apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Cute chair, questioned the quality as well. Definitely interested to see if anyone has purchased from Urban and had a positive experience.

I don't know about the quality of Urban Outfitter furniture, but this chair looks kind of similar to the Grace chair from Room & Board - http://www.roomandboard.com/rnb/prod.do?pfid=759810&grpType=0&crawl=2

Of course, the chair from R&B is $500 more (and doesn't come in a cute light green color). The sale price on the 'Your Dad's Chair' at $349 seems like a great deal, assuming there is some quality to the craftsmanship. Have you checked the return policy with UO to see how easy it would be to return if dissatisfied?

I think you can almost always place furniture on a quality scale based on price.

So, if this chair is higher in price than Ikea or West Elm, but comparable (on the lower side) to Crate & Barrel or Room and Board, then I think that's roughly where the quality lies, which ain't bad.

I wouldn't trust the quality, just based on other home stuff I've gotten from UO: cushions, rugs, etc. You do get what you pay for, though, so if you're just looking for a piece of transitional furniture, the chair is cute.

I'm not sure if your talking about the catalog or the floor models they sell. The floor models they pick up from local vintage, thrift and garaged sales. Then they redo them if needed and mark them up to an outragous price. So the quality can varie depending on where they buy it.

what type of durtain rod is used to hang floor-to-ceiling drapes like in the Delano or Mondrian hotels? How are they attached? And where can I find theses rods?

i think that chair is way cute and it IS on sale, the original price was $500 (which is more or less the going rate for an upholstered chair from Pier 1, C & B, etc).

But the $110 delivery charge? Ridiculous.

I don't think the chair is the worst thing in the world, but I haven't shopped at Urban Outfitters since reading an interview with its founder and CEO a few years ago. Huge conservative that not only gives a lot of money to the like of Santorum and ultra-right wing Christian organizations, but also actively supports the anti-gay agenda, and gets a kick out of knowing that most of his clientele would object. The guy's a real turd.

So know. But the Room & Board equivalent - their version is absolutely quality, and what with them not being fuckers you'll be able to sit in your new chair without choking on your shame. Bwa ha ha!

I don't think the chair is the worst thing in the world, but I haven't shopped at Urban Outfitters since reading an interview with its founder and CEO a few years ago. Huge conservative that not only gives a lot of money to the like of Santorum and ultra-right wing Christian organizations, but also actively supports the anti-gay agenda, and gets a kick out of knowing that most of his clientele would object. The guy's a real turd.

So no, buy the Room & Board equivalent - their version is absolutely quality, and what with them not being fuckers you'll be able to sit in your new chair without choking on your shame. Bwa ha ha!

I'd love to read that article, Mr. Know-It-All. I haven't been to a UO store yet, but I enjoy seeing all of the fun stuff on their web site. But that sort of thing about the founder/CEO is precisely what keeps me from shopping at Wal-Mart, and would likewise keep me from spending money at UO.

alright alright, someone made the exact same comment last year re: urban. Leave politics out of this forum, not the place. Mr. Know it all I can assure you, this is not the only store owner or large corporation owner that is a right wing conservative, it's unfortunate, but lets stick to the chair.

I'm confused about the right-wing, anti-gay agenda about UO and Anthropologie since I saw a profile of one of their creative directors and his (male) partner in (I believe) House & Garden not too long ago...

This is all over the Web -- Google "Richard Hayne" and "Rick Santorum" and you'll see. However, I've included one representative link -- just click on my name.

Just to re-center conversation, has anyone sat in, or even seen first hand, this chair or the sweet red mail-order-only couch they have on super sale?

Not to seem inconsiderate, but I think that the entire UO organization does not necessarilly share the founder's beliefs, and they are lovely items, from the pictures, and a purchase from the organization is a purchase from the employees as well as the founder.

I disagree, cs, and I'm glad Mr. KIA mentioned it here - just like I want to know where the materials in my home come from, I want to know who I'm supporting when I buy it.

That's as much, or more, a factor in the home i design around myself as the colors and fabrics and woods I choose.

And besides - if I didn't hear it here, where would I? If it bothers you, move past it - but it's not for you to censor our discussion just because it's not your cup of tea.

haven't sat in the chair, but i did recline on the couch for a spell. it was approximately ikea-quality, take that as you will. i find most of the non-designer merchandise at urban to be of low quality, practically disposable. i don't think this chair would be all that difficult to find at a good second hand shop.

and besides the questionable politics of the ceo, the company is notorious for stealing ideas from small, independent designers. boo to that.

Aside from the political stuff, UO is also known to blatantly rip off smaller independent designers -- see the Urban Counterfeiters blog and here: http://mistertoast.blogspot.com/2006/06/urban-outfitters-rip-off_06.html

You might want to check out Todd Oldham's La-Z-Boy line, currently being sold through the Target website as well as other outlets -- there are some similar designs, albeit in the $650-800 range.

As stated in similar posts, I won't shop there either because of their CEO's emphatic political affiliaions. Likewise, I agree with Melanie that the aesthetic value is not the only value which should be considered when choosing something for our homes.

I'm not sure about super sale, but I have this little red couch and I luuurrve it: http://www.urbanoutfitters.com/shopping/product/detailmain.jsp?itemID=9337&itemType=PRODUCT&iMainCat=336&iSubCat=713&iProductID=9337

The quality is definitely not great, but it's good enough for me--futons are pretty basic anyway--and I love the style so much that it doesn't bum me out that it's not really well made.

A couple of years ago, I bought a pair of chairs from Urban. They use a lot of outside vendors (I think none of thier furniture is exclusive), so I can't tell you if the people who made my chairs will be an indication or not. Mine were bit less expensive.

Anyway, they were totally cheap. The cushions were velcroed to the frame and the velcro ripped out right away. A button on the back caught on a guest's sweater and ripped right out. Various other little annoyances.

On the other hand, they looked alright (with repairs), and they were relatively cheap. They were very easy to set up, and easy to get rid of when it was time.

If you want to outfit a place on the cheap, and you don't want the exact same Ikea stuff your friends have, UO is probably fine. If you are willing to spend the money to buy a notch up, however, do that instead. For $350 or so you could proably get something nicer from West Elm, for example, and the quality will be considerably higher.

Also Urban Outfitters is totally Big Corporate icky, and it was kind of embarrasing to tell people that was where my chairs came from.

Mr. Know It All,
Thank you very much for telling us about the Urban CEO and his relationship with Santorum and the Right Wing Party. My boyfriend and I have been googling him and we are going to tell our friends about this.
And, Melanie, very good point that you made -- if I hadn't heard it here, I might be shopping at Anthropologie and Urban Outfitters tomorrow.

UO & Anthropologie = same company?

Yup. Just googled it, as I was wondering the same. UO owns Anthropologie and Free People, apparently.

P2, are you out there? Did you read my explanation? I am literally losing sleep! :(

I am always disappointed when I stroll through an Urban Outfitters store. All the furniture looks like it will either fall apart or hurt me. The only thing I would ever buy there are the picture frames sized for record albums. I wonder if they are still selling them.

I have this chair folks, and let me tell you it rules. It's comfortable and actually is high quality. Perfect size with clean lines and a retro look. I just moved into my apartment last week, once I get all settled in I'm going to submit an apartment walkthrough and you can see for yourself.


XOXOXOXO

also... i dont know why there are so many thumbs down. good design.... just b/c its from uo you don't have to tell anyone.

Oh. My. Gawd. Tiffany, you are SUCH. A. MONSTER. AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH soulless gurl run amok!!!

For those still confused (perhaps patrick, the other one), this is a tid bit on Hayne, the UO CEO and founder (at http://www.philadelphiaweekly.com/view.php?id=5725)

Yet Hayne himself is an ardent Republican. He is a financial supporter of arch conservative Sen. Rick Santorum, whose recent comments about homosexuals equated gay sex with incest and bestiality.

When PW asks Hayne about his financial support of Santorum, he initially denies it. And when presented with a computer printout of Santorum's campaign donors from the Center for Responsive Politics website--which cites a $4,650 contribution from Urban Outfitters--he responds: "I'll have to look into this. I don't think this is right." In fact, he and his wife have contributed $13,150 to Santorum and Santorum's Political Action Committee over the years.

Sorry the URL is below, from Philadelphia Weekly:

http://www.philadelphiaweekly.com/view.php?id=5725

The point being Tiffany, that it's not other people knowing it's from UO that should bother you. What bothers those of us that don't shop there is the idea of giving our money, through Urban Outfitters, to a man funding policies that trouble us.

well i wasn't aware of these policies, and i think the question was the aesthetic value of the chair, not the company's political stance. if we were going to boycott a company because of it's ethics we probably wouldn't be left with many options.

fuck your liberal agenda, no one gives a shit about your sexuality or who's for/against it.

So...what exactly does it take to get banned??

tiffany, almost the ENTIRE thread was about "these policies" -- maybe you should have read it before you jumped (twice) all over someone making a point that clearly IS important to most of the people bothering to post.

But hey, thanks for all the hugs and kisses.

Hey Tiffany-

I give a shit about my sexuality and who is for/against it. If Urban Outfitters gave $5,000 to a David Duke or some other racist/sexist politician, you might magically give a shit, too. But I'm gonna go out on a limb and guess that you are not a sexual minority, and therefore "don't give a shit" about the particular information revealed in this thread.

When your turn at the chopping block comes up you'll wish someone cared more about you than a stupid chair, too.

If you're claiming to be opposed to Urban Outfitters you might as well be consistent and oppose the majority of the United States as well.

And if you think it's okay to financially support bigotry, then you might as well be consistent and write a check to the Ku Klux Klan as well.

Translation: Don't be silly. That's a terrible argument and you know it.

Tiffany,

Your apartment walk-through is going to be, um, interesting, after the fan club you've managed to build here. (Aren't we trying to calm the site down, too? Yikes.)

Can't WAIT for tiffany's house tour!!

Bring it!!!

(and I just LOVE girls with girly-girl names with mouths like truckdrivers! PRETTY!)

I think it's better to be informed on all fronts than misinformed on any. Even if this is an aesthetic and not political site.

If you still love this chair, despite what it's profits fund, then fine.

Or, if you love the chair but don't like the agenda behind it, then make a big donation to Human Rights Campaign with the money you saved by not buying pretty much the same chair at Room & Board. That works, too.

And Tiffany, to pick nits (with a nitwit), the original question was not at all about the aesthetic value of the chair. It was about the quality of the chair.

You could even make a tiny contribution to HRC, which would still entitle you to get their mailings, including an informative report on which of your elected officials voted for which awful laws. Then you could see how wrong you are when you say that no one cares about anybody else's sexuality.

After reading about the CEO's support of rabid right wing politicians here sometime ago, I will not shop at Anthropologie or Urban Outfitters. I was glad to find out about this here. I don't need to buy stuff at a place that's going to take the profits to try to wipe me out. But, that's just me.

Patrick (the other one) has a point - the posting WAS asking about quality, and the backassward CEO's point of view aside, Urban Outfitters is not a name synonymous with quality. I have heard good things about their furniture, and it doesn't look like it's built to last. Now, the Grace chair at Room & Board might be more expensive ($849), but it's worth mentioning that upholstered furniture at Room & Board can be upholstered in ANY fabric the store has available, not just the sample swatches the website offers you. It will take much longer to get the chair in a fabric other than the four or five samples associated with it, but if you wanted that chair – http://www.roomandboard.com/rnb/prod.do?pfid=759810&grpType=0&crawl=2 – and you wanted it green, you could make it happen. Give them a call and see what's up.

And, Tiff, you're a real prize. I think this is the perfect opportunity to push for an Aparment Therapy Singles site! Who's with me? Online dating through furniture! Tiff here likes long walks on the beach, cotton-poly blends, and the Federal Marriage Amendment. Purr.

You're completely right! I forgot that being a republican automatically makes me a horrible person/bigot/monster/nitwit/kkk supporter. And you wonder why no one takes this minority seriously? Next time I'll remember to conform with your views reguardless of subject, because I don't want to be labeled as something I'm not, no matter how it effects my personally.

Wait until 2008, then you'll have a good opportunity to see who else will be backing you up. And when that occurs, you can call them names too.

Hmmm, last I heard, BOTH parties were in trouble, for different reasons. I think 2008 will be interesting, too, but I don't think any outcome is ensured at this point, by any means.

(I'm starting to hope Bloomberg runs as an independent at this point! Heck, he can afford it.)

Just to be clear, I was not calling Tiffany a bigot or KKK supporter. I was pointing out the fallacy of an argument.

As an aside, this has nothing to do with republicans or democrats. This has to do with Urban Outfitters and Santorum. I'll let you know when I'm ready to blanket an entire ideological following with cries of foul play.

And to talk about furniture for a second, that chair is cute, but I'm sure you could salvage a similar piece with quality bones and go the reupholstering route. For somewhere between Urban and Room & Board's price, you'd probably have a lifetime-spanning piece. Trust.

tiffany--

You're right: your party affiliation is not the issue.

But you pretty much sealed your own fate here LONG before you admitted to being a Republican.

Do you actually KNOW any gay people, btw?

The thing, Tiff-Tiff, is not so much your politics (for me), but how incredibly shallow you sound. First you move from saying what's the big deal, you don't have to tell anyone you bought it in Urban Outfitters, to fuck you liberals no one likes you. You're on offense just because you already admitted to buying the chair, and that's fine, whatever, but keep in mind that the point was not to go after you, but to alert people who might be like-minded and troubled by knowing where their dollars were going. I really don't give a shit where YOU shop - do whatever you want. But seriously, you set yourself up for this one big time.

Looking forward to your apartment walk-through though. That little tour's bound to be a laugh and a half.

I love the internet!

It's amazing what a simple question about a chair can turn into!

tiffany--
The severe right wing agenda is about more than just banning gay marriage. It's about denying property rights, inheritance issues, insurance coverage, health funding... the list goes on.

You MIGHT want to look into their voting record on women's issues in general, too, to see if your opinions change at all since *that* will (I'm assuming) affect you at some point in your life.

And, no, no one is tearing into you because of your agenda. We're doing it because of your insulting tone, foul language, your quick-to-insult posts, your willingness to lie about the origin of something so *you* feel better about the purchase, and really, really callous treatment of a subject that may not have any bearing on *YOUR* life as it stands, but several people obviosuly had passionate opinions about, and you responde to them like absolute dirt.

And all that happened before you said anything about your own political affiliation.

In regards to my initial posting about the disclosure of the origin of the chair, it was actually in reference to the fact that everyone and their mom shops at Urban Outfitters, and seems a bit poserish. I had yet to read anything concerning the CEO business.

I didn't appreciate the political agenda in this particular context; obviously I don't want people to vote that my chair is ugly due to semi-irrelevant factors.

If you want to tear on my apartment because you don't like me as a person, that’s fine, though I don't think it is necessary/productive. Apparently it's going to be a “laugh” because political views translate into design comprehension.

Patrick, I doubt you’ll believe me but I’ve attended several pro-gay rights rallies here in Seattle, in addition to doing some black and white photography pieces of the meetings. It wasn't until this past year that my political views began to shift. Don't confuse the fact that just because I don't support gay marriage, I don’t condone gay people.

i think it was your tired, nasty verbiage spewed from your rancid, socially privileged position, Tiffany; or shall we call you Leni?

thank you Mr. KIA...we should at least not support the worst...i don't ever shop at UO + the like.

I second THAT emotion, sister soul!

I think the quality of anything at Urban is really lacking. HOWEVER, when they have a sale, its usually a ridiculously high markdown, and I've bought some amazing stuff for less than $50.
Therefore: Urban :Bad quality / Urban : GOOD sales.

tiffany, it is a huge relief to gay people everywhere, I am sure, that you condone them.

I have to say that I'm on the fence about UO now, which sucks because it was a great place to buy hip business casual pants :( :( Anyone have some good alternatives?

And Tiff, I think P2 summed up everyone's reaction perfectly... I feel like I need to chime in since I'm a fellow Seattlite, noone is going to vote you down if the chair looks good in your place. In fact, I'm excited to see another Seattle posting, mine will hopefully be at least partially ready for the site soon.

If I see you at the Pride parade on the 24th, should we high five? :D

I've always been curious about the quality of UO furniture. It looks a bit nicer than ikea in the photos, but I've never actually seen any in person. I agree that you could probably find a chair with a similar shape for very little used and have it reupholstered for not much more than the price of this chair after shipping. I see great fabric all the time on ebay. And then it would be one of a kind-ish.

And not to get off topic, but...
"The severe right wing agenda is about more than just banning gay marriage. It's about denying property rights, inheritance issues, insurance coverage, health funding... the list goes on."

This is so true. Sadly, many people fail to realize that this agenda may affect them as well. When my former state voted against gay marriage, they also voted to restrict several other rights previously given to non-married couples (of all sexes).

Urban outfitters is for spoiled rich kids who think actual thrifting is gross.

I'd rather save myself $300 and check out actual thrift stores.

Is this a site only for homosexuals???
Hey Mr. Know-it-all...... You really think that heterosexusals are "backassward"??? Isn't that a bit ironic?

But hey Jaimie... I will definately agree with you about your comment! I would much rather go to thrift stores!

I do have an Urban Outfitters Sofa (I didn't know anything about the politics when I bought it) and it is terrible. The fabric and outward construction looked fine for the price, but within a few weeks the slats which held up the seat began to break. When I cut open the fabric to see if there was anything I could do to fix, I found that they were wood slats held in place by very cheap plastic supports which were breaking (almost every time we sat on it) So even if you visually check out the construction and it seems fine they hide the really cheap stuff. Particularily frustrating since there are several solutions that would have worked for this manufactured piece!!!!!!!!! Less than a year later we are throwing it out and going to get a piece from a thrift store.

Since so many gay people are also extraordinary consumers of decorating products (after all, Goerge Bush told us all to fight terrorism by shopping) you bet people should be interested in the politics and practices of some of these corporate giants. The CEO of UO is happy to take our money, and yet supports the likes of Rick Santorum. And Miss Tiffany was apparently asleep on November 2nd when Santorum had his ass handed to him along with the other Haters running for re-election.

These Righties don't like us to even pass along information in order to make an informed shopping decision. Oh yeah, I keep forgetting: Truth has a liberal bias.