apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Can we buy the Gubi chairs anywhere? They are very nice!

Oooh, I really like that Gubi chair. After searching for a dining table, we've finally decided to go with a Saarinen table with the arabescato marble top. The real challenge is going to come with the chair selection - there are so many different types of chairs that can go with that table.
I'm leaning towards a simple, warm wood chair as my 'dining room' is also in my 'living room' and I have some walnut and some mahogany pieces. My top choice would be the Cherner side chair in walnut, but 4 will cost over $2000. That's not an impossible budget for me, but if I could find something else I liked as much that cost a lot less I'd be thrilled. I'd prefer bent ply (with walnut or ebony veneer) but am flexible on the legs - wood or metal, which makes the Gubi chair a possibility, only I didn't see pricing on their site.
Any other chair suggestions?

Mags--
Would hate to talk to you out of the GORGEOUS Cherners, but I think CB2 has some steals on some nice options.

One favorite:
The Online Chair
http://www.cb2.com/family.aspx?c=115&f=1051

ALos like their Envleope and Window Seat chairs.

And check out the other ICFF posts if you've not already.

If in NYC, get to The Terence Conran Shop for some more options.

White leather ... white denim ... when will this end? Does nobody drink red wine?

Thanks p(too)! I do like that Online Chair at CB2 and hadn't even thought to look there. It's almost like a zebra wood and reminds me of a chair by Enrico Franzolini.
I hate to talk myself out of the Cherner chairs too, but I always have this dilemna when purchasing furniture. Do I buy something I adore or do I buy something that I like enough that works well and use the money saved for another purchase or even a vacation?
In some ways, I think of my home, even though it's very small and it's a rental, as vacation. It's tough out there in the world, and having a home full of pieces I enjoy really adds to my enjoyment of life. I don't mean it in a materialistic way. I would much rather cook a lovely dinner for my hubby and I at home and eat together at a nicely set table than go out to eat. And eating out only once a week makes things like splurging on furniture a possibility. I'm not exactly well-off, I just choose my luxuries - not drinking Starbucks for 10 months equals a solid mahogany cocktail table. You get the point.
Thanks for the other chair suggestions too, I'm definitely going to do some more looking around!

You don't have to talk me into the joys of a furniture splurge!!!

Oh, I know that - that was all about talking myself into it :) And I think I did a damn good job. And I think I'm going to be ordering four Cherner side chairs in walnut once that table gets here.

White leather...trends. If there weren't trends, who would buy new stuff regularly?

I love the Egalite bench, but white leather makes me think of the oxford shoes I had to wear for grade school. The antithesis of sexy, for me.

I wonder about the durability of all this bamboo furniture and stuff on the market. It's too new for me to trust it. So much of it is made in China, which produces things of -- to be kind -- variable quality. I don't know how the laminates and glues will hold up (bamboo is a grass and is always pieced/laminated to make solid "wood" boards).

Pat, I've wondered this too, about the bamboo. I don't worry about the bent plywood stuff because I've seen very old pieces and it does stand up. With bamboo though, I haven't seen old pieces so how can we know how well it will do? I have seen some bamboo flooring that looks nice, but again, how long will it hold up compared to hardwoods?

Your white leather and it's bad association made me laugh. My parents had this gross old Lincoln Continental when I was very young. It was a brown metallic color with white vinyl interior. I know that's vinyl and not leather but when I see white leather I always think of that ugly car.

I love the white leather. When it's used well, like it is on the bench, it ads a lightness to the furniture.

White leather (patent or otherwise) is totally hot. And I've been saying it for about a year!!

The South, my mother had a white Cadillac with white leather seats that she did not get cleaned often enough. I know what you mean. All those tannish rub marks that show the creases. Like dirty shirt collars. Yuck.

P2, I'm guessing you are younger than about 35 and don't rememebr the 1960's and early '70's. There was some bad design back then, involving white leather. But I guess this MCM trend has made that all in style again. I lived through it the first time, thank you very much.

Other white leather images: those puffy, "Italian" leather couches made of split hide and glossed to a high sheen...the ones where the cushions are gathered at the seams.

Go-go boots. I had a pair when I was a lass. few people actually looked good in these.

Austin Powers.

And I had white patent leather shoes I had to wear to church every Sunday. So much for sexy.

I have a vague memory of seeing a white patent leather dressing room somewhere....that's sexy.

I'm 41 but manage to keep my youthful outlook and optimisim.

You should try it.

Part of what makes people rich on trend is that they manage to resurrect the concept/aesthetic of a past idea while successfully managing to jettison the baggage associated.

You sould try it.

I'm with P2 on the love for white leather. I honestly think it's a classic, like black leather. I might be totally misguided, but there you go.

in theory, white leather = totally Hott.

in my actual life, it would depend on the specific piece and what i was doing with it. i would buy white leather from IKEA because it would most likely be affordable and by the time white leather is dated and passe it will be time to replace it anyway. i'm not sure i'd go for a super high end or long term classic piece like the above bench. maybe when i become a big hollywood art director and start raking in the millions, though.

also i forgot to mention that i have been in lurve with the Gubi chair since MoMA started stocking them and using them in their resturant, The Modern. They also have them in their employee cafeteria and I have to say they made lunch pretty fantastic when I worked there. le sigh...

What is it about white leather that is so hot lately you ask? Here's my take. We're living in an age where "black, black, everything must be black";) Look at stereo equipment, cameras (compared to say thirty years ago), athletic shoes, socks, televisions. Everything is black my friend, for better or worse.

If anyone wants to see a few of the Gubi chairs and stools in person I believe they have them in the Wawa Canteen on Mercer b/w 8th Street and Waverly. (NYU area)I almost bought those for my apartment and had flipped the chair over in the restaurant to see who it was made by.

Wawa Canteen also has delicious soup!

There is a listing on Craigslist.org for 5 Gubi chairs for sale. Relatively new. Take a look.