Furniture, furnishings, and interior design

[Faust]

POREZELLAN MANUFAKTUR NYMPHENBURG

[Faust]

MAD ET LEN SHOWROOM

[Shucks]

POREZELLAN MANUFAKTUR NYMPHENBURG

hell yeah. i'm ALL about that black bisque. got a pair of black bones at home...

their painted and white table flowers are gorgeous also...




and i'm planning on collecting this, sooner or later - the thinness and texture are amazing:

[Faust]

/\ yes, this is cool. they can go down to 2mm thinness - you can actually see through it if you put it against the sun.

[DudleyGray]

Any recommendations for furniture? Looking for something basic, decent design, not artisanal or anything, mostly just function. Like an AA of furniture.

[PurpleJesuss]

fairly obvious one but stella mccarteney prides herself in being ethical on many fronts. She doesn't even use leather or fur.

http://www.stellamccartney.com/experience/us/stellas-world/sustainability/

I do feel like this part of her business plays a huge part in her marketing strategy however. I can see how a brand like that could lure consumers away from the usual suspects.

[bukka]

^ she also did a huge collab with h&m...

[radio-aktivität]

Any recommendations for furniture? Looking for something basic, decent design, not artisanal or anything, mostly just function. Like an AA of furniture.

More the opposite of AA, but the rest of your description fits here:

http://www.grueneerde.com/de/produkte/naturmoebel/ge-c-2.html?1

There’s no international website for Grüne Erde, but these people offer furniture handmade in austria. The wood comes from sustainable forests in central europe, and they try to avoid metal as much as possible (both because of feng shui aspects as well as true carpenter workmanship)

Here’s an overview on the woodtypes they use: beech, pine and oak

http://www.grueneerde.com/de/info/holz/holz?5

With that high quality comes a lot of eco-blabla, but the furniture itself is quite perfect.

[Faust]

Any recommendations for furniture? Looking for something basic, decent design, not artisanal or anything, mostly just function. Like an AA of furniture.

I don't really think you can do this with furniture on the meaningful scale because of its nature. And you shouldn't - I hope you don't change your furniture every couple of years

I suggest placing an order with a quality local manufacturer. That's what I am doing as I am building my new library through UHURU, in Red Hook, Brooklyn. While expensive, it's still coming out much cheaper than say Ligne Roset, I get exactly what I (plus hipster brownie points for making all the ethical consumer choices - local, fair wages, etc.).

Actually, I talked to a friend of mine who knows how this process works and he estimated that 25% of what I'm paying goes to cover materials, and 75% labor. Kind of crazy, but that's the modern Western world standard, I guess.

[radio-aktivität]

I don't really think you can do this with furniture on the meaningful scale because of its nature. And you shouldn't - I hope you don't change your furniture every couple of years

Absolutely. I’d also encourage everyone to have furniture made by local carpenters, or ironbuilders, or any other artisan.

Though the question of ethical/sustainable furniture can’t (always) be solved by that alone. If that’s what you’re looking for, you really must follow the trail of the wood these people are working with (most often, they’d be happy to tell you)

Just as with organic food, they are a couple of certificates (at least in Europe) that indicate origin as well as the use of environment friendly paints or finishes.

[zen dog]

Hi DudleyGray- I know you live in LA so you could try the Rose Bowl swap meet (2nd Sun. every month) which you just missed. Every third Sun. is Long Beach swap at the Veterans Stadium. Some sellers have somewhat predictable welded steel with reclaimed wood tops pieces. You could take Faust's suggestion and get something custom from them with no sharp edges for your kids. Nowhere near as nice as radio-aktivitat's suggestion but cheaper, local and perhaps the option of customization.

Once there, the ultimate sustainable- vintage. "Modern" is in right now so plenty dealers are carrying it. Prices vary so shop around and stay away from designer pieces and you should be fine cost-wise. If you go I want to be able to spot you from 20 feet away.

[Comotomo]

How about muji furniture?

[DudleyGray]

Thanks for the suggestions, radio and zen. I don't actually live in LA, maybe you have me mistaken for someone else. But vintage and local carpentry sound like some feasible options.

Faust-

I don't plan on changing furniture frequently, although I wonder if there's an SZ equivalent for furniture out there, where members post living room pictures and buy/sell/trade furniture in another section of the forum.

It's just time to start making my living space a place I actually want to be in, rather than a place I ended up and have to be in. So this for me is less about changing the industry or saving the environment than it is having my money end up somewhere decent.

[Faust]

I've tried looking for an SZ equivalent, but it cannot be found. There are some good pinterest boards if you search for "minimalist" etc., but then you are stuck because it does not tell you to where actually buy the stuff. Your best resource is probably the few of our interior design/architecture threads in the culture section.

I'm in the same boat. Got to that age where I actually want to enjoy where I live and have it furnished according to my tastes. I've been slowly redecorating starting last year. This year need to repaint the entire apartment white and get new book cases.

[radio-aktivität]

How about muji furniture?

In the ethical context of our discussion, muji might be the exact opposite
Apart from their collaboration with Thonet, that is. (though I am not sure wether T still manufacture entirely in Europe)

Regarding sustainable furniture, I’d take a look at Nils Holger Moormann, as well. They are based in a small bavarian alpine village and manufacture + source their timber locally. It’s very minimal furniture with some clever twists. www.moormann.de