Enterprising Spirits
27 Dec 2022 09:06 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
wayfaringwordhack Though it may, to quote rimturse , sound fancy to get a custom-made sofa, let me explain just what it means in Lebanon. :P
Here, they have these stores where, on the top floor, you find insanely expensive Italian brands; and you can find sofas that you only see in magazines, not "real" homes,* things that are 5+ meters long.
Then on the next floor down, there are "cheaper" but still-super-crazy expensive Italian things,
On the ground floor, you find the fancy expensive things. BUT! Just next door, there is a store that partners with the first, only they have almost-Reasonable Italian things on their ground floor, and Lebanese copies in the basement!
However, if you are smart, you will keep looking, going farther afield and you will find a boutique** where they only have Lebanese knock-offs. And instead of say, $1500 for a Lebanese knock-off corner sofa, you can find one that is even more comfy for $800.*** And, just like in the expensive stores, you can pick your upholstery for the same price.
They had the exact color and cloth we wanted as a floor model in the store, but they didn't want to give us a price for it, despite a tiny bit of damage. So, we are having one made. We have other furniture, so it is no big deal to wait for it.
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* not the homes of people I frequent, anyhow. :P
** Named something that would only be chosen by a non-native English speaker like "Beauty Home." It is funny how the more extravagant the adjectives, the worse the quality. You see "Premium" and "Superior" on everything here from crayons and rice to cars and real-estate.
*** You can get much cheaper in the really "local" stores, but comfort is not going to be au rendezvous, and the quality is also questionable.
rimturse , sound fancy to get a custom-made sofa, let me explain just what it means in Lebanon. :PHere, they have these stores where, on the top floor, you find insanely expensive Italian brands; and you can find sofas that you only see in magazines, not "real" homes,* things that are 5+ meters long.
Then on the next floor down, there are "cheaper" but still-super-crazy expensive Italian things,
On the ground floor, you find the fancy expensive things. BUT! Just next door, there is a store that partners with the first, only they have almost-Reasonable Italian things on their ground floor, and Lebanese copies in the basement!
However, if you are smart, you will keep looking, going farther afield and you will find a boutique** where they only have Lebanese knock-offs. And instead of say, $1500 for a Lebanese knock-off corner sofa, you can find one that is even more comfy for $800.*** And, just like in the expensive stores, you can pick your upholstery for the same price.
They had the exact color and cloth we wanted as a floor model in the store, but they didn't want to give us a price for it, despite a tiny bit of damage. So, we are having one made. We have other furniture, so it is no big deal to wait for it.
___________
* not the homes of people I frequent, anyhow. :P
** Named something that would only be chosen by a non-native English speaker like "Beauty Home." It is funny how the more extravagant the adjectives, the worse the quality. You see "Premium" and "Superior" on everything here from crayons and rice to cars and real-estate.
*** You can get much cheaper in the really "local" stores, but comfort is not going to be au rendezvous, and the quality is also questionable.
no subject
Date: 28 Dec 2022 02:43 pm (UTC)You'll have to share pictures of the sofa when it's done.
no subject
Date: 28 Dec 2022 07:12 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 29 Dec 2022 07:45 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 30 Dec 2022 04:10 am (UTC)Haha. Julien and I are always calling ourselves Plebeian Freeloaders* so that tells you kind of how we roll. ;).
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* When we were on our round-the-world trip, we would always try to squat free wi-fi, which is where that comes from. :P
no subject
Date: 30 Dec 2022 12:33 pm (UTC)