Good Questions: Small Scale Armoire?

Hello AT,

I have a 350 sq.ft co-op (uws) on the 25th floor of a prewar building. The room is not square and not big. I am looking for an armoire in scale with the room that will accommodate a tv and provide necessary drawers.

Thank you for your assistance, Daniel O.

(Note: Include a pic of your problem and your question gets posted first.)
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Daniel,

We post your question, even though what we could really use is a picture. We think what you need is a fairly small scale armoire, even though not many ARE that small scale. We would hit the usual suspects and take a look at C&B's new Bento Armoire ($1400) which is small in scale and quite nice.

Anyone else??

Comments (10)

You may also want to try Pompanoosuc Mills (pompy.com). They have a smaller scaled TV armoire. Shakerish in style but available in a variety of woods and finishes.

posted by Al on 2006-02-09 12:01:38

Consider children's or "youth" furniture. There are many collections that look like slighly scaled-down versions of "real furniture," rather than like traditional nursery pieces. I've been using an Ethan Allen Kids play table as a coffee table for years.

posted by EJ on 2006-02-09 12:28:32

I'm not sure I would agree with Maxwell on the Bento armoire. To me, although it looks nice and is probably well made, I think it has too much wasted space down in the legs. If you have a small apartment, then you probably want as much storage space as possible, and to me, the space down below is not utilized. Of course, you could always put boxes down there, but the look wouldn't be as clean, which I think is also important in a small space. So I would go to an armoire with minimal or no legs. Sorry, I don't have any specific suggestions

posted by b on 2006-02-09 13:15:39

As a former studio dweller, I'm thinking you don't want to spend a fortune on something since you're probably not going to live in the apartment forever. So I'd visit the old standby Gothic Cabinetcraft. They have several tall, relatively skinny TV armoires that will make the most use of your wall space without taking up too much width/depth. While many of their displayed styles are hideous, a cheerful lacquer on a simpler style and new knobs will help.

Also, the big issue with TVs that requires custom cabinetry is depth. If you got a flatscreen you could get something more like a tall bookcase with doors that would not protrude into the room as much and, again, maximize wall storage space while minimizing clutter. There's tons of affordable, if not super-styly, options at places like Home Decorators or the old standby Ikea, meaning you should be able to spend around $1500 for the bookcase and TV together - the price of many of these fancy multimedia armoires!

posted by eeeck on 2006-02-09 13:24:34

I'd suggest you look at some storage solutions
from ROOM AND BOARD. I love their stuff - I don't own any of it but I've been through their store and I think the quality is there.

All Armoires
http://www.roomandboard.com/rnb/dept.do?dept=RB107&page=all

And some non armoire alternatives...

Kinkaid Cabinet
http://www.roomandboard.com/rnb/coll.do?coll=RB3974&dept=RB109

Madera Cabinet
http://www.roomandboard.com/rnb/coll.do?coll=RB3981&dept=RB108

It really depends on how big your TV is.

posted by Jennifer on 2006-02-09 13:35:24

The issue IS whether, first, Al will be using a flat screen tv or not. In my case, also on the UWS, also in a smallish one bedroom apt, I bought and am crazy about the Bento cabinet. The reason we bought it, even though it was possible we'd even get a flat screen later, was because well, we just really liked it as a stand alone piece.

But, more than that, in a small space, I think it makes things look even more airy to have the volume be open, not filled, toward the floor, having the bulk of the piece be higher, instead of "grounded". I feel that's an important factor in a small space. Our main room is 12x15.

Also, why sacrifice lesser quality/cost pieces for someday living somewhere else? Live for now and get something wonderful now. I think it's even more important to live with wonderful things in a small space.

Go Bento!

posted by susiq on 2006-02-09 13:43:38

b - Even though you have a valid point I think the legs give the piece, and perhaps the room, an airy feeling. The lower stretcher shelf is ideal for large baskets that can store DVDs and such or a place to stack books, for example.

posted by anne on 2006-02-09 15:03:13

Check out From The Source - showroom in DUMBO one block closer to the train than ABC Carpet and Home. Really nice people, great collection of armoires and other solid wood furniture that won't fall apart in three years or the next time you try to move it. google it.

posted by Dean on 2006-02-09 17:24:30

susiq - or anyone else with the Bento - I love this armoire as well, but was thinking if you have your tv, dvd, stereo, etc., does it get messy looking to have all those cords visible in the empty space below?

posted by eh on 2006-02-10 12:47:23

I'm looking for a TV cabinet like the Bento but without the legs. It can only be 44" high at most. Does anyone have any ideas?

posted by dw on 2006-12-31 05:16:48