I'm so excited to make this announcement I could barely keep it in a mili-second longer, but the dotted lines needed to be signed (and there was a lot of signing!) and keys in hand. It's now official. The store location is at 4415 West 10th Avenue, between Trimble and Sasamat Streets, in Point Grey in Vancouver (near UBC).
ps.google.ca/maps?f=q&source=embed&hl=en&geocode=&q=4415+W+10th+Ave,+Vancouver,+BC&aq=0&oq=4415+&sll=49.285663,-123.122245&sspn=0.264702,0.721664&gl=ca&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=4415+W+10th+Ave,+Vancouver,+British+Columbia+V6R+3Z7&ll=49.263815,-123.206502&spn=0.008276,0.022552&t=m&z=14&iwloc=A”>View Larger Map
The space is in an old heritage building with original hardwood floors, high ceilings and a dutch front door (where the top half of the door opens independently than the bottom half). The space faces south so combined with the high ceilings and gallery-like white walls, the place is filled with light. Truly fitting with the Gild & Co. brand: to brighten or make pleasing.
Parking: There is plenty of parking on the street. I've never had a problem finding a spot within a block or two of the store and there is one un-marked parking spot in the back. If you would like to park in the back, please call the store when you arrive to check that it is available.
Please come see for yourself when we open our doors to the public in June 2013.
Bonnie
So you need a sofa? Last week I commented on what makes a quality sofa. Now I’ll make some recommendations on where to find a sofa. In no particular order, here is my quick and dirty list of the top ten places to buy a sofa in Vancouver.
1. West Elm ($$) – Good option for price, quality and style section. Check online before going to the store, but beware, many of their products cannot be shipped to Canada. A West Elm review can be found here.
2. Style Garage ($$$) – Located in Gastown. Sells quality Canadian made sofas (they even tell you about it here). Fantastic quality for the price. Modern styles.
3. Fullhouse ($$$) – Near Granville Island. Great quality. Higher prices. Modern Scandinavian / mid century styles.
4. CB2 ($$) – Cheaper. Quality is comparable to Ikea. Very modern styles. CB2′s older sister store, Crate and Barrel ($$), recently opened their first BC location at Oakridge Mall. Check online.
5. Once a Tree ($$$$) – Top quality. High prices.
6. Brougham ($$$$) – Excellent quality. High prices
7. Urban Barn ($$) – Hit-or-miss quality. Mid range prices.
8. Pottery Barn ($$$) – Cheaper than Restoration Hardware. Decent quality.
9. Parliament ($$) – In Gastown. Mid range prices and quality.
10. Country Furniture ($$) – Mid level price point and quality. Don’t be fooled by the name, this store isn’t country bumpkin-y.
Not mentioned…
BoConcept – You will generally wait a LONG time for your sofa, but you will get a rocking sofa once you do. High prices. Modern styles.
Ikea - No, it’s not all bad, but how does your Ikea sofa look after 5 years? Cheaper prices, lower quality.
Vintage or secondhand: check Craigslist of course, or here for a list of top ten vintage furniture stores in Vancouver.
So you need a sofa. You probably don’t want to buy something that will look like it belongs in an alley in a few years, but it’s hard to justify spending $1000s more on sofa X, when you like sofa Y just as much and it’s a fraction of the price. So what is a quality sofa and why does it matter? With tables, dressers and other wooden furniture, it’s easier to see high-quality from low-quality, but with sofas and other upholstered pieces it is difficult to see quality when, simply put, it is covered in fabric.
1. Quality made sofas will last longer and won’t end up in landfill in a few years. Cheap sofas can look great when new, but they will sag, lose shape and generally start to look worn much faster than you expect.
2. Quality sofas are sturdy. Sturdiness comes from the joinery and wood used to construct the frame, neither of which you can see in upholstered pieces and is the main reason why it’s hard to tell the difference between high-quality upholstered pieces and the cheaper versions.
It’s funny how things come full circle. A few years ago, while I was working for the provincial government, I looked back at my grade seven yearbook. I smiled when I read that my goal in life was to join Greenpeace. This was far from the reality I knew as an adult. Sure I recycle, but my daily duties did not feel of any great significance. A few years later, still working in a big office tower and trying to decide the next step in my career, I did an exercise to determine “my mission in life”. I learned that the things I value most benefit others and help sustain the earth. Funny how my 12-year-old self wasn’t as far off as I had thought!
The other side of my personality is creative and passionate about interior design, but when I started working as an interior designer I realized that it wasn’t for me. There was something missing, some lack of positive impact on the planet and people. But I loved interior design and creating beauty! How could I wed my love and talent for design with a career that felt more rewarding?
Fast forward to present day. Gild & Co. is my answer! Buying vintage reduces the need to manufacture new furniture and harvest new materials. Not only that, it breathes new life into furniture that was manufactured at a time when high quality was the norm, not the Allen key.
By bringing beautiful and timeless furniture and decor to market, Gild & Co. assists clients in making environmentally sustainable design choices, creating surroundings filled with beauty and colour, making them feel relaxed and happy in their home and in their world.
Find us online at www.gildandco.com, on Twitter @GildandCo or email info@gildandco.com.
I have a confession. I rarely read an entire blog post. I follow a lot of blogs, but generally I am not interested enough to read the whole post. There are a few exceptions of course, mostly articles related to business stuff but ironically not the design or DIY stuff I write about. The other day, however, I came across an exceptional transformation by talended furniture designer and builder, Ariele Alasko, of Brooklyn to West. At first I did my usual scroll through the pretty pictures, but had to backtrack when I saw this image:
Image: www.brooklyntowest.blogspot.com
After much anticipation, West Elm is in Vancouver. So how are they measuring up? Here’s our review.
Location
The location on South Granville Street, between 14th and 15th Avenues is not too bad. They do not offer free parking, but that’s standard for South Granville Street, and it is close to many other big name furniture stores, like Restoration Hardware and Pottery Barn.
Showroom and Service
The showroom is beautiful, immaculately put together, but a bit on the small side. Staff are helpful and available if you have a question.
They also offer free in-store consultations, where their designers work directly with clients on fancy Macs and cool dining table turned work station help to inspire and see projects and samples.
Availability of Products
This is the kicker. West Elm has a huge stock of items on their website, but much of it isn’t available in Canada, has been discontinued or they aren’t selling it at the moment. For example:
1) The Dunham Chair. Oh so pretty and perfectly proportioned, but not to be seen in Vancouver.
Image: www.westelm.com (more…)
I am opening a furniture store (yeah yeah, I mentioned this before, and I will mention it again). My store will sell a mix of vintage and modern furniture and home decor, which means I keep an eye on the competition. Here is a round-up of the top ten vintage furniture stores in Vancouver. Stores have been price rated from low to high using one to four dollar signs ($).
1. The Sellution ($) – well-known second hand furniture shop on Main Street at 16th. Don’t expect to like everything in the store, but they often have some great pieces and stock changes frequently. I am still kicking myself still for not buying the seven foot long walnut mid-century modern credenza I saw there a while ago.
I purchased the sofa in my living room, as below, from Sellutions.
2. Scott Landon Antiques ($$$)- by far the best “modern” antiques dealer in town. They have amazing droolworthy pieces, mostly American and Canadian industrial antiques. I’m just waiting for them to take me on a buying trip…
Photo: www.thedecorista.com
Reupholstering a piece of furniture is like doing a major home renovation (on a much smaller scale of course). The “bones” or frame of the house will generally stay the same, but gutting and renovating from the frame is like getting a brand new house. With that comes many decisions that need to be made, like what cabinets to put in the kitchen, what tiles to use in the bathroom, can anything be salvaged from the original house? The options seem to be (and maybe are) endless.
Reupholstering a sofa or chair is much the same. It’s like getting a brand new piece of furniture and have options to specify it to your liking. I try to help my clients as much as possible to make those decisions. One big decision is to tuft or not to tuft. (more…)
Photo: www.littlegreennotebook.com
Small space living is often about double uses. Double uses of rooms, like the living room that is also a home office, yoga space and kids playroom. Double uses of furniture, like ottomans that turn into beds and beds that have storage. (more…)
