Can you recommend a good online retailer for contemporary or mid-century modern furniture?

November 24, 2005 10:37 AM

Can you recommend a good online retailer for contemporary or mid-century modern furniture?

I want to buy a bed, couch, and dining table. I like Room and Board but am looking for more options. (Bonus question: if you've ordered anything from Room and Board, are you happy with it?)

posted by medpt to Home & Garden (12 answers total)

I've heard good things about Design Within Reach, which is named to kind of say "we have nice looking stuff that's affordable" - but I must say, it isn't exactly cheap.

I imagine you're not a fan of the obvious Ikea or you'd have mentioned it, but I believe they sell online too. I actually like a good amount of the Ikea stuff.
posted by twiggy at 11:11 AM on November 24, 2005

Design Within Reach may be a good source, if you're looking for mid-century classics and/or contemporary modern design, and have a fair amount of money to spend.

Chicago's European Furniture Importers has originals and repros, with a middle-of-the-road price.

Eurway out of Texas has repros of mid-century and modern, at low, low prices!

Friends have purchased at Room and Board. The stuff is pretty gorgeous and all seems to be well made.
posted by CMichaelCook at 11:13 AM on November 24, 2005

We got this chair and ottoman last year in red. They're both beautiful and well-made - my only complaint was that it did take about three months to get the fabric we wanted. Considering we're in the process of gradually phasing out our Ikea pieces that haven't fallen to pieces yet, the chair is a bit out of place, but we're happy with it.
posted by bibliowench at 11:21 AM on November 24, 2005

I asked a similar question a long time ago. Looking through Apartment Therapy and local stores are your best bet. Online modern furniture sucks, except DWR (expensive) and WestElm (cheap).
posted by geoff. at 12:11 PM on November 24, 2005

Hive. (We just bought the case study fast-back bed in walnut.) Unica.
posted by Dick Paris at 12:44 PM on November 24, 2005

You could buy used from this awesome eBayer. He always has terrific stuff which flips every week.
posted by Manhasset at 2:14 PM on November 24, 2005

Oh, and I know of someone selling this couch (used) for about us$1250. Dunno if they'll ship or not. Email me if you want the info.
posted by Manhasset at 2:33 PM on November 24, 2005

Love, love my Room and Board furniture. I have two cherry bookcases, a fabric covered bench and two iron beds (full and king) from there. I've owned them since 1999. They are excellent.
posted by jeanmari at 4:10 PM on November 24, 2005

I like the look of the stuff at www.manhattanloft.com, though I can't vouch for quality.
posted by jewzilla at 6:16 PM on November 24, 2005

I'm a big fan of the bedroom and dining room furniture I've bought from Storehouse.
posted by ThatSomething at 8:14 PM on November 24, 2005

I just bought a bed from Room and Board (as well as a dresser and two nighttables), and it all looks beautiful. Their only drawback is that if you are getting it delivered outside their usual range, they don't let you choose your delivery date -- you take what you can get. However, the delivery guys were great.
posted by nev at 8:18 AM on November 25, 2005

We have a bunch of stuff from Room and Board, and we're happy with it. They have trouble accurately predicting how many weeks/months you're going to wait for delivery. I'm guessing that's because they're growing pretty fast.

There have been problems with a couple of pieces. E.g., an upholstered chair arrived with staples exposed; a wooden leg on another chair had a huge gash. The bad-staples chair was replaced, and they arranged for a furniture expert to come over and swap out the leg.

The furniture is good quality and the prices are reasonable. I recommend looking at their print catalog as well as the web site. Visit one of their stores if you have one within a couple hours' drive. Some items don't look as good in person.
posted by wryly at 9:40 AM on November 25, 2005