Beyond Ikea

Now that we're settled into our [cough] thirties, Eric and I have found that for the most part, the Ikea furniture doesn't quite cut it anymore. Is it our maturing tastes? Is it a reduction in quality in how Ikea products are made? Or is it simply the ubiquity of Ikea and how anyone we know can name our bookshelf (Billy), our stools (Benjamin) and our dresser (Malm) by name?

While you can't beat Ikea for price (one reason why it's so hard for small companies/designers to design/manufacture furniture), often we come out empty-handed (... sad on a busy Saturday) because there's something not quite right for us.

Enter: EQ3. EQ3 is like the older sibling to Ikea. They still have a fair price point (though it tends to be a little higher than Ikea), a decent quality of products and while their furniture has names, the names aren't so common that people automatically can name the page of the catalogue that it came from ;) EQ3 is actually part of the Palliser Furniture company -- a Canadian company, eh! I particularly love that their upholstered furniture comes in a dizzying array of fabric textures and colours.

Our picks from EQ3?
Hugo (starting at $799 CAD): has been ordered and will be moving into our new home with us.



These Slotted pillows ($110 CAD): could join Hugo in the living room.



and Matt (starting at $549 CAD): may make his home with us in an upstairs bedroom.



Yay for contemporary furniture design at a good price! Look for an EQ3 near you, here.