apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Every time I walk past the window I think
Mediocrity has arrived.
Perfectly located as you come off the Williamsburg bridge and on the way to the Holland Tunnel.
The Suburbs have arrived.

I'm glad someone else said this first! I just cannot believe how utterly godawful the MG&BW furniture is. It's just soooo vanilla, so uninspired and inoffensive. Do we need yet another purveyor of watered-down "contemporary" furniture in the city?

well dang! i thought i was doing something when i went in there! if they aren't hi-fallutant they sure do a fine job at pretending. maybe i'm just a big cornball and didn't know it cause i actually liked their window display at their DC store.

I've visited their store in DC and find it disappointing too. Their furniture looks like the bastard lovechild of the nice modern stuff Storehouse used to carry in that space (sniff) and some kind of overstuffed La-Z-Boy type monstrosity.

Hello, Crate & Barrel.

Hmmm. Storehouse used to sell MGBW pieces. So does most every big furniture store these days (C&B, PB, RH, ABC etc etc). The suburbs arrived a long time ago when these big boys arrived on the scene.

A lot of their stuff is pretty bland, but there are a few pieces that are not vanilla... like the Marrakech bed, for example. Not my taste, but definitely not bland.

I think of it as more "neutral" than bland. Something that is comfortable not competing with other more dramatic pieces. And since it has been carried for a long time in other stores it's not going to seem very fresh or stunning when they open their own store.

God, y'all are bitchy today.

I think they are a welcome arrival and deserve their own storefront, and deserve every bit of their success.

And Jenny, the stuff Storehouse used to carry *was* MG BW.

If you are all too snobby for this brand (or the others you take a swipe at for being too "burbian", where in god's name do you shop?

I'm excited that the store has arrived. They offer a nice alternative to the Pottery Barn and Crate and Barrel offerings but still not over the top prices. And besides, even if you don't see it on display, you can have almost any piece of their furniture in any fabric made so your custom order may not look run of the mill or "suburban" at all. Its very hard to find decent couches and MGBW offer so many varieties and options that they have something for everyone here.

Patrick -

Thanks for speaking up. I thought it was odd how all the comments were negative as a lot of the furniture that C&B and other retailers carry are MGBW in exclusive finishes and upholstery options. (More on this in coming weeks!)

I just visited the store last week (and own 3 pieces of MG furniture, 1 of which is from C&B), and I agree that it's not particularly interesting stuff.

I will say, however, that it's good quality and nicely proportioned for apartments rather than McMansions. It hits a nice price point for a lot of folks who don't want to shop at Ethan Allan but can't afford custom. (Like me)

they build it here, some of fabrics are great, and they have clean lines. c'mon, snooty people. I'd purchase from MG before C&B, PB or IKEA any day of the week. A lot of the stuff there beats Room & Board, in my opinion, which never fails to disappoint whenever I see anything in their store that is not a licensed repro. (another topic for another day-- but wow is Room & Board a letdown.)

The real crime is the building MG is in-- what a monstrous addition to Lafayette Street. Now if that's your beef, I hear you. But to dump on decently-made city-sized furniture because it's not cutting edge? Silly.

And I throw the question out again... if MG BW is beneath you, where do you buy your upholstery?

Cuz y'all bitch about Ikea prices, West Elm quality, Pottery Barn and Crate & Barrel for being too generic, B&B Italia for being too expensive, and Ligne-Roset for being too sterile (and the list goes on).

So, um, what ARE you sitting on at home?

Btw, nobody complained about MG BW stuff in ABC Carpet & Home. But now that they get their own store, it's an issue?

I think if you walk in to a MG BW store and are "underwhelmed", you have no imagination.

I just don't get it.

I'll be sitting on Hans Wegner purchased from Ebay

Hmm, I feel like an asshat for not knowing that Storehouse was manufactured by BWMG, but I maintain that the BWMG store contains uglier furniture than Storehouse did. Their pieces are genearlly too big to fit in a small space, and the upholstered furniture especially was overstuffed in that way that makes you slump and does not allow short peoples' legs to touch the floor when they sit.

I'm not too snobby to shop there--I was in there trying to shop, after all! I was just disappointed that I didn't like their stuff, since their DC location is convenient for me.

LOL...OH MY GOD THE BURBS HAVE ARRIVED IN THE CITY!!!!
Some of you folks crack me up...its furniture, you either like it or not. Lets be real here. Some of you actually seem offended, I lived in NY for many years...there are certianly more things to be concerned about...get over yourselves. Good luck MG BW...you deserve to be in NY!

Have any of you actually been in the store? I was greeted right away, and while, I didn't buy anything (only because I'm already fully furnished with their great products), the staff was very helpful...i know where i'm going back when i need more furniture.