Does this look like the real deal? It was purchased at an estate sale by the seller who informed me that it needs to be reupholstered and at this time there are no tags available. Additionally, he described the frame as being a heavy aluminum and not like the ones that are currently being produced with a hollow frame. Please advise, Lenox
nasty icky...
nasty icky goo...yuck
Last spring I almost bought a knoll 3 seater tagged Knoll Associates. Very attractive original hourglass upholstery..unfortunately needed a complete overhaul foam & fabric.
Guy wanted way too much for a urine damaged sofa. Yup, urine soaked cushions. He blamed his little pugs for very big mess conveniently located where the waist would be.
When dealing with nasty upholstery, unless you're getting the sweetest deal ever...pass.
It looks just like my...
It looks just like my friend's Knoll in black leather ... 600 is a good price even to redo if it is indeed Knoll. Even Steelcase you would not be disappointed with. I have a Steelcase - built like a tank and beautiful... A Steelcase like this in good shape should fetch 1200 - 1500 methinks. SO even if it was a Steelcase and you put in 900 to fix it would be a decent deal. And I think you could recover for much less than that....
Neither my Steelcase of my pal's Knoll has labels.. They do go missing.
Like WoofWoof said
"when dealing with nasty upholstery... pass". Please do, but pass it on to me. I've never bought an upholstered piece that was beyond restoration. I guess I should have taken some before and after pictures to illustrate the transformation. The Nelson sofa that sits in my family room looked like hell when I bought it. Foam was shot, straps blown and sagging, the old naugahyde upholstery was faded, seams were opening. It looked like 5 miles of bad road. But strip that big guy down and sitting on top of that steel frame was a rock solid wood frame that was built better than any contemporary sofa you are going to find.
Upholstery, foam and webbing can all be replaced (and often should on vintage pieces, they do have a finite life-span after all). What is important is the structure. Now, restoration can be expensive especially when you use quality materials. You'd be surprised what new foam costs. It's a petroleum based product so it's tied to oil prices. Price new fabric if you want another surprise. And some larger sofas can call for 15 or more yards of fabric.
Seems to me that one should be prudent about investing in reupholstery. You can spend more redoing a sofa than it's really worth, but the benefits and savings of refurbishing a quality piece can be significant. Just price a new Florence Knoll sofa and you'll think it's a bargain to spend $1500 to refurbish one like Lenox is looking at. Add to the equation that this particular sofa design is no longer in production (and cooler than the regular Knoll sofa in my opinion) and you have saved a sofa from the landfill and procured yourself a killer piece that you don't see every day. If you see the sofa when it's stripped you will be shocked at how much better the vintage Knoll pieces are constructed.
Lastly, Lenox if you want to find out if it's real you need a close-up picture of the base at one of the corner legs. While Steelcase made come sofas that were quite close to Knoll designs, the leg construction is the easiest way to tell. They are both good quality sofas, and like Whitespike said, while the Steelcase may not have the designer pedigree, it has the aesthetic, it still has value, and in many instances is as well made if not better than the vintage Knoll.
"the Knoll base would be...
"the Knoll base would be segmented. the legs and frame are separate pieces similar to the tables of the same series."
The Steelcase is segmented as well, though, so I am not sure this is a reliable indicator.
I think you should get it. 99% sure it's "real." But I would even get it if it were Steelcase. Like mentioned above, even if you spend $1500 total it will be better built than any sofa you could find at that price today, regardless of what design pedigree it is.
Good luck.
Steelcase - the front of the...
Steelcase - the front of the metal frame is just a facing - it is not square tubing. The legs are hollow. The finish is also very smooth and nice however. The base is segmented. I have one.
It is different. I don't know if I would say of lesser quality per se. I mean, it's really solid and looks nice. I guess you could argue Knoll is nicer because the base is solid??? It does give the sofa a lighter weight, which. I took the frame off once to polish and it's very light in weight.
I have not looked at the Knoll base as closely. Except for on my Knoll table. The base on the table is remarkably heavy. And I would be willing to bet the welds are cleaner, which don't really matter as they are on the underside ...
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