Marketplace Math
Today's high/low heaters
When one of my sourcing clients tells me they’re looking to spend, say, $6000 on their dining room, I’m liable to blow $5000 on a banger dining table, to be paired with $30 each simple dining chairs (x6), a $600 buffet from someone’s garage in Jersey, and a $200 print from a septuagenarian docent uptown who is looking to downsize. That brings us to $5980. Keep the change; you’re welcome.
Do you ever feel that rooms full of exclusively expensive pieces feel flat? Textureless? Inert? I felt this way recently while wandering through an Upper West Side showroom geared towards a certain set. Without grit, my eyes glazed over. Don’t get me wrong, I love the finer things. I revisit this tapestry, this sumi ink drawing, and this ceramic accent chair in my 1stDibs saves daily. But even with their upcoming summer sale (wink wink), these aren’t exactly pieces I’m bundling in one fell swoop.
Enter Marketplace, high/low heaven, where Luar chairs mingle with $50 Ralph Lauren and dinged up teak coffee tables that’ll make you say, “that feels fair”. Below, I’ve assembled eight “rooms” chock full of today’s Marketplace gems, combining ultra-rare investment pieces with equally thrilling steals.
To start us off, a setup under $1000 total: