At Home

Saturday, August 30, 2008

I Call B.S.: $220 wooden box

Photo Credit: Matter

Photo Credit: Matter

Let me preface this by saying that I understand that part of the price of an expensive piece of well-designed furniture goes to pay for the maker’s expertise and creativity. This does not, however, explain why a plain, unfinished wooden box should be considered one of these items and cost $220 in a chichi home accessories store. And I don’t think it’s because I’m just too darn provincial to understand. I mean, I love some of Jasper Morrison’s other work, and I love Matter, one of the main retailers of this “objet”. But, come on, people. It's like broke-college-student improvisation repackaged with a designer price tag. I’m just not buying it. Would you?

[spotted via Remodelista]





To read another critique of gimmicky-concept-as-"good"-design, check out Dwell’s post on the the Maarten Baas wooden lawn chair.

And to see some possibly-overpriced items that we do think might be worth the splurge—completely subjectively, of course—check out this French fainting chair and this eco-friendly "chandelier."
Syndication:

From the Community…

Comments 1-5 of 5
  • Lola Serrano's Avatar
    Posted by Lola Serrano Thu Apr 17, 2008 9:58am PDT

    for $220? that's theft.

    Just go to your local liquor shop and ask if they have any leftover wine bottle crates. Take your pick of the various wooden ones and walk out with what should now feel like an extra $220 in the wallet. The shop we go to just tosses them, so they were more than happy to give us as many as we wanted. The foreign ones are always nice with the winery logos and such etched on the side.

    We turned one of ours into a cat bed. Thinking about leaving another outside to "age" and use as a shadow/display/shelf type thing. or create a tabletop bookcase thing. unsure really.

    you could do that or go to home depot and make your own.

    Report Abuse
  • MommaOne's Avatar
    Posted by MommaOne Thu Apr 17, 2008 11:19am PDT

    Thats just crazy!

    Report Abuse
  • Anne Ichikawa, Shine staff's Avatar
    Posted by Anne Ichikawa, Shine staff Thu Apr 17, 2008 12:12pm PDT

    Okay, this is redonkulous. Who would ever spent $220 on a crate? Unless these is gold hidden in them there wood, I call bull poop, too.

    Report Abuse
  • kat.abegg's Avatar
    Posted by kat.abegg Thu Apr 17, 2008 6:13pm PDT

    Yeah, I don't understand if this is meant to be an expensive and therefore supposedly more artistic version of the traditional liquor store crate or if it's meant to be quietly ironic. Either way, I'm not into it. I actually still have one of the broke-college-student-style crates and prefer it. It's the perfect size for storing records and I don't mind if it gets a little beaten up.

    Report Abuse
  • D.A in Calif.'s Avatar
    Posted by D.A in Calif. Mon Apr 21, 2008 7:47am PDT

    ripp off! please tell me who buys one!

    Report Abuse
Comments 1-5 of 5

leave your comment

You must sign in to post a comment

Sign In for personalized information

New User? Sign Up

Updates Chatter on Shine...

At Home Byte

"I believe in unabashed confidence, the self-assurance to just go with it and be prepared to make mistakes. This house is a melting pot of who I am, my eclectic madcap sense. I want people to walk in and think, 'This is a fun place that's not taking itself too seriously.' Sometimes I get it right, sometimes not—that's the joy of playing with clothes and interiors. When my style is too disciplined, that's when I get it wrong.” —designer Matthew Williamson, Domino magazine