So I've recently moved in with my special lady friend, and we desperately need a new couch to tie the room together. There's been a few threads about chairs on here, but I would like to hear suggestions for any nice, minimal, couches/sofa-beds that look good and are comfortable. Though it is something I'm willing to invest a little bit of Christmas money into, we're still trying to remain recession/unemployed minded in our purchase so anything on the cheaper side is preferred (no leather Goetz sofas here).
dammit, flm, you and i were riding the same thought-wave.
seriously, though...
we got some nice stuff from eurway - not super-cheap, but cheap as design-y furniture goes, anyway. we were worried how the couch sections we got would hold up but three years and two toddlers later they still look great.
we got the rug. as long as Wu doesn't come back and pee on it.
I have seen the Ikea stuff, and it might be something we fall back on, but I was hoping to expand the search to something besides them and design-not-within-my-reach.
Thanks for the Eurway suggestion Steven, they have some nice stuff and a lot of seems to be on sale at the moment.
i may be patronized for falling back on a "traditional" store, but i bought this couch and love it. by far one of the most comfortable i have ever sat in (why i bought it) and it still works with my more contemporary furniture:
someone on here (user name had to do with "lima" or "peru" or both I think) emailed me some directions on a nice DIY couch project if you want to go that line. I'm hesitant to pass that along since its not mine, but you might want to try to contact them if you can find their info on here.
PH - that was definitely a route I was considering, after a brief search I couldn't find that user, if you feel comfortable with it feel free to email me the contact. thanks for all the suggestions so far guys.
That Kramfors couch is so insanely deep that when I sat on it in the store, my legs stuck straight out in front of me. The bend in my knee was easily 4" away from the edge of the sofa cushion. I had wanted that couch until that experience... I am of average height, by the way.
After that, I was really wary of all the depth dimensions of the modern, sleek couches I love -- and whaddya know, they all make use of a super deep seat to create that sleek look! Just a word to the wise.
I can end on good news, though... I recently (finally) got to sit on the new BluDot Paramount sofa (debuted at ICFF this past year) and it is SUPER comfortable. WAY more comfortable than the IKEA couch I decided to go for, although of comparable price (ask for architect discount and be sure to pimp their products, they're a great company (founded by an architect)). The IKEA stuff tends to be thin and stiff -- it'll get you during the course of a movie, say. This Paramount sofa was much more comfortable.
I also like GUS, from canada.
SW -- I've been debating buying a few things from Eurway and wasn't sure if they were reputable or not! Thanks for the heads up.
i'm not sure what you'd expect, manta. it IS still cheap-ish stuff, but our standards weren't terribly high. we wanted something that looked simple and modern, gave us lots of space to sit (all of us0 together, and would last us until the girls were old enough that we could safely get the good stuff. (8yrs or so.)
I have the Karlstad in leather. It has very thin seat cushions. It's okay. (My S.O. claims it gives him back problems.) Had I been able to sit in the Paramount Blu Dot before purchasing, I would have bought that instead.
we spent our stimulus check on a leather kramfors with the chaise (had to have leather because of our cats). it is too deep, but we spend 90% of our time sitting on the chaise, so it doesn't matter too much.
i coveted the neo chaise for a year or two before i bit the bullet and bought the ikea couch i could afford.
How about vintage modern? Nothing like recycling a well loved mid century sofa. It may be a bit more than what you were planning on paying, but we got a sweet, re upholstered Eames Compact Sofa off Craigslist. If I was on a desert island and I could only take one piece of furniture, this would be it...ok, not a great example. It weighs a ton, folds down for easy transport, and has the kind of design cred that IKEA can never afford. It is incredibly comfortable (get one with soft, not crunchy rubber!)...the price tag was about 1/3 of new DWR.
Actually, all my furniture is great quality pre-loved modern stuff. You just have to be patient for a good deal. If you're in Socal, there is plenty of mid-century pieces that come up for sale all the time.
Thanks for the suggestions everyone. I think based on price and convenience, we're going to go with an IKEA for now. Once we're a bit more settled down the road (I don't think we'll be in this current apartment more then a year or two), we'll rethink investing in something nicer.
In the meantime, I'll take corb4eva's and keep my eyes open for something used that I could get fixed up. Plus a little patina always adds character.
I love vintage stuff but beware that re-upholstery can cost as much or more than a new sofa anyway. It's a great option for many reasons but, unless you are able to upholster yourself (my mother did all of our family's furniture), cost effectiveness usually ain't one of them. Just a word to the wise, so you don't learn the hard way.
mantaray is right as usual - reupholstery on my sweet $300 thrift store couch added an unexpected $1,500 to the bargain. That did include all new cushions as the original foam was pretty skanky.
I will also add, especially if you live in a small place, the Ikea Klippan loveseat is a good option. We had it reupholstered via barter by Brian's old bagpipe teacher; bought it 7 years ago (I think it was $199 then) and it still looks good AND is actually very comfortable.
I have to second the Klippan -- I had one for years, in a house with 4 crazy roommates, and it held up like a champ and was actually one of the most comfortable couches I've ever lived on. I kind of miss it, actually. I also managed to sell it for 2/3 what I bought it for, it held up that well over time.
Bumping this after going through that new chair thread, and also after coming across what could potentially be my dream couch (yes I've held out this long waiting for something I like).
Before I invest, I was hoping there might be some experts on mid-century Scandinavian furniture design out there, because after doing some exhaustive googling, I haven't been able to find the designer of this one (or any similar). The seller only knows that it's from the 60's and most likely Danish, so not too much help there. Not that it particularly matters, but I think knowing some history of the piece might help me justify the price.
can usually get info from the manufacturer's label if it's still there, typically a small medallion adhesively applied or screwed onto the frame, or inconspicuously 'burned' into the wood frame.
It was teak, and apparently no label. There's some odd detailing in the back of the frame, leading me to believe it was either reconstructed at some point or a period knockoff of some of the Peter Hvidt designs of the time. Either way, it's not mine now, as my ebay-naivety didn't prepare me for the price to go up $400 in the last two minutes of the auction. So for now I shall continue to stand, but I'm holding out hope for the Brimfield flea next month; there's always good stuff there.
After not having a place to sit for the past 10 months, my patience has finally paid off, and this weekend I picked up a sofa I won on ebay a couple of weeks ago. Mid 1950's Peter Hvidt sofa designed for France and Sons. The teak is in pretty good shape, and I will probably get it reupholstered in the near future (once I can afford it) and have the missing side arm cushions made. Luckily, the lady I bought it from had no idea what it was, and I was able to score it for less then an Ikea love seat, so it was worth the wait. Thanks again everyone for all the suggestions, tips, etc.
Really nice, phuyake! Looks in great shape, and I love the arm attachment detail - reminds me of hospital dollies, for some reason, and that minimal industrial look of medical equipment. Super cool, congrats!
Thanks ckl and lb, I'm pretty happy with the purchase.
Holz, the color is definitely growing on me. It's a bit darker in person then it looks in the picture, and it's wool so it has a nice texture. Originally I was going to try and match this fabric (this one has the side cushions):
But now I'm leaning more towards trying to keep it how it is. I have a feeling it's going to be a little while from now either way. Only one investing-in-something-beyond-my-means at a time.
phuyake.. that's what happened after i read the entire thread from the beginning...apologies for the digression.
the couch is rather nice as well...my mom is norwegian so it reminds me of many of the couches that i grew up with..albeit more modern.
how do the cushions stay in place when you're say sleepin? kind of look like they'd move around...no?
haha lars, i was quoting lebowski back to you, wasn't that his response in the bowling alley during the rug conversation?
The cushions actually stay fairly put. The frame at the base is angled in a little (as you can sort of see in my second pic) so the mattress portion sinks into that; and the backrest cushion has a slightly curved base so it fits nicely to the other cushion. Both have springs in the foam so they're fairly rigid and much more comfortable then I was anticipating.
Couches / Sofas
Hey everyone.
So I've recently moved in with my special lady friend, and we desperately need a new couch to tie the room together. There's been a few threads about chairs on here, but I would like to hear suggestions for any nice, minimal, couches/sofa-beds that look good and are comfortable. Though it is something I'm willing to invest a little bit of Christmas money into, we're still trying to remain recession/unemployed minded in our purchase so anything on the cheaper side is preferred (no leather Goetz sofas here).
Thanks in advance.
IKEA Kramfors:
Cheap, minimalist and semi-decent quality.
Why not get a rug? They're much more suited to tying a room together.
and the big lebowski quotes start right about now...
dammit, flm, you and i were riding the same thought-wave.
seriously, though...
we got some nice stuff from eurway - not super-cheap, but cheap as design-y furniture goes, anyway. we were worried how the couch sections we got would hold up but three years and two toddlers later they still look great.
http://www.eurway.com/
also, every now and then they run a no-shipping-cost promotion.
we got the rug. as long as Wu doesn't come back and pee on it.
I have seen the Ikea stuff, and it might be something we fall back on, but I was hoping to expand the search to something besides them and design-not-within-my-reach.
Thanks for the Eurway suggestion Steven, they have some nice stuff and a lot of seems to be on sale at the moment.
i may be patronized for falling back on a "traditional" store, but i bought this couch and love it. by far one of the most comfortable i have ever sat in (why i bought it) and it still works with my more contemporary furniture:
maxwell
someone on here (user name had to do with "lima" or "peru" or both I think) emailed me some directions on a nice DIY couch project if you want to go that line. I'm hesitant to pass that along since its not mine, but you might want to try to contact them if you can find their info on here.
Part of GM's restructuring plan?
oh nice FLM, that should go perfect with our bed:
PH - that was definitely a route I was considering, after a brief search I couldn't find that user, if you feel comfortable with it feel free to email me the contact. thanks for all the suggestions so far guys.
Love that couch, LiG, but would like to point out that while the artist creator calls it a "vagina" couch, it's actually a "vulva" couch.
Vocabulary matters, even for art students.
Hope there's a neck massager built into that pillow.
i want this.
all of it.
holz, doesn't that remind you of a larvae?
The couch, I mean.
yeah, that's an ad in dwell isn't it? Love it....
I could live without that sofa, but I wouldn't mind the view and the woman with the shapely legs.
That old-school Ma Bell beige phone seems out of place.
I didn't notice, gin, but ya know you're right? By golly on second look there is a view out there past the... well...
there's a view?!?
actually, i noticed the view first.. honest
That Kramfors couch is so insanely deep that when I sat on it in the store, my legs stuck straight out in front of me. The bend in my knee was easily 4" away from the edge of the sofa cushion. I had wanted that couch until that experience... I am of average height, by the way.
After that, I was really wary of all the depth dimensions of the modern, sleek couches I love -- and whaddya know, they all make use of a super deep seat to create that sleek look! Just a word to the wise.
I can end on good news, though... I recently (finally) got to sit on the new BluDot Paramount sofa (debuted at ICFF this past year) and it is SUPER comfortable. WAY more comfortable than the IKEA couch I decided to go for, although of comparable price (ask for architect discount and be sure to pimp their products, they're a great company (founded by an architect)). The IKEA stuff tends to be thin and stiff -- it'll get you during the course of a movie, say. This Paramount sofa was much more comfortable.
I also like GUS, from canada.
SW -- I've been debating buying a few things from Eurway and wasn't sure if they were reputable or not! Thanks for the heads up.
i have this and absolutely love it.
blu dot was founded by john christakos, charlie lazor and maurice blanks
lazor, of the flatpak fame...
we had a crappy ikea couch for years that was amazing. guests certainly loved it and it was roomier than most.
i'm not sure what you'd expect, manta. it IS still cheap-ish stuff, but our standards weren't terribly high. we wanted something that looked simple and modern, gave us lots of space to sit (all of us0 together, and would last us until the girls were old enough that we could safely get the good stuff. (8yrs or so.)
I've got this setup (Noguchi too), but with a dark gray ultra suede. Love it. Not cheap, but certainly worth every penny.
I've got this setup (Noguchi too), but with a dark gray ultra suede. Love it. Not cheap, but certainly worth every penny.
Assuming I eventually get an apartment big enough, I was thinking about getting this from IKEA:
Karlstad
It's relatively affordable, available in multiple colors and configurations, and is more plush and comfortable than most other IKEA sofas.
I have the Karlstad in leather. It has very thin seat cushions. It's okay. (My S.O. claims it gives him back problems.) Had I been able to sit in the Paramount Blu Dot before purchasing, I would have bought that instead.
we spent our stimulus check on a leather kramfors with the chaise (had to have leather because of our cats). it is too deep, but we spend 90% of our time sitting on the chaise, so it doesn't matter too much.
i coveted the neo chaise for a year or two before i bit the bullet and bought the ikea couch i could afford.
How about vintage modern? Nothing like recycling a well loved mid century sofa. It may be a bit more than what you were planning on paying, but we got a sweet, re upholstered Eames Compact Sofa off Craigslist. If I was on a desert island and I could only take one piece of furniture, this would be it...ok, not a great example. It weighs a ton, folds down for easy transport, and has the kind of design cred that IKEA can never afford. It is incredibly comfortable (get one with soft, not crunchy rubber!)...the price tag was about 1/3 of new DWR.
Actually, all my furniture is great quality pre-loved modern stuff. You just have to be patient for a good deal. If you're in Socal, there is plenty of mid-century pieces that come up for sale all the time.
Thanks for the suggestions everyone. I think based on price and convenience, we're going to go with an IKEA for now. Once we're a bit more settled down the road (I don't think we'll be in this current apartment more then a year or two), we'll rethink investing in something nicer.
In the meantime, I'll take corb4eva's and keep my eyes open for something used that I could get fixed up. Plus a little patina always adds character.
I love vintage stuff but beware that re-upholstery can cost as much or more than a new sofa anyway. It's a great option for many reasons but, unless you are able to upholster yourself (my mother did all of our family's furniture), cost effectiveness usually ain't one of them. Just a word to the wise, so you don't learn the hard way.
mantaray is right as usual - reupholstery on my sweet $300 thrift store couch added an unexpected $1,500 to the bargain. That did include all new cushions as the original foam was pretty skanky.
I will also add, especially if you live in a small place, the Ikea Klippan loveseat is a good option. We had it reupholstered via barter by Brian's old bagpipe teacher; bought it 7 years ago (I think it was $199 then) and it still looks good AND is actually very comfortable.
That sofa (and room!) look awesome, LB!
I have to second the Klippan -- I had one for years, in a house with 4 crazy roommates, and it held up like a champ and was actually one of the most comfortable couches I've ever lived on. I kind of miss it, actually. I also managed to sell it for 2/3 what I bought it for, it held up that well over time.
Live in NYC? Big nice couches are cheap at thrift shops--200, 250 for nice pieces.
Bumping this after going through that new chair thread, and also after coming across what could potentially be my dream couch (yes I've held out this long waiting for something I like).
Before I invest, I was hoping there might be some experts on mid-century Scandinavian furniture design out there, because after doing some exhaustive googling, I haven't been able to find the designer of this one (or any similar). The seller only knows that it's from the 60's and most likely Danish, so not too much help there. Not that it particularly matters, but I think knowing some history of the piece might help me justify the price.
any thoughts?
LB - I heart your couch. Like really, really heart it. Like I'll steal it if I ever make it Indy.
phuyake - Great form, beautiful couch.
nice lines, is that teak?
can usually get info from the manufacturer's label if it's still there, typically a small medallion adhesively applied or screwed onto the frame, or inconspicuously 'burned' into the wood frame.
any moderne furniture shop can advise from there.
It was teak, and apparently no label. There's some odd detailing in the back of the frame, leading me to believe it was either reconstructed at some point or a period knockoff of some of the Peter Hvidt designs of the time. Either way, it's not mine now, as my ebay-naivety didn't prepare me for the price to go up $400 in the last two minutes of the auction. So for now I shall continue to stand, but I'm holding out hope for the Brimfield flea next month; there's always good stuff there.
bumping.
After not having a place to sit for the past 10 months, my patience has finally paid off, and this weekend I picked up a sofa I won on ebay a couple of weeks ago. Mid 1950's Peter Hvidt sofa designed for France and Sons. The teak is in pretty good shape, and I will probably get it reupholstered in the near future (once I can afford it) and have the missing side arm cushions made. Luckily, the lady I bought it from had no idea what it was, and I was able to score it for less then an Ikea love seat, so it was worth the wait. Thanks again everyone for all the suggestions, tips, etc.
and the guts:
i am green with envy. very nice
[img=http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/jj175/godamreborn/b2026b20italia20modern20sofa20and20.jpg]
so much cooler.
someone fix my image, im inept.
there
Really nice, phuyake! Looks in great shape, and I love the arm attachment detail - reminds me of hospital dollies, for some reason, and that minimal industrial look of medical equipment. Super cool, congrats!
damn phu. that is sweet, i hope you keep the color
and that rug really does tie the room together.
fuckin' a lars.
Thanks ckl and lb, I'm pretty happy with the purchase.
Holz, the color is definitely growing on me. It's a bit darker in person then it looks in the picture, and it's wool so it has a nice texture. Originally I was going to try and match this fabric (this one has the side cushions):
But now I'm leaning more towards trying to keep it how it is. I have a feeling it's going to be a little while from now either way. Only one investing-in-something-beyond-my-means at a time.
phuyake.. that's what happened after i read the entire thread from the beginning...apologies for the digression.
the couch is rather nice as well...my mom is norwegian so it reminds me of many of the couches that i grew up with..albeit more modern.
how do the cushions stay in place when you're say sleepin? kind of look like they'd move around...no?
haha lars, i was quoting lebowski back to you, wasn't that his response in the bowling alley during the rug conversation?
The cushions actually stay fairly put. The frame at the base is angled in a little (as you can sort of see in my second pic) so the mattress portion sinks into that; and the backrest cushion has a slightly curved base so it fits nicely to the other cushion. Both have springs in the foam so they're fairly rigid and much more comfortable then I was anticipating.
ty ckl
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