Comments on: Camera rasa

By: anonymous

anonymous — Sat, 04 Jan 2003 03:33:30 +0000

having been a starving student and bought things from ikea, I would suggest that ikea is not what you want to buy; it’s typically very low quality – the stuff is built to poor tolerances.

By: citizenx

citizenx — Thu, 02 Jan 2003 08:42:43 +0000

I have no furniture from others and, though I can easily get some, don’t want it. I don’t want hand-me-down tables and sofas and ratty armchairs and someone else’s flowery bad anniversary-gift dishes from a failed marriage.

Call me picky. Or spoiled.

My flatmate is leaving on Sunday, and all of the living-room furniture is his. This means I get to decorate (yay), have my own things (yay), spend money (hrmm).

If only there weren’t such a time crunch with the timeframe and the big IKEA winter sale…

By: frobisher

frobisher — Wed, 01 Jan 2003 23:49:25 +0000

If it helps at all, I would be happy to say you’re on crack with no reference whatsoever to the above information. :-)

By: zhixel

zhixel — Tue, 31 Dec 2002 22:57:59 +0000

Go for it. I totally plan on starting from scratch when I move out and give myself an opportunity to stay minimalistic and functional and clean. I have a lot of problems making empty spaces messy vs. cluttered ugly spaces.

By: sensitive_one

sensitive_one — Tue, 31 Dec 2002 17:23:10 +0000

when "cosmos" and i moved into our place we had nothing but a bed and my antique (that-i-will-die-and-be-buried-in-because-i-love-it-so-much) armoire. we used a cardboard box for a table and two green adirondack lawn chairs in the living room. the television was on the floor. i have to say, it was one of THE most freeing experiences of my life! first i happened upon a couch i loved and then the rooms just started coming together. the only items i bought from the same shop were the dining table and coffee table, and i bought them at different times! i think i had the place completely furnished in about six months. i had a blast! the only thing is, you have to be willing to be a tad uncomfortable at times. it's so worth it though. you look around the house at every stage and love what you have.

By: athena_51

athena_51 — Tue, 31 Dec 2002 16:58:52 +0000

sure, you’re on crack, but I don’t hold it against you :P

By: brianenigma

brianenigma — Tue, 31 Dec 2002 16:23:36 +0000

I don’t think you’re on crack. I pretty much did the same thing and had no problems with making sure this-goes-with-that. I started with a new bed (since the twin bed I had since the beginning of time was small, not really built for “company,” and the lower half of a bunk bed). Some time later, I moved the crappy shelves into the computer room and got rid of most furniture. Then, I started getting new furniture a piece at a time–shelves, CD racks, a giant bean-bag sofa, a massaging La-z-boy, etc.

I had no problems making sure things match because I love dark wood colors (cherry wood) and black. I made sure everything I got conformed to these colors, and it all worked out fine. The few things that did not conform were fine, too. I have several steamer trunks made out of shiny silver metal that I use for long-term storage (extra cables, power cords, etc) that double as tables that fit in fine, even though they do not quite match. The La-z-boy really does not match (is tan), but a custom color would have been incredibly expensive, and it sits on its own in the corner, so does not “conflict” with anything near it, as far as color/style goes.

It was pretty simple for me, but my tastes are a little weird and specific. As stated, I like dark woods and black, so it is easy to find things that match. I also prefer to sit on the floor, with my back against something comfortable–either a sofa, chair, beanbag, or oversized pillow, so I do not really need a lot of furniture to sit on, just shelves and tables and such. The things that would be going on the shelves could remain in cardboard boxes until new shelves were obtained. Your mileage may vary.

By: Rich

Rich — Tue, 31 Dec 2002 16:08:55 +0000

Oh yeah, Umbra rocks. There’s also a handful of local stores around here that
carry the right sort of thing too, although they’re all sort of priced in between
Ikea and Design Within Reach, which is where I
wish I could buy my furniture from, and which is decidedly not
within reach.

So it’s not so much that I’m going to shop at Ikea, full stop, but I’m going to
shop at places that have reasonable prices and quality, and the one that I know
Canadians, Americans and Europeans will all have heard of is Ikea. :-)

By: floatingatoll

floatingatoll — Tue, 31 Dec 2002 16:04:27 +0000

I’d love the chance to do my house from scratch. I surf catalogs, dreaming of it.

I also suggest you notice Umbra (www.umbra.com). Their trash cans rule, and The Room is a fun quiz thing. Snowcrash rules, too (www.snowcrash.se).

I wonder what else there is in the Umbra/Ikea/Snowcrash category.

By: anonymous

anonymous — Tue, 31 Dec 2002 16:02:28 +0000

excellent idea. throw it all out and start fresh. there’s no guilt in it, make your home be a home for you, with your tastes in mind.