Retailers
With so many ready-to-assemble furniture retailers and
manufacturers out there, there is a convenient furniture
solution for every taste,
space and budget.
Though they all offer flat-pack furniture, these manufacturers
all have something unique to offer their customers.
Here is some of what we've learned about some furniture brands after years of putting
together furniture from several manufacturers.
IKEA
IKEA is probably the most well-known of all ready-to-assemble
furniture retailers. The first retail store opened in Sweden in
1958 and in the past 50 years, the brand has become synonymous
with affordable modern furnishings.
IKEA now boasts stores in 37 countries, and a rapidly expanding
presence in the U.S. with 20 new stores opening between 2003 and
2008. In the New York area, IKEA has retail stores located in
Brooklyn, NY, Paramus, NJ, Elizabeth, NJ (shuttle bus available and Long Island, NY and
offers online shopping at ikea.com/us/en.
By innovatively flat-packaging all their products, IKEA is able
to offer amazingly low prices. This also means that almost
everything they sell requires some level of assembly (to see if
a product requires assembly check out the product page on their
website and look for the little picture of an allen key shaped
like a backwards number 7).
Materials used by IKEA range from particle board to solid wood, so it pays to
look through their extensive
website
and catalog.
IKEA's strengths are affordable prices, sleek, modern design
and storage solutions for small spaces.
A cool and unique feature of IKEA is the opportunity for
customization.
They offer modular storage
systems:
PAX for clothes,
EFFEKTIV for office,
BESTA for media,
TROFAST for children's toys and
AKURUM for kitchen. These are frames, doors, drawers and
interior fittings that you can mix and match to fit your space
and needs. Make sure you have purchased all the needed
components to complete your desired configuration. The friendly
folks at IKEA will be able to advise you - just ask!
Crate & Barrel
Crate & Barrel has long been a well-known source for
premium quality household goods, and offers an entire line of furniture
that ranges from classic to modern. Stop by your nearest retail store to see their furniture in all of its assembled
glory. Crate & Barrel's furniture goes together very sturdily
and can last a while
with proper assembly.
A good number of their pieces are made
from solid wood, so 1) they're a good investment and 2) they can
be kind of heavy for one person to assemble.
They offer many simple, elegant designs, such as the Loop
bedroom collection, the Walker office line and the Kingston
media centers to accommodate flat screen TVs.
CB2
CB2 is an offshoot of Crate & Barrel that also offers
high-quality furniture. The style of their pieces is somewhat
more modern and eclectic - lots of pieces incorporate stainless
steel, bold colors and modular sensibilities. Some popular
examples are their Mondrian Media Console and Halogen Credenza. CB2's
sleek goods make it like a younger, adventurous sibling of Crate & Barrel's.
Recently, CB2 has opened up a retail store in SoHo at 451
Broadway, between Canal & Grand.
west elm
Contemporary and stylish,
west elm
offers modern pieces for the home. Their designers excel at
crafting lovely pieces like stenciled throw pillows and window
treatments. With new designs each season, visits to their retail
stores in Chelsea, DUMBO and a new one near Lincoln Center will
flood you with ideas on brightening up your place with some
smart accent pieces.
The furniture itself is a good investment. They are well known
for their bed frames, with good reason. Their line of solid wood
bed frames
- available with or without a
headboard - are extremely sturdy (with proper assembly) and
provide a secure, chic sleeping experience.
Pottery Barn, PBTeen, Pottery Barn Kids
Pottery Barn has a fantastic reputation
for high quality home furniture for adults, teens and kids. Some
of their items do require assembly, so check with the
salesperson in order to plan ahead.
PBTeen and
Pottery Barn Kids offer great, built-to-last
furniture for the youngsters. Many of their desks and storage
systems are customizable, such as the
Style-It Desk System from PBTeen and the
Cameron Creativity Storage System from Pottery
Barn Kids. Mix and match components to come up with a furniture
piece that fits you kid's unique needs.
Home Decorators Collection
Established as a slim paper catalogue in 1991,
Home Decorators Collection has grown over the years and now
- online -
offers a myriad of styles and choices of premium ready to
assemble furniture and other home furnishings.
Home Decorators Collection offers home and office furniture in a
variety of styles. Assembly can be on the tricky side, depending
on the piece, as they source their products from many different
manufacturers.
One of Home Decorators' Collection's strengths is that a lot of the time, they offer the
same piece in various sizes, styles and storage capacities. This makes it likely that you will find the perfect
fit - even if you are working with a smaller space.
Overstock.com
When stores order too much of
something, often it winds up for sale at
Overstock.com - a giant
online marketplace offering everything from furniture to
electronics and jewelry. They have become a popular destination
for ready to assemble furniture, due to their discounted prices.
A popular item is the modern, versatile
Chai Microsuede Sofa Bed.
South Shore
South Shore (Industries de la Rive Sud)
is a Canada-based furniture manufacturer. Specializing in
bedroom sets, South Shore is a main supplier of the furniture
offered by stores like Target, Wal-Mart and K-Mart and other online
retailers. Popular furniture choices include the
Laguna
bedroom collection from Wal-Mart - one of several series of five
piece bedroom sets on offer directly from South Shore's website,
as well as many other online retailers.
Bush
A trusted name in office furniture,
Bush
offers several product lines, including Westfield, Components
and Saratoga, to suit many different types of office set-up. We
have had many requests for the
Bush Tuxedo series, whose clean-cut, classic look and
versatile configurations work in many work spaces.
Available at Staples, Office Depot, Office Max and other
retailers, Bush furniture tends towards the more complicated
level of ready to assemble furniture.
Bo Concept
Bo
Concept offers a sleek and handsome collection of furniture that varies between ultra-modern, sexy,
luxurious and simple chic.
Their
pieces are a bit of an investment, but you get what you pay for.
Bo Concept has set itself up as an arbiter of New York City
urban home furnishing cool. As such, their website offers tips
for "Living Large in Small Spaces" and other design advice.
2modern
2modern
serves it up on a funkier level than most ready-to-assemble furniture.
Check out the
BluDot
collection for mod color-block furniture pieces, or the
home-office furniture and eye-catching media storage. Some have
called it too modern... but we love the sleek, playful
designs.
More information to come.
Have questions about a manufacturer?
Want recommendations for a specific space?
Email us.
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