive it at the store, it is only available online. I think I'll pass. I've seen better prices on authentic vintage furniture on CraigsList.

So what you're saying is that this style has gone from Hot to Trendy...great.

I think I would rather find a quality vintage piece for the same price before I would buy a cheaply made knock off - I have never heard anything truly positive about the quality of UO's furniture.

for $300 plus im sure an arm and a leg, you could buy a really nice authentic mid century danish chair.....wtf?

Well, yes, you could get a comparable vintage piece for those kinds of prices... but I find vintage upholstery to be kinda gross. I mean, who knows how many decade's worth of cooties may be living in there...

I'm not crazy about the arms...they look odd to me, and the color is too dark. But then again, I own an authentic teak mid-century one (that I got off CL for $110) so I'm a bit biased

If you know how and where to shop, you can get two vintage chairs for the price of this one - probably made in China anyways.

if you "know where to shop"... you could get a real one for $15.

goddammit. i'm working on refinishing a czech modern armchair that i picked up busted for super cheap. i decided to stain it dark to distinguish it from the reddish tones of many chairs from the era. and now everyone is going to ask me if i got it from urban outfitters. . .

I just like well designed things and this looks well designed. As for the quality, no one can tell from the pic so the jury is still out on that.

I'm sure I'm in the minority when I say that, I don't understand why it's only nice if it was made 50 years ago as opposed to being made now. I don't really enjoy something more thinking that someone may have died in it in their living room.

i'm with modernguy. i thought the point was to admire a piece's DESIGN. if you can't get the original artifact, why is a repro considered 2nd class when all you really like is the way it looks and feels?

I'm with modernguy and repro. I'm actually excited that companies are making some new things that are mid-c inspired. That doesn't mean I won't still buy lots of vintage and mix it all together.

Incidentally, I have an UO armchair that is GREAT quality. Seriously. I've had it for four years and it's still as nice and sturdy as it was the day I bought it. It's super comfortable too ... when I have people over they all choose that chair first ... over my sofa which was much more expensive.

I meant modernguy and heather. ha.

my yugoslavian made mid century chair was $35 from a stoop sale and I had it reupholstered for $150.

there is really no need to spend $300 on a UO knockoff that will surely be a shaky piece of crap in a year.

oh, and I found mine in Williamsburg Brooklyn, an expensive neighborhood in an incredibly expensive city so it's not like I got the middle-of-nowhere discount.
you midwesterners have the best thrift shops in the world! Go find the cheap ones!

yes, you can get the real thing at a fraction of the cost of this new chair -> wanna be impostor.

hey shilo...wow! that is pretty much the same chair i have and is the color i plan to stain it. where did you wind up getting your cushions done?

kiljoywashere:
I had my cushions done at a serious hole-in-the-wall place on Havemeyer and S. 3rd Street on the southside of Williamsburg.

I live really near it and for the longest time thought it was a numbers running joint or fencing operation until one day they started cleaning and I was walking by and noticed.... industrial sewing machines???

I HIGHLY reccommend them to anyone in the NYC area. Jesse and Felix who run it are great local guys and they only charged me $150 for new covers AND foam!

their finished product

I would have been completely thrilled to find a similar chair on Criagslist or in antique shop but that's not about to happen in Richmond VA -- I've been trying for 6 months. So, I was VERY excited to order this chair this week. I am concerned about the quality, but I've been hoping for months that one would show up on the new market for a reasonable price, so it's worth the risk.

MCM at UO? Wal-mart next. That seals it! Maybe now, people will realize that MCM is passé.

Actually, it has been passé for a few years, just takes most folk a while to catch up. Here's a clue. When you see a trend on Design on a Dime or read how-to's in Reader's Digest, you can be pretty sure it's been done to death. Sorry.

I definitely would agree with others that you can get originals for less than $300 - certainly on ebay or craigslist or your local junque shoppe (sic). If you don't have the skills or the time to redo the cushions, refinish the frame, etc. that $300 new chair starts to look more attractive. To each his own circumstance.

Personally, I'm not crazy about this interpretation. What I love about the original designs is the graceful curves of the arms, and the way the seat is angled back - the UO chair is all straight and uncomfortable looking.