Shop spotlight on the Urban Outfitters (UK) online furniture offering. You’re probably familiar with the Urban Outfitters store and their eclectic fashion, quirky home accessories and glorious gifts. You might not know that they also sell some cool retro furniture pieces exclusively online. They have a superb mid-century style sofa selection, industrial furniture, and some useful home storage solutions. You’ll find a marvellous mix of sofas and chairs, occasional tables and shelving units. I caught up with Lucy Wilson, the Senior Home Buyer at Urban Outfitters, to find out more.
Turquoise Lucy Chair
Urban Outfitters Exclusive Online Furniture Offering
Lucy Wilson has the enviable job of being the Senior Home Buyer for Urban Outfitters. She tells me, “we’ve always featured home accessory products online. We decided to expand our furniture ranges from January 2012 seriously. We started with a handful of pieces and now stock over two hundred lines across the range.”
Dagmar Roller Two Seater Sofa
As I’ve mentioned, they do have a great selection of mid-century-inspired pieces. Lucy explains, “the furniture style is predominantly mid-century. This ascetic appeals to our customers because the furniture is timeless and easily transferable when people move house.”
Orange Mid Century Sofa
Lucy talks me through some of their most coveted products, “one of the key pieces for us has to be the Either or Sofa, which folds down into a bed.” This mid-century-inspired settee is cleverly designed with a split back for smooth transformation. The upholstery comes in a grey polyester with foam filling, which rests upon sleek, durable wooden legs. The measurements for the sofa are 89cm high, 211cm wide and 89cm in depth. The bed is 211cm high and 110cm full – £750.
Either or Sofa
Their customers also appreciate the rawer offering, and Lucy tells me, “industrial pieces also work well for us like the Factory Side Table and the Small Metal Cabinet, which emulate this look.” The Factory Side Table has been made from iron and comes in various colours – zinc, light grey, army green, teal, mint and yellow. It includes a shelf at the bottom for additional storage. The measurements are 166cm high, 48cm in width and depth – £60.
Factory Side Table
The Small Metal Cabinet is one of my favourites from their range. I love this because it would work well next to your sofa, as a bedside table or in your home office. You can move it quickly enough using the rounded bars at the top. It comes with a drawer and a corrugated door with a shelf inside. The measurements are 101cm high, 60cm in width and 30cm in depth – £150.
Small Metal Cabinet
Home storage solutions are being snapped up, and Lucy reveals, “at the moment, we’re seeing a trend for storage. Our customers are looking for practical solutions for small spaces.” One example is the Heritage Bookshelf which has an industrial vintage finish with wooden shelves held together with bare metal surrounds. This comes on wheels for easy moving. The measurements are 130cm high, 81cm wide and 36cm deep – £250.
Heritage Bookshelf
Being Urban Outfitters, you can expect to find a super cool selection of tongue-in-cheek products like the Cat Shelf, which is ‘purr-fect’ for your home office or a child’s bedroom. It comes in bright red, and the measurements are 82cm high, 71cm wide and 16cm in depth – £100.
Cat Book Shelf
Urban Outfitters Home Accessories
Aside from the furniture, they also have a selection of exciting lights; Lucy tells me, “the Seletti Neon Letter is a staple in our lighting range, and their quirky take on other everyday items sits well with our brand.” This range takes inspiration from old-school typewriter fonts. You can buy a single letter or multiples to spell out your name or a particular word – £40.
Neon Letter
Areaware is another brand which does well for the store, and Lucy tells me, “Areaware produces functional products with a distinctive edge. With the help of young, local and emerging talent, every item is designed to create an emotional response like the Roller Skate Door Stops, which retail for £130.”
Roller Skate Door Stop
Urban Outfitters Background
Urban Outfitters started life in the 1970s. It all began with a vision and a very small store situated in a Philadelphia row house several blocks for the University of Pennsylvania. This lifestyle store revolutionised the fashion world by offering an eclectic and funky mix of merchandise for the wardrobe and home. Some thirty years later, the company has grown to manage this brand alongside Anthropologie and Free People. The founder is Richard Hayne, the CEO and Chairman of the Board of URBN, a publicly traded company. Today, there are over one hundred and thirty stores worldwide, of which thirty-eight are in the UK and mainland Europe.
If you want to buy some of these fabulous furniture pieces, you can shop online at Urban Outfitters (UK).
Author: Homegirl London. Photography: Urban Outfitters (UK).
