The Affordable Bantam Sofa?
Ralph, one of our faithful readers pointed out this great deal from Eurway. Above and to the left you see the Bantam Sofa from Design Within Reach for the not so reachable price of $1398. To the left you see the Vandyke Sofa from Eurway for a much more affordable $849. That is almost $550 dollars cheaper for basically the same couch. Having never seen either in person, who knows if the quality is exactly the same but it does raise an interesting question. Would you buy a knock off? Personally I would, and have. My arco lamp is a great example. But on some things I would want the original, like an Eames Lounger. Why, just silly I guess, but for some reason it just wouldn’t be the same to sit in anything else. So, how about you?
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17 Responses to “The Affordable Bantam Sofa?”
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Yeah, funny too how DWR bills their Bantam as their cheapo sofa. I have one and it was a huge deal to me to spend the dough and I better get a decade out of this sofa! If I’d seen the vandyke I’d probably have gone that way – it looks great! I’ve found the bantam to be of good quality and quite comfy (had it almost 2 years) but an unforseen problem with couches with just one LONG seat cushion – whenever you get up the seat is all wrinkly. It looks like new again after smoothing out or vaccuming but I hate that I’m forever smoothing out the couch seat.
You just got me thinking on the eames lounger (of which I’ve seen knockoffs aplenty)… My high school boyfriend’s dad was a big eames and modern furniture fan (and I never realized how cool this was until YEARS later) and they had 2 of the eames loungers and tons of midcentury scandinavian stuff. (Again, I thought they just had yard sale furniture or something) We were always hanging out there and sitting in those loungers and I always thought they were uncomfortable – maybe I was too short then! Have not had the luck to sit in one since then and it’s been about 17 years…
I think these couches are most likely by the same manufacturer, actually.
have been lurking here for sometime, but have something to say about lower priced versions of furniture – we bought a similar style couch and a mid-century style bed (similar to this one from crate&barrel http://www.crateandbarrel.com/family.aspx?c=1011&f=10910&q=midcentury&fromLocation=Search&DIMID=400001&SearchPage=1) from a local place in los angeles that makes custom furniture. it looks great, but when you get to using it, the fabric seems of cheaper quality than most, and with the bed, terrible construction on the “platform,” which is really only a cross section of 3 horizontal beams and 1 vertical one. so i guess its a question of look vs. functionality when it comes down to it…
this experience makes me think spend the extra money on any piece that is going to be used frequently.
We live in a small apartment an took the smaller Bantam for a test drive after checking out the Grace and the Camden models at Crate and Barrel. The Bantam doesn’t even compare even if it was half the price.
Other pluses on buying from Crate and Barrel:
•Choice of MANY fabrics
•Extended Guarantee Available
•Up to 500 bucks less expensive
and most of all, either felt like a higher quality couch than the Bantam.
-B
I don’t think you can consider the vandyke to be a knock off of the bantam. It would be like saying that a t-shirt bought at the Gap is a knock off of one bought at French Connection. I also agree that they are very possibly made by the same manufacturer. As for iconic pieces (that have a certain provenance) I don’t really agree with buying knock offs. There is something about maintaining the artists rights to a share of the profit from the sale of their work (even though they may be long dead) that is important to me. As well, there always seems to be something “off” with the knock offs available (if this makes any sense). I bought a 1976 rosewood Eames lounger in an obscure antique store in an even more obscure town in the middle of Missouri. It was an incredible steal at $400. The incredible thing is that pieces like this are still available if one is willing to look hard enough. If you know what you are doing, you can still find originals without selling your first child to DWR.
You get what you pay for guys. DWR might be on the high side … but why not go a bit greeen, buy a high quality sofa and plan on keeping for years.
You want to get 10 years out of a sofa, day was you could get 30 years out of a sofa, with a few recovers along the way.
You guys need to really rethink this whole quality versus style thing … cheap stuff ends up in the landfill and the planet suffers. Buy quality first!
More expensive does not equal better quality – in fact it almost never does anymore. As I said, these couches are probably made by the same manufacturer – the only difference is that the Bantam sofa has cotton upholstery, while the cheaper one is polyester. This may make the Bantam softer, but not necessarily sturdier or more stain resistant.
ummmm…not to burst any bubbles here, but while DWR is definitely higher-end in terms of price, they are absolutely not high-end in terms of quality. think IKEA but expensive. if you want a nice couch, c&b is okay and room & board is better. a trip to the annex to see some lightly used dwr furniture will allay any concerns that the stuff is of quality.
I’m with you: buy a similar piece for less money. However, for iconic purchases, get an actual Eames chair.
The only struggle I have is that I really, really, really want an Arne Jacobsen Egg Chair. The price tag for a genuine leather Egg is an astounding 10,000 (currently on sale at DWR for 9k something.) *cough*sputter*cough* I guess I could always go for the cloth at less than half the price–$4500. Yeah, that’s much more palatable…
For now, I’m on the lookout for a an Egg in an antique shop, garage sale, etc. I’m thinking that my only hope, truly, is a good quality knock-off.
Hey, I really love old retro stuff and vintage furniture is one of my favorites. The old stuff was made well and lasts, not like the new cheap stuff.
The argument is null and void, Euroway no longer carries the Vandyke. So if you want this sofa be prepared to shell out $1600 and deal with the snobby help at DWR.
Anyone who has any sense knows that DWR is a ripoff and not worth the time.
I have two Bantam sofas that are not even a year old and they are totally shot – the cushions are flat (and we are thin people!) and the seams are coming apart. I would not recommend these at all!!
The Sofa Company in Santa Monica, CA makes a similar sofa called the Charles. You can see it at http://www.thesofaco.com
Can someone tell me about Sphere Designs? They also have a Bantam lookalike, called the Dante.
See http://www.spheredesignsfurniture.com/dante_sofa.html.
I worry about quality, though. In fact, I worry about quality with the Bantam. It seems from the previous comments that the jury is still out (we’re trying to decide whether to buy one).
I just found a quaint shop in Maryland, Ryan’s Relics – ryansrelics.com, that has fantastic finds for incredible prices… most are authentic, but I’d still buy a knock off if the quality was as desirable as the price.
As for IKEA? I’m amazed at how expensive some of their couches are for the quality… I’ll stick to their textiles…
I bought the Bantam sofa after looking around for the perfect sofa for 2 years – always with that one in the back of my mind…and I love it! While the look is beautiful, what’s really worth the money is the comfort, and the quality! I have two kids, and have had the sofa in my living room for 2 years now, and it still looks as good as the day I got it. The material cleans up so easily and the cushions are still firm and hold their shape. If you can manage it, I would say the extra is 800 dollars so well worth it.