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Vintage Furniture of a Sort: Coffin Couches

043008coffin01.jpgCall us crazy (and I know plenty of you will), but I'm loving these couches made of 18 gauge steel coffins salvaged from local funeral homes primarily in Southern California (keep recycling local!). The Dodger Blue couch is my favourite of course, but the rest shown below the jump are strangely appealing too. We blame our teenage goth years for this unusual macabre love.

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We at Coffincouches.com have the mindset of thinking "Green" and we know it is different but we strongly believe in recycling. Our niche happens to be 18 gauge steel coffins which we collected from local funeral homes primarily in Southern California. It is a health and safety law that funeral homes cannot resell used coffins to the general public. We approached funeral directors with the attitude of recycling. These coffins are not used for burial due to slight cosmetic inconsistencies. They are reconfigured and modified resulting in a finished product - a unique one a kind coffin couch. If you notice (although it may be too small) the six cast iron heavy duty legs are embossed with the universal biohazard insignia. The reason we utilized this sign was because safety was our utmost concern. If you are not aware, once a human body is placed in a coffin it is considered biohazard tissue. The legs have the embossed insignia for precautionary reasons in the event body fluids are exchanged on these coffins. Perhaps you would feel safe knowing that you are in designated biohazard scene!


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Comments (51)

im sure the LA punk/hipsters will just die for them!

posted by SydneyBristow on 2008-04-30 19:52:16
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"It is a health and safety law that funeral homes cannot resell used coffins to the general public."

And just where would you get a Used Coffin? Oh yeah...

"These coffins are not used for burial due to slight cosmetic inconsistencies."

Like anyone's gonna notice a scratch in the paint after a day or two...

I'm sorry - There's nothing remotely "Green" about any of this. These should have been simply shredded for scrap metal...

posted by bepsf on 2008-04-30 19:59:29
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Um.... NO!

posted by cojaclynsy on 2008-04-30 20:04:03
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The fact that they're coffins doesn't creep me out. What DOES give me the heebie jeebies are those legs. Seriously, those legs are creepy looking.

posted by iblamehistory on 2008-04-30 20:06:29
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That is SO bad-feelings.

posted by miniminx on 2008-04-30 20:09:27
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Creepy!

posted by judy in TO on 2008-04-30 20:14:00
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AHHHHHGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! scary creepy and weird.

posted by troz on 2008-04-30 20:15:57
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the legs are AWFUL!

posted by bethanylemony on 2008-04-30 20:23:57
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These are the most fabulous couches I have ever seen.




!

posted by factoryreject on 2008-04-30 20:27:36
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That's just wrong!

posted by quiltmaster on 2008-04-30 20:45:03
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"The legs have the embossed insignia for precautionary reasons in the event body fluids are exchanged on these coffins. Perhaps you would feel safe knowing that you are in designated biohazard scene!"

Um... wow. *shudder*

posted by S. Elizabeth on 2008-04-30 20:54:54
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Ew, ew, ew... I am just gagging. Logically, I don't see anything wrong with it, but I can't control the involuntary response this is causing me! EW.

posted by kittyj on 2008-04-30 20:58:32
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umm.. i just don't know what to say..

posted by animalhouze on 2008-04-30 20:58:33
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If I wasn't already signed up for cremation, these couches just gave me a mental picture of having to spend eternity in a hideous environment. No thanks!

Also its not clear to me where these coffins are coming from - were they rented for the wake to display the body, and then the body moved into a cheaper casket for burial?

posted by peacelily on 2008-04-30 21:01:06
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beautiful

posted by hdtex on 2008-04-30 21:07:44
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Interesting, but I don't want one.

The white/light one is the only one I find creepy, since it resembles actual coffin upholstery.

posted by Valerie on 2008-04-30 21:13:50
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I prefer exchanging bodily fluids with someone who is -- at the very least -- alive.

posted by lightspeed on 2008-04-30 21:42:10
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Thug/gangsta/mafia chic.
Yowza!

posted by martita on 2008-04-30 21:53:58
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Fabulous and brutal. I would have never have guessed it was a recycled coffin, just maybe some kind of punky-gangbanger-Matthew Barney-inspired piece. Perfect decor for a slick tattoo parlor if you ask me.

posted by beelzabean on 2008-04-30 22:33:05
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I think I just don't like them. I don't think it's to do with being coffins, but in a way, they resemble furniture hacked from seats out of cars or vans. If you look at coffins from the perspective of "not going to need one myself soon," and then contemplating what type of furniture would suit your comfort for the everlasting, you'd make a coffin look more like a normal sofa than the other way around, am I right?

posted by K T G on 2008-04-30 22:34:54
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There's something sickly brilliant with the cow couch

posted by shari on 2008-04-30 22:38:11
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I like them, but don't think I could live with it. Seems like something that would pop up in a Kelly Hoppen designed LA boutique hotel.

posted by 4ddh on 2008-04-30 22:40:26
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In the midst of life we are in death et cetera- Morrissey

posted by kimcumber on 2008-04-30 22:50:50
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I agree with most of you about the couch being creepy and/or eerie......but, I do love the 'shape' of it!!!

posted by swanygirl74 on 2008-04-30 22:52:34
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It would be the perfect couch for laying down and vegging on! Ha! Had to add some dark humor to this. Sorry....funny, though!

posted by swanygirl74 on 2008-04-30 22:54:45
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swany... particularly if you were listening to some past-life regression tapes and eating Fugu fish.

posted by Valerie on 2008-04-30 23:12:33
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I didn't read the article right away, so I didn't even know there were coffins until I looked at the comments. I agree with someone above it's the legs that make these crazy.

posted by harmonyfrance on 2008-04-30 23:39:21
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"Gomez, darling, this would be simply stunning in the reception parlour."

posted by btoddster on 2008-05-01 00:29:55
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Oh my goth, its not as if they were burried and dug up! These are awesome. But then, I warped sense of humor. The biohazard on the legs are a great detail. Now if they only made biohazard baggies to put my lunch in so no one would steal it from the fridge at work!

posted by crash on 2008-05-01 00:38:46
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"Gomez, darling, this would be simply stunning in the reception parlour."

Hahaha - My initial thought was of Morticia Addams too!

posted by bepsf on 2008-05-01 00:39:24
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Morbidity and dark humour (or lack thereof) aside, these samples are just ill-conceived and foogly IMO. They look like tacky unwanted resting places for the dead (wetslick mauve? wtf?) that have been transformed into yet tackier unwanted resting places for the living. Pearlescent vinyl and cowhide patchwork are difficult upholstery choices for any kind of seating. I don't think even hardcore goths, should they have the scrill to spare for such a lark, are going to go for the shiny or hairy finishes. I could see this concept selling maybe in all matte black with artfully tattered Belgian velvet upholstery. And shorter, less spidery legs.

posted by amed studio on 2008-05-01 02:04:04
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Ugly, just ugly!

posted by Violetsrose on 2008-05-01 07:44:06
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Actually, certain coffins can be reused legally. Many families whose loved one is going to be cremated will rent a coffin rather than spend on fortune on something that is going to go up in smoke (literally). There is a slide in coffin liner that holds the body and is slid out when the body is transported to the crematorium. The shell of the coffin is kept and reused time and time again. Most funeral homes have a few of these around so that Mrs. Magillicudy's funeral doesn't have to be delayed because Mr. Johnson is using the rented coffin.

These sofas are ugly and they certainly don't look comfortable.

posted by Aldyth on 2008-05-01 08:58:52
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Other than Marilyn Manson who is going to buy these?

posted by LBhirise on 2008-05-01 09:04:24
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Even if I liked these, which I don't, I have a feeling I wouldn't have very many guests coming over if I had one. At least, they wouldn't go anywhere near the sofa area...

posted by confusednazgul on 2008-05-01 09:51:34
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Talk about bad taste!

posted by KidTwist on 2008-05-01 09:58:44
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All kinds of creepy....

posted by Sarah122 on 2008-05-01 10:00:17
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Hideous! Just too morbid for my tastes...but I'm sure that the goth's will love this.

posted by suzy8track on 2008-05-01 10:11:35
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Haha, I like it!

posted by CGfromMN on 2008-05-01 10:52:37
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Ummmmmm...

posted by Cassis on 2008-05-01 10:58:23
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Funky in the right space. Too bad the right space is nowhere near my house.

posted by Melissa82 on 2008-05-01 11:01:57
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I actually thought these were quite hot until I realized they were made from real coffins. The whole green aspect doesn't really seem to fly, but I can see how it would have some novelty effect. Nice designs though. Very a-la-mode.

posted by Bryan Hale on 2008-05-01 11:04:05
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Yuk! Yuk! Yuk!

posted by bobbin on 2008-05-01 11:46:23
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I emailed the link to my long-haired biker BF as a joke saying that this couch would be great for his 'man cave' -- he responded that he wanted one but it would have to have flames on it...he wasn't kidding.

posted by Lenny on 2008-05-01 12:06:43
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I don't mind them.... I actually like the black one. The shiny blue and the mauve- not so much. The coffin part doesn't do anything special for me but it also doesn't creepy me out. I guess with friends in the business (funeral-not sofa) I am immune to the gross out factor.

posted by lorijo on 2008-05-01 12:39:41
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Vampires take notice!!

posted by danze on 2008-05-01 12:40:39
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That's the most hideous thing I've seen in a while.

posted by TCMB on 2008-05-01 12:48:35
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Since my grandma took me (age 4) with her when she went shopping for a casket, I'm not creeped out by these at all. My grandma ended up with one similar to the pink and white one because her funeral flower was the orchid. It looked fabulous. (Note: She didn't end up using her coffin til about 20 years later, but she planned out -- and paid for -- her funeral early so she could 1) have everything she wanted and 2) not leave her family struggling to make decisions at a difficult time.)

As a couch, I'd sit -- and even lie -- on it if it were in someone's house or a hotel. They don't seem like the most comfortable things in the world, which is my only real objection. But I do think they look cool, though judging from most people's reactions, they're not going to catch on.

As for the "used" part of the description, these are probably display models. I doubt they had bodies in them. So if a funeral home buys a standard size so clients can check them out and they sit in a showroom and get dings and scratches as people "kick the tires," they'd be considered used.

posted by palindrome on 2008-05-01 13:01:52
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These are GREAT!!! gaudy as all heck, but great nonetheless. Not sure why the fact that it's a real coffin would creep anyone out, but then again, my wife is a licensed embalmer. :)

posted by Kris on 2008-05-01 16:11:28
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Wow, talk about polarized opinions. I don't love them but I don't hate them either.

posted by ChrisToronto on 2008-05-01 16:55:27
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This is some crazy freaky sh!t! I love love love it!
I can't see 1 in my house, but I bet there's a dominatix out there somewhere just click'N her heels in glee. Of course she's wielding one of these too
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/sf/cleaning/leather-flyswatter-by-tarmoset-047559

posted by MoJonson on 2008-05-15 20:29:11
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