I was disappointed to see that there is still no Ikea anywhere in the State of Hawaii. So in the absense of an Ikea, is there any good cheap place (ala Ikea) people recommend nowadays? The last time I lived in Hawaii, I slowly built up furniture by following up on ads and garage sales, picking up good things one by one; thus I never investigated furniture in Hawaii on the retail level. No definitive plans of returning yet -- but my lack of knowledge in this topic is killing me
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Good furniture stores
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Re: Good furniture stores
Originally posted by Pua'i Mana'o View Postwe have so many funky little teak and rattan stores which offer unique and inexpensive furniture and doodads that I question if there's really a need for an ikea here.Since when is psycho a bad thing??
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Re: Good furniture stores
I doubt that there's much online; these guys usually go to Thailand and Philipines and bring back big containers filled with stuff; rattan, solid teak, bamboo seems to comprise the bulk of the furniture. All of my living set, my bar stools and my futons (pune'e in the tv room) and tansu comes from little stores like these, which are solid wood, sturdy and bought for cheap.
pax
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Re: Good furniture stores
Years ago when I worked at PBN, I inquired with Ikea regarding a Hawaii store. They said we didn't have a big enough customer base. Our customer base extends the entire Island chain, to Guam, to college students, to new professionals, to struggling families to transient military looking for quality furniture they can knock down in a hurry. I like the new massive multi-million-dollar furniture store on Kapiolani. I've never been in it, but if I were shopping, I'd go. I suspect I cannot afford anything there! How do people spend that much money on such an endeavor and profit? I wish them luck.
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Re: Good furniture stores
Originally posted by Pua'i Mana'o View Postwe have so many funky little teak and rattan stores which offer unique and inexpensive furniture and doodads that I question if there's really a need for an ikea here.
What is the best little teak and rattan store out there?
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Re: Good furniture stores
Originally posted by Vanguard View PostIf the need doesn't exist, and it's not there, then great
What is the best little teak and rattan store out there?
Nowadays, most of the furniture at my places on the Big Island comes from Koehnen's, Kaloko Furniture, and Costco, while most of the furniture at my places on O'ahu comes from the C.S. Wo Gallery.Ā Ē Ī Ō Ū ā ē ī ō ū -- Just a little something to "cut and paste."
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Re: Good furniture stores
Originally posted by Pua'i Mana'o View Postwe have so many funky little teak and rattan stores which offer unique and inexpensive furniture and doodads that I question if there's really a need for an ikea here.
Also, there's no places (on the Big Island anyway) that sell that kind of Mid Century Modern / Retro style furniture. There's hardly any furnitre places at all in Hilo.
I was thinking it would be a great business to ship boatlants of IKEA stuff and sell it in a store in Hilo...It's all flat packed, so it ships easily...Do the assembly, and sell...It would probably do great business....
I Love IKEA.
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Re: Good furniture stores
Originally posted by tikiyaki View PostWow...have you ever been to an IKEA ? They have EVERYTHING, not just furniture. Nice stuff too, and cheep. I'm actually shipping a bunch of IKEA stuff over Boat cargo to furnish the place I'm buying in Hilo. I'll actually SAVE money too, cos their stuff is so inexpensive.
Also, there's no places (on the Big Island anyway) that sell that kind of Mid Century Modern / Retro style furniture. There's hardly any furnitre places at all in Hilo.
I was thinking it would be a great business to ship boatlants of IKEA stuff and sell it in a store in Hilo...It's all flat packed, so it ships easily...Do the assembly, and sell...It would probably do great business....
I Love IKEA.
pax
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Re: Good furniture stores
Originally posted by Pua'i Mana'o View Postyeah, I've been inside of Ikea more than once; my cousin lives just a block away from one. But honestly? Yuck. "low-end mid century modern" can be replicated at any WalMart/HomeDepot (and even HPM, sticking with Hilo here) and we truly do have so many boutique teak joints as well as the funky higher end stuff (Jonah's Koehens is one, CSWo on O'ahu is another with Martin&MacArthur leading the pack at solid koa gawwwgeousness). There are tons of furniture stores here; you need to know where to look, and honestly, look often. Rarely will you find two replicated pieces.
That being said, Eero Saarinen and some other big name MCM designers have designed pieces for IKEA in the past, I'm talkin 60's, and it was nice stuff. As a matter of fact, ALOT of MCM home restorations use IKEA pieces in their rooms, and I'm talkin big name room designers. The trick with IKEA is to mix in pieces with the "real" vintage stuff, and it works.
I have IKEA stuff mixed with my vintage Danish Teak stuff and it looks great.
Here's an example :
There's blatant IKEA in this pic, but it blends right in.
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Re: Good furniture stores
Originally posted by tikiyaki View Post
There's blatant IKEA in this pic, but it blends right in.
I highly recommend perusing the "Hawai'i Home Book: Practical Tips for Tropical Living" by Karen Anderson. It saved me from making the mistake of choosing "design" over practicality.
Cheers,
Jonah KĀ Ē Ī Ō Ū ā ē ī ō ū -- Just a little something to "cut and paste."
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Re: Good furniture stores
Originally posted by tikiyaki View Post[...]to furnish the place I'm buying in Hilo.[...]
I Love IKEA.
I, too, love IKEA and, along with Trader Joe's, would love to see their presence in Hawaii.
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Re: Good furniture stores
Originally posted by Jonah K View PostI'd hate to think about how IKEA and "vintage Danish teak" furniture will look after a few years in a Hilo residence. Humidity, mold, mildew, corrosion, termites, and gecko poop will definitely take their toll. Koa, 'ohia, lava rock, teak, rattan, glass, granite and polycarbonate fare much better in Hilo than most of that laminated stuff that IKEA sells.
I highly recommend perusing the "Hawai'i Home Book: Practical Tips for Tropical Living" by Karen Anderson. It saved me from making the mistake of choosing "design" over practicality.
Cheers,
Jonah K
"Vintage Danish Teak" or any kind of Teak is a tropical wood that holds up to moisture pretty well. They make boats out of teak.
I love Koa, but isn't it really expensive ?
Bamboo. I love, but rattan, I'm not a fan of.
But, hey, I'm open to any suggestions as to where tho good furniture is on the Big Island.
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Re: Good furniture stores
Originally posted by lavagal View PostYears ago when I worked at PBN, I inquired with Ikea regarding a Hawaii store. They said we didn't have a big enough customer base. Our customer base extends the entire Island chain, to Guam, to college students, to new professionals, to struggling families to transient military looking for quality furniture they can knock down in a hurry. I like the new massive multi-million-dollar furniture store on Kapiolani. I've never been in it, but if I were shopping, I'd go. I suspect I cannot afford anything there! How do people spend that much money on such an endeavor and profit? I wish them luck.
You're right, though our entire island chain may all have a desire or want of an Ikea, they said the customer base is not big enough in terms of raw numbers. They have these strategic, gigantic warehouses that feed a number of Ikea stores. That's how their distribution works so Hawaii alone simply doesn't have the raw numbers to justify building a huge distribution warehouse out here. Of course, things may change, but that was their reason for no presence in Hawaii.
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