I'm not a big furniture suite guy; always struck me as a little too Showcase Showdown, if you know what I mean. Which is probably why this kid-sized armoire with chalkboard paint on the front from ducduc; although it's part of a collection (PJ, but it was formerly Alex, as if we all have a long, tangled history with ducduc's brands that needs sorting out), but it could work equally well as a one-piece addition to a modernist nursery. It's not the only chalkboard-painted kid's furniture, of course [Both Offi and Marcel Wanders designed chalkboard tables], but it's a nice variation.
I'd like to see it in walnut, or some kind of blackboard-border-like wood, too, maybe. But that's just the smacktalk of a guy who still hasn't unpacked the books he moved to make the nursery.
Check out the PJ Armoire from ducduc, $1,450 at Design Public [designpublic.com]
I'm thinking some cheap kid's furniture from IKEA and a can of chalkboard paint from Home Depot would be a nice compromise for those of us who can't justify spending more on the baby's dresser than our first car cost... :)
I was going to say the exact same thing as C after reading this. Not sure how this is really any different than any dresser with the knobs removed and a can of chalkboard paint.
Why do companies equate 'modern/modernist' = 'wealthy'?
[Because modernist furniture is not (or at least has not been) mainstream taste? Well-made, small-run furniture is usually expensive, whether it's tole-painted, hand-carved schlock or orange lacquered minimalism. Hell, walk into an Ethan Allen showroom sometime. Offi's stuff sells at Target, though, so it's not all expensive.
I'm working on a more in-depth post about the affordable design issue,, and if anyone has some useful suggestions or insights, by all menans, send'em in; but in the mean time, can we give the reflexive anti-expensive commentary a rest?
If everyone ran out tomorrow and painted their kid's furniture with chalkboard paint because of this, I'd be the happiest man alive. You want to make your own chalkboard paint? Here's the recipe. The whole point of even pointing stuff like this out is to give people ideas of the possible, not ideas of the "must-have if you don't want to be a delinquent parent." -ed.]
When we got pregnant, both sets of grand-parents expected us to leave our studio apartment for a bigger place and trade in our 2-door Honda Civic coupe for a minivan. I told them we couldn't afford $500/month for more room and $20,000 for a new car. But tell them I was thinking of a $700 stroller, and they went on and on about spending too much money.... :)
- Kirk.
I know a woman that works at the VC firm that was involved with ducduc. I told her that I can't possibly imagine them being successful with the company. Yes, the quality is good. Yes, it looks good. That said, I can't for the life of me pay that much money for kid's furniture. My kid is intent on destroying his furniture. She says that they think there's plenty of market for this price level.