urban outfitters pretty dark things
I stopped by an Urban Outfitters over the weekend and was impressed by their new collection of home goods. It really makes me wish I had a dorm room to decorate! Actually, some of the things are pretty spot-on when it comes decor trends-of-the-moment, especially their black-on-black stuff. Just as the gothic dark look starts emerging into fashion this season, so too is the this sort of dark romantic vibe for home design. Here are few that could really work to hold a room together.
1. Lotus ceramic tealight holder, $15, is lovely in black, though it also comes in few other colors.
2. This baroque resin sconce, $22, would look great in an entry way.
3. These etched scented candles, $16, will make great glasses when they are candles no more.
4. The flocked deer pillow, $36, would probably be too cutesy in any other color, but in black-on-black it is just genius.
August 29th, 2006 at 6:58 am
Urban often has cute things; every few months I fall in love with something they’re selling.
However, while the prices look good, often they’re kind of expensive for what the items are in terms of quality. I can tell you for sure that the lotus tealight holders are brittle and chippy – they’ve had them in other colors over the past nine months to a year, and I constantly see them broken. Pretty, though. (Also, it seems like a lot of their “pretty” ceramics, the translucent-glaze stuff, is very chip-prone; their heavier ceramics are more robust.) The etched scented candles are nice. I love the deer pillow, which is surely inspired by Tord Boontje’s lacy tyvek curtains and lampshades. (specifically the curtains, which have a similar deer and floral motif, and aren’t really *that* expensive – can be found on the Unica site).
But I ordered some pillows from the Urban website a while back – I’d had my eye on them for a while. Local store never carried them. Online, they appeared to be made of muslin and to be pieced like a quilt, or at least appliqued, because they were called “Mixed-Media Pillows” and looked like they were made of at least two different fabrics with some overprinting. No closeup views were offered. What arrived still looked nice, if a bit flat, but it was silkscreened canvas sailcloth. We kept them, but were a little disappointed. I have had similar experiences with other items purchased there (very sheddy flokati, etc). I’d say not to buy much from their “apartment” section unless you can get into a store, see it firsthand, and get a good idea of what its quality actually is. Poke at it, within reason, to test it out.
August 29th, 2006 at 9:30 am
[...] These things I’ve had my eye on for a while. [...]