Why don't you get the licensed knoll version for virtually the same price - http://www.highbrowfurniture.com? The same table is sold for $70 more, and shipping is free.

I'm an internet shopping 'ho, and I've never heard of this Bauhaus to Your House place. And I know plenty of people who have been ripped off from these places that sell mid-century repros via internet only. Unless you can go there in person, I wouldn't risk the $325.

I can vouch for highbrowfurniture. Great customer service.

And the above was not a rant against unlicensed repros. But since Koll has a solid reputation for quality, why risk buying something that MAY be of lesser quality if you can afford the licensed version, particularly from a company that you admittedly have no knowledge about.

Oops, Koll = Knoll.

Purchasing a design clone- why not if you can personally live with knowing the item has no 'pedigree' to save money.
But definitely see the item first for the quality of the reproduction. Some are better than others. Good luck.

davendc, thank you for the tip about highbrow furniture. i thought i had googled and yahooed saarinen tulip table enough to find all the retailers, but somehow that one slipped through the cracks. i've already called them to order...luckily they had one in stock. and you were right - great customer service.

I'd probably get the licensed version too, but I'd hardly call a more than 20% increase to be "virtually the same price."

it's like spending $600 for a knock-off of the Noguchi table. Yes, the original is $1200, so, why not buy a 50% repro that looks the same? because it's crap. I rather save and buy original or not save and buy a no-name no-design at target. The satisfaction of the thought of saving money buying that crappy overpriced junk will disappear as soon as you see the quality on that marble. (think home-depot window sill)

OK, but seriously... I will never never never spend $1200 on a table. On a sofa, maybe. But probably not. But I can imagine scrimping and saving for a while to save up $600 for a table I really loved.

If you can afford to buy original and that's how you choose to spend your money, that's cool, no judgment here. But for some of us, that is just never gonna be in the budget.

Whoops, I'm sorry. I somehow skimmed over the part where you said "or not save and buy a no-name no-design at target." Well, I agree, if you can only afford crap, be smart and buy $200 crap instead of $600 crap. (Although some of us do have to save up for the $200 crap too.)

I will tell you, though, when your furniture gets chewed on by the puppy, or broken by a child (or husband) you are glad that it is only crap and not the real thing. I just can't take that risk. (and once the children are grown there will only be a small pocket of time before the grandkids start coming over!) :)

Nicole, this is so true.

It depends on if your love of the "real" thing is only if it still looks brand new over time. I bought a red Eames chair ages ago (ok, 6 years ago, before I saw a zillion of them in all of the AT contests, so shutup) as a happy dissertation to me present. I love to look at it and love to sit in it.

The partner dropped some exercise equipment that left a dent and scratch on the seat. He was totally horrified and screamed when it happened. I still love the chair just as much (and him too), and good thing, since the furry additions to the house have added to the "patina" when they launch sneak attacks on each other from the back of the chair. YMMMV.

regards,
trillium

i'm with mi.jo, for some (like me) a few hundred $$$ means a bill doesn't get paid. I could go on dreaming for years, buy something very similar for less or get really in debt. those are the options. lucky are the people who can afford.

i love AT, design, art and anything in between. but hummm. i'm getting a little tired of the money always being an issue. i have alot of respect for people who can find something they love for what fits their budget. i guess i feel more in tune with the budget-less than the can spend, spend, spend.

I'd go for the repo, obviously. i just got the rip off tulip table from ikea...and i love it.

SOME knockoffs are actually better made and in the cases of seating, more comfortable, than the authentic licensed products, not all but certainly some. Lots of people have said this after experiencing both licensed and copied products. This topic is never really an ethical issue to me because people who really know design and only want the licensed products will usually not settle for anything but the real thing and people like myself, who also love design but make average money can never really afford the real thing, so all those knockoffs out there don't really affect the market of the real licensed products IMO and if anything, they boost the value and interest of the real thing.

I think there is a third solution: Buy authentic and used. I am guilty of only wanting the real thing, but I don't have the cash to support buying new. I am very patient and I can wait until exactly what I want is for sale at a lower price. If it's a quality item, buying used isn't really a downgrade. It will have likely survived over the years.

Here's to eBay!

Has anyone had any experience or ever heard of modernreproductions.com? (I so would love to have a marble-top Saarinen table.)

I feel like room and board has them for not quite so much $$ and I know for a fact their quality is excellent.

A few years ago, I bought an ebony Nelson slat bench from Herman Miller. Quite honestly, I'm disappointed. All I have is a tv on it, and the finish has developed hairline cracks along the joints. When I called Herman Miller, they told me to go buy touch-up paint. I know of others who have had the same problem with their nelson benches. Maybe that's why HM no longer makes the ebony bench.

I say, "go with the original." I did, after lusting for a tulip side table, and have no regrets. I bought my pure white coated marble table directly from Knoll, where I could not have had better service. I derive the same amount of pleasure just from looking at it that I did after purchase. It is solid and the proportions are exactly right- which is generally not the case with copies and would drive me crazy, personally. $700 is about what I make in two weeks, after taxes, but I feel that this table is worth much more than that, with all that it does for my space.

The saw "buy cheap, buy twice" applies more often than not. If I had a dollar for every piece of wobbly, mdf or veneer furniture from Ikea that looked like something I really wanted, but subsequently failed to deliver (uncomfortable, flimsy, smelled, etc.) I would be able to aford at least one more high quality original. I'd rather go without than settle for something that will ultimately go to the trashroom.

I think it's unfair to accuse people who chose to buy something they really love and will never have to buy a replacement for again as having a "spend spend spend" mentality or having no budget restrictions. You can't really know the details, and it's silly to assume anything.

I personally am happy with going without any other new furniture (everything else is from the goodwill, craigslist and estate sales), not owning a tv, couch or dresser (clothes live in cardboard boxes on wooden shelves), always drinking my coffee at home and packing a lunch for work every day for the last 4 years in order to have the chair of my dreams. I could have bought a bunch of stuff from IKEA instead of that one red chair, but I chose not to.

I don't think either choice (IKEA vs. X) automatically gives someone an extra helping of respect. Respect someone who evaluates their own resources honestly and makes the choices that work best for them. It might not be the one that works best for you.

regards,
trillium