apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Well, at least the headboards and sofa featured here are Made in the US - So we're moving in the right direction...

seems like such a good deal...but are they comfortable? well-made? i.e. won't break after a year?

The same furniture (it's by skyline) is available at target for less money (and target often has free shipping, and a 15% discount when you spend over $125). I'm not trying to prop target, but the other good thing about target vs. UO is that target has reviews (see the comment on the chocolate velvet chaise.
http://www.target.com/Curves-Tufted-Chaise-Lounge-Chocolate/dp/B0016021SW/sr=1-4/qid=1231182833/ref=sr_1_4/184-3596131-2441420?ie=UTF8&index=target&rh=k%3Achaise%20lounge&page=1

On the whole the reviews make it seem like the pieces can be somewhat hard to assemble, are made of poly velvet not cotton, and are not entirely cushy. But on the other hand they're velvet, and tufted, and great looking. And I love the garnet color they offer (not on the UO site). I'm very tempted, I admit. But given the constant need for the best buy I'd try target first.

I knew I'd written about this before. Months ago. So enough thought already, right? Shouldn't I just take the plunge and buy the garnet chaise lounge already for my mythical new house?

Blah blah blah questions about quality.

considering UO markets their stuff as dorm or first studio apartment furniture, i would not expect a lot of quality.

i think the chaise is lovely, but i'll hold off for a vintage piece that i can recover myself. i like to make things my own (and save some cash at the same time).

but i am very into tufting and hope to see more stuff like this. my house is victorian, so the tufting fits in well!

Tufted, poly-silky faux glamour seems like it belongs in the pre-september 2008 world of faux and inflated financial valuations. It's time to let this idea of costuming your home go.

I am really in the mood for the simple and authentic, maybe even the furturistic and optimistic. But fake glamour nostalgia, not so much.

If you're the DIY type and enjoy a small challenge, check out this diamond tufting tutorial I posted on AT-Chicago and adapt it to your own project.
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/chicago/how-to/how-to-diamond-tufting-101-069275

No, no, no!! My roommate gave up a great cushy old couch for that gosh-darn sofa, and I'll never forgive her. The back is waaay too low to be comfortable, the foam just collapses and slides forward, and the proportions are way off for a human to be comfortable. After six months the shape is totally gone. And for $575, oof, what a waste of money!

Here's my advice - make do with what you have, and if you're furnishing a first pad buy used from Craigslist or a discount furniture shop. Then make it your own by creating cool covers for throw pillows.

Low-quality yet expensive furniture from retail stores like this are everything I stand against haha.

ModHomeEcTeacher's DIY tutorial on tufting rocks, and Seasonably's comment is great. A low back! You're right, looking at the photo again. I'm convinced. So no useless, flimsy eye candy garnet polyester crap for me. Gosh darn it. Maybe some of us cling to our hopes that one piece of UO stuff could actually have lasting value, like the squirrel lamp base. But the furniture? Nuh uh. Gracias.

nice to see the chesterfield style deep buttoning/quilting is still in fashion.