Trendy furniture stores

[M5Vgirl]

I'm looking to purchase some trendy furniture for my loft. I'm going for a very clean simple look and have checked out stores like Casa, EQ3, Urban Barn, etc. What other places are good?

 

[Jayomatic]

Really depends on your budget. There are quite a number of place on King St East close to EQ3 that are pretty good. There is also a great place on Queen St W called Pavillion just west of Bathurst. If your looking for higher end product there is always Kiosk on Jarvis and Adelaide, and a couple high end retailers along King Street East down by Staples.

 

[freshcutgrass]

I'm going for a very clean simple look and have checked out stores like Casa, EQ3, Urban Barn, etc. What other places are good?

Well, my advice might be a little off, as I don't consider those places "good".

In fact, the word trendy for me generally translates into : "same cheap crap everybody else has".

My advice is, that if you can't afford quality new furniture, then invest the time and effort into picking up quality vintage pieces. For the same price or generally less as that chinese-made junk, you can have the "real deal". There's a pride of ownership bonus that goes along with the genuine article, not to mention the fact that down the road, it can be a wise investment, instead of sitting at the curb when it either falls apart or isn't "trendy" any more.

I'd scour the shops on Queen West near Roncy, or head out to Leslieville (Philz, Ethel, Zig Zag, Machine Age Modern, etc).

To give you an example, I have picked up a Warren McArthur chair for less than $100...A Gio Ponti chair for $250...a very rare early production Ant Chair by Arne Jacobsen for $100...and Yrjö Kukkapuro Karuselli chair for $550 (still produced and sells for about $7000 )...among many other very cool vintage items (I have a serious lamp fetish).

You could still pick up vintage Eames or similar stuff that is now "trendy" and over-exposed and knocked-off (you know something is wrong when Loblaws is selling Barcelona chairs)...at least it's the real thing rather than a cheap knock-off.

Just try not to become addicted to auctions and 1stdibs.

 

[urbandreamer]

Made. On Dundas St West of Bathurst. 100% Canadian design.

Otherwise, good Vintage furniture can be found in Montreal, Buffalo and Rochestor, etc.

Or you can always do the garbage night run through Forest Hill and other wealthy nabes--amazing what some people will throw out!

Or be like me--cheap and make your own furniture!

 

[Urban Shocker]

The St. Lawrence antique market on Sunday can be good, but it helps to get there at 5 or 6 am when the pickers and dealers arrive. Most of the real finds have either left the building, or been appropriately priced, by 9 am.

Some years ago I found a couple of Barcelona chairs under the piles of debris in that big junk shop on the south side of Danforth west of Main. The next week they were gone, so someone probably got a bargain.

It's actually rather amusing how good Modernist design - which the general public wouldn't be caught dead with twenty years ago - is so hot again now. That's fashion for you.

 

[M5Vgirl]

I can afford the furniture but I'm not about to spend $1200 on a reading chair! I'm looking for something reasonably priced like stuff you can find in EQ3 and BLVD. Sorry but not into the antiques. My loft is concrete floors and ceilings and stainless stain so that just doesn't look right.

Thanks for all the suggestions! I'll definitely check a lot of those places out.

 

[Jayomatic]

Actually many antiques would fit into that style perfectly. A couple of Bertoia chairs would look really slick against polished concrete.

Also keep in mind that while you might not want to spend alot of money on a piece of furniture, many times you get what you pay for.

 

[Urban Shocker]

Well, to be classified as an antique, something has to be over a hundred years old - so you're quite safe buying most Modernist furniture M5Vgirl.

 

[JasonParis]

Design Within Reach is another good bet.

 

[Jarrek]

Actually many antiques would fit into that style perfectly. A couple of Bertoia chairs would look really slick against polished concrete.

Also keep in mind that while you might not want to spend alot of money on a piece of furniture, many times you get what you pay for.

Those are chairs for kids!

 

[freshcutgrass]

I can afford the furniture but I'm not about to spend $1200 on a reading chair! I'm looking for something reasonably priced like stuff you can find in EQ3 and BLVD.

Well, $1200 for a good chair is a wise investment, and they generally cost more than that (new). Paying a few hundred dollars for that absolute crap in places like Urban Barn is simply throwing money away.

I can't afford to shop in places like that...you have to keep replacing it.

But I didn't say you had to spend a lot of money...keep an eye out, and you can find great pieces at the same or often cheaper prices than the junk they sell at those stores you seem to like.

Sorry but not into the antiques.

I don't think anybody suggested "antiques". We are talking modern, classic items....the same stuff that junk you are talking about was inspired from.



I picked up this exact chair a few months ago in Leslieville for $550. While this chair isn't an antique, it's still probably older than you are ( 1964 ), but is as fabulous today as it was then. In fact, it's still produced today (albeit at $6000-$7000). I actually prefer the vintage version to new....the worn caramel leather is sublime, and is one of the most comfortable chairs ever designed.

But I wouldn't poo-poo "antiques either, as mixing styles is probably the best style, not to mention the best way to not have your "stuff" go out of "trend". You can throw an antique piece into a modern setting, and you can throw modern into a traditional setting....you can place a classic modern item like a Barcelona or Wassily chair into a traditional 18th century french decor, and it will look fabulous.

People who furnish their entire "lofts" in nothing but stuff from EQ3 or Urban barn, look like some cringingly horrific model suite from a condo sales centre...and you definitely don't want that.

Another place to keep checking is Bungalow in Kensington...usually run-of-the-mill vintage, but the odd primo item shows up (gotta be on the ball and snap them up right away).

 

[Jarrek]

Well, $1200 for a good chair is a wise investment

If you're well off financially.

 

[Chuck]

For entry level high end furniture, try EQ3 and Structube.

 

[adma]

And, for the mother-in-law, this'll never go out of style

Mother-in-law jokes never go out of style.

 

[junctionist]

I found Modern Living by Google searching for Toronto stores that carried Barcelona chairs. I figured that a store selling furniture designed by Mies would have what you need for that "clean simple look".