Double Take: Abaca and Random Lights

I've been harboring a thing for Dutch designer Bertjan Pot's Random Light forever. I want one for our dining room so bad it hurts, but the price -- more than $1,500 for the large size -- has stopped me.

So last night while I was leafing through the latest West Elm catalog (I know I said no more chain stores, but I was only looking ... ), my heart skipped a beat when I saw the company's new Abaca Pendant. It's a little bit similar, no? (And West Elm is certainly no stranger to design knockoffs.)

Let's compare:

West Elm Abaca Pendant, $79 to $129

Moooi Random Light: small, $660, and medium, $860, at Design Within Reach; large, $1,505, at YLighting

To my eye, the ethereal, delicate, and almost-translucent epoxy and fiberglass Random Light has much more drama and presence. West Elm's banana-fiber version is earthier, chunkier, and not nearly as graceful. The smaller size (the West Elm pendants range from about 9 to 16 inches in diameter, compared to the Random Light's 20 to 43 inches) also creates far less impact.

But when you consider the savings -- almost $600 to more than $1,350 -- the trade-offs might not be so hard to swallow.

What do you think?

Double Take: Urban Outfitters and Clarence House

Gee, this Flowering Branch Bedspread, $34 at Urban Outfitters, looks a little familiar, eh?

Photo: Gemma Comas for Domino

Hmmm ... does it maybe remind you a tiny bit of Kazumi Yoshida's Flowering Quince wallpaper for Clarence House?

I'm just sayin'.

Deal of the Day: Moderndose "S" Chairs

Through December 1, online retailer Moderndose is offering a two-for-one deal on its "S" chairs: Buy one chair for $245 and get the second free.

The molded plastic chairs -- which come in white, black, green, red, and orange -- are a copy of Verner Panton's iconic 1967 chair for Vitra. (So how you feel about this sale will depend on how you feel about knockoffs -- generally, I'm OK with them as long as the price is right and the "inspiration" is explicitly acknowledged, as it is here. It's worth noting, though, that you can get a licenced repro of the Panton chair from retailers like DWR or HiveModern for $230 each. The original fiberglass version will run you $1,250 or more.)

Whether you go for an original, a reproduction, or a knockoff, I think these chairs look especially great in white and grouped around a rustic wooden table for contrast. You can stack up to four of them for easy storage, too -- which makes them handy extras to have on hand for dinner parties or upcoming holiday gatherings.

Learn more about Moderndose's special deal on the chairs right here.

Trendspotting: Inspiration or Imitation?

The arrival the other day of the latest CB2 catalog, coupled with my recent post about West Elm's new offerings, got me thinking: At what point does furniture "inspired" by midcentury design classics cross the line to outright mimicry?

Consider these examples:


Top left: CB2's Odyssey Table ($149); top right: IKEA's Docksta Table ($149); bottom: Eero Saarinen's iconic 1956 Tulip Table ($3,150 at Design Within Reach).

Left: CB2's Tornado Table ($119); right: Warren Platner's 1966 Side Table ($662 at Highbrow Furniture).


Left: West Elm's Patterned Veneer Coffee Table ($349); right: Milo Baughman's Burl and Chrome Coffee Table ($3,400 at 1stdibs).


Top left: CB2's Hippie Arm Chair ($229); top right: West Elm's Round Back Chair ($199); bottom: Hans Wegner's 1949 Wishbone Chair ($499 at House of Copenhagen).

Left: CB2's Double Dip Lamp ($199); right: Achille Castiglioni's circa-1962 Arco Lamp ($2,448 at DWR).

Left: West Elm's Sphere Pendant ($99); right: George Nelson's 1947 Ball Lamp ($299 at Velocity Art and Design).

Left: West Elm's Molded Desk Chair ($149); right: Charles and Ray Eames' 1948 Molded Plastic Armchair ($279 at Highbrow Furniture).

Left: West Elm's Scoop Back Chair ($79); right: Arne Jacobsen's 1955 Series 7 Chair ($394 at Retro Modern).

Left: West Elm's Wire Mesh Occasional Chair ($229); right: Harry Bertoia's 1952 Side Chair ($483 at Hive Modern).

Left: West Elm's Modern Storage Console ($599); right: Paul McCobb's 1950 Planner Group Credenza ($1,000 on eBay).

Clearly, these mass-produced knockoffs are more than "inspired" by the originals. Is that theft, or flattery? Would you rather spend thousands of dollars for a vintage, signed original or a licensed repro, or a fraction of that for a decent (if somewhat dishonest) imitation?

Personally, I'm more in the gimme-the-knockoff camp than the nothing-but-the-real-stuff crowd. If I stumbled on a mint-condition Saarinen table at a garage sale for $100, I'd be all over it. But, barring that, I don't have $3,150 for a simple white table (and I'd think twice about dropping that kind of cash even if I did) -- so I own the $149 IKEA Docksta. I feel a tiny bit guilty about it, but I'm not losing sleep at night.

How about you?