I was hoping Furnish Green would stay a secret a little bit longer! Found some great pieces there.

Too bad White Furniture features heartless knockoffs of still-in-production furniture (by the original designers).

We're not talking about hurting estates or trusts, but hard-working designers helping make the world a more beautiful and functional place.

Pass... solely on lack of ethics.

Reposting what I said about Housing Works earlier -- not only can you find hidden gems, but it's a volunteer-run non-profit, where every dime you spend goes directly to funding advocacy against homelessness and toward HIV/AIDS prevention. They have an annual "design on a dime" fundraiser with celebrity designers involved.

I am so ridiculously sick and tired of this whole elitist attitude that knock-offs are so horrible because you're robbing the designer. I'm sorry I don't have $5,000 handy to buy an Eames Lounge, but I super-duper want one. I super-duper want $5,000 too, for that matter. Don't get me wrong, I would prefer the real thing, but I've got my eye on a knock-off instead.

What, just because I don't have gobs of money I should constantly have to settle for pieces that aren't aesthetically pleasing or constantly have to search garagesalescraigslistgoodwillsalvationarmy, etc? Oh wait, that's right, I already DO scavenge all of those sources for everything I can get my hands on.

Do you buy generic food at the grocery store? Or do you feel that you're ripping off Kraft and Betty Crocker? Do you buy all your clothes at couture designer's boutiques or do you pick up some items at Target?

There are knock-offs and reproductions everywhere. Get over yourself.

Excuse me. Rant over.

In response to the comment above. I agree with you about not wanting to spend $5000 on an authentic reproduction (I've been there) I've decided if its something I REALLY need to have then I'll just squirrel away the funds until I can afford it. It's not about being elitist, but about curating your space. I've returned many a knock off simply because in the long run they just don't compare and its X amount of $$ can put towards a solid piece.

Which store is the one with all of the chairs... i.e. the middle picture, top row? I tried all of the links and none took me to that photo.

soccit200: that's the DWR outlet in NJ - just 20 min from midtown!

Apartmenttherapy, I hope you'll be doing this with all your cities. Starting with DC (especially since we consistently have the worst scavenger finds!)

For Brooklyn, I'd have to add the Meeker Ave. Flea Market, too. I'm constantly surprised at what good deals I see there.

acofdesign, I think you're missing my point. Saving up is great, but discrediting every knock-off and reproduction is unreasonable. Every designer is influenced by everything he or she sees. I'm talking every designer in every media on the planet. Period. Food, ads, clothing, music, architecture, electronics, art and, of course, furniture. Every product's idea came from somewhere. The issue of "stealing ideas" is not confined to the home decorating world. It's a very narrow world view to demonize reproductions based on ethics alone. If you want to demonize reproductions based on quality, well, that's a whole other issue.

Hey Gang:
As a NYC transient resident from 1981-1989 I remember Conrans in the bottom of the "Whistle Bldg" (Citibank?), I enjoyed browsing regularly and bought a few things there. I see they seem to have moved south... is this the same Conrans as before and are they any good in this category?

They also have ABC outlet store in Hackensack, NJ. I'd love to visit their Bronx location one day.

You can try to justify this knock off's all you want but the hangover stool and net stool knocked off by whiteonwhite isn't by Ray Eames or Herman Miller. Its by a small furniture designer that builds all the furniture himself by hand and he is trying to build a business and feed his family.

That's not elitist, that's a fact.

allisonnf, I see what you mean.

Back to the topic at hand, I LOVE CB2 and Muji. Everything is perfectly scaled for urban living, and CB2 always has fun and fresh decor ideas. And of course the prices aren't bad either.

Here are my suggestions for the DC version of this list:

1. Ruff & Ready Furnishings. Like combing through 10 grandmother attics at once: separating the wheat from the chafe here can be exhausting, but regular visits can result in some real bargains.
2. Miss Pixies. Best place for flea-market vintage.
3. Millenium. Vintage mid-century furniture without the trendy sticker-shock.
4. Design Within Reach Floor Sample Sale. I've scored some serious bargains at these sample sales, including classics like Cherner chairs and Eames lamps for 1/2 price.

Can someone tell me more about the DWR Annex in NJ? What kind of discounts do they have? I wouldn't be thrilled to go over and face 10-20% off retail.

Please make a list like this for Chicago!

@johnbennet:

I've never gone to the DWR Annex in NJ, but I have friends who've gone and scored really amazing deals - up to 70% off -- however, the items are generally slight damaged. Also, check out this link from manhattan nest -- the writer found a george nelson saucer lamp for around $60!!

Apartment Therapy - this list is AMAZING and exactly what I've been looking for. We all know about ikea and cb2, but it's so great to learn about places like Furnish Green. I work in nonprofit arts and while I wish I could have a set of genuine Wegner Wishbone Chairs, my tiny salary really doesn't allow for that. It's nice to see that non-bankers have options, too!

How I Waste Time

"It's a very narrow world view to demonize reproductions based on ethics alone."

it's also a very sad state when folks believe that ethics alone aren't a good enough reason to think twice about what they're doing and alter behavior accordingly.

Knock offs elevate the status of a brand. To have the real thing shows that you have what everyone else wants.

ok as a furniture maker myself, I have to say I think knock offs of contemporary furniture are in poor taste,I would be pissed if someone was making money off my designs. It is one thing to knock of classic designs of designers/companies that are long gone, but White On White is knocking off BDDW, and other presently existing designers.
If a Band had a hit song, anyone covering it would have to pay for the rights, It shouldn't be any different, White on White has even gone as far as applying for a patent on these designs in china, If you don't think that is disgusting, then you can't really call yourself an appreciator of design. If it is too expensive find something similar that you like. In the world of high end furniture you are paying for design, quality of materials, and quality of skilled furniture makers. If it is not noticeable to you then you should buy the lesser quality lesser priced pieces, but you shouldn't support a company that lets some young hardworking designer/builders do all the hard work while taking their designs and having them mass produced in china and raking in the dough, not to mention calling to question the worth of their products.. when someone sees what they think is the same thing for 10% of the original it depreciates the value of the original.