How is this shelving any better than what you can buy from say IKEA?
I've got wooden IKEA shelves in my shed and they take serious abuse of big heavy tools, lawn mowers, car batteries, paint cans etc being non-carefully put/clattered away and they're holding up 100% after years. I can't imagine any normal shelves needing to be "well made" to support a few magazines and a toy model Porsche?
Or is this just a "because I am rich and want you to know how rich I am" type thing?
I have a study furnished solely with IKEA furniture. Billy bookshelves, Galant tables, a wall shelf, etc.
Tables are really well made. So are the bookshelves. They are sturdy, high quality and withstand to abuse.
There are high quality items, and there are fine and high quality items. What he uses the latter.
Take an example. He uses fountain pens (so do I). Montblanc inks, a Lamy 2000. They are not expensive for what they are, yet they are fine instruments. They are made with care. I have tons of inks, yet Montblanc and a couple of brands really stand out in reliability, writing comfort and color quality. Same for L2000. It’s a very understated but a completely handmade thing, with great attention to detail. It’s even too much pen for that money.
The furniture he uses are the same. Understated, yet fine. It’s not there to make a statement, but to be enjoyed by their owner. I share the same sentiment. I do not buy anything to impress anyone, but to enjoy.
Nobody, sans my wife sees my most prized possessions. I got them to use and enjoy, that’s all.
I cannot tell if this is sarcasm or real. It reads like an article from "McSweeney’s Internet Tendency". It gets even better if you read it with a syrupy deep (American) southern accent, similar to Fred Brooks (author of "The Mythical Man-Month"). The only thing missing from this reply is telling us about your "understated, yet fine" wrist watch (no doubt: Swiss), obscure Porsche car model, and high-fidelity surround sound system (with obligatory record player).
For anyone else curious, I Googled about the LAMY 2000 Fountain Pen. It has a retail price over 250 USD. You can buy excellent Japanese single-use pens for less than 1 USD.
> Nobody, sans my wife sees my most prized possessions. I got them to use and enjoy, that’s all.
And yet, you needed to come to the Internet and tell us all about them.
This is a philosophical question that goes back millennia. It just comes down to what sparks joy for you, and how much do you value that.
I have an Eames lounger. It was absurdly expensive and doesn’t even have a recline lever. But, it sparks joy. I like how it looks, I find it comfortable.
When I was a student I went to a furniture store with a friend and I sat in this chair, not knowing who Eames was or the price tag, and I loved immediately. It felt like sitting in a cloud. When I saw the price tag I said if I ever make it I’m buying this chair.
I worked a long time to buy it and it represents a non tangible journey to me.
But I also feel like an ass, because it was absurdly expensive and a total luxury and people are going hungry every day. My mom would slap my head if she knew what I paid.
I mean, you can say that about any luxury good right? It just looks nice and makes you feel good.
IKEA doesn't actually make any modular wall shelves like that anymore, after discontinuing the SVALNÄS. For a wall mounted shelf on a budget you could go for the Elfa system or the Fasttrack one.
Well precisely - shelves feels especially like a solved problem where basically the cheapest tat you can buy (IKEA) is totally fine and solid and long lasting. Need something more hardcore? Then you're probably not in the "shelves on my living room" context, but probably need something more suited for an industrial setting.
It was a genuine question about what makes these any better (...or not). Like do they have some amazing non-obvious feature? Something that no other shelf has? Something that IKEA shelves fail to do?
Of course it could be a performative thing (as I was suggesting) in the same way that someone pays $150 for a t-shirt because it has a logo on it and they want people to know. There is a sucker born every minute as they say.
Now when I checked his website in little bit more detail I get that feeling more and more. Looks like someone who brags about a lot of things he owns and cannot shut up about it.
Lol. I just love things man. What a rude comment. You even don’t know me :) Check my x.com/fatih account for more. I don’t withhold the things that bring me joy.
I think it reflects on the current state of things. I wonder if people look at this kind of fancy stuff and associate with a life that is ever more out of reach, instead of something to aspire to.
How is it "rude" and "terrible" (dramatic much?) to infer a loose profile from someone based on what they willingly decide to share with the world? Maybe parent is wrong, but that's their perception of the author based on what they put out there.
To anyone hesitant on the price of the Vitsoe system I just have to say I’ve had mine for two years now and can confidently say that nothing else compares. It’s truly well made. Feels like it will be around much longer than I am, and still look the part.
I’ve been toying with the idea of getting some for years. It seems they really push the idea of it being with the buyer for life, and it being able to grow and adapt with your life and different places they will live.
This is in stark contrast to many of the cheaper options. I know a lot of people who throw their IKEA stuff away when they move and buy new stuff for every place they live. IKEA stuff doesn’t always old up will to moves (depending on what it is) and when it’s cheap, people treat it like fast fashion and want a change.
Over the course of a life, this could mean something like Vitsoe shelves could be the more economical option and lead to significantly less waste.
I’m actually in need of some shelves. I’ve been debating going the 606 route, but have been struggling to decide where they’d go. I don’t have an obvious solution. I saw they have a service to help people design their layout. Did you use that, and is there already an expectation that you have some idea what you want?
I think there's an untapped market for really cool office furniture.
The shelving isn't that attention grabbing (looks like double-track
wall shelving)
but the cabinet with drawers, that is cool.
I think we should have lots more office cabinets with drawers so things can be in plain sight. super-functional shallow metal ball-bearing drawers like tool chest drawers. I think it would be organized and productive.
Between IVAR and now this 606, I actually don’t know any other non-garage-oriented “universal” shelving systems where you can like mix and match drawers, shelves, tables, etc.
It depends on the person. Last time I had a height adjustable desk, once the novelty wore off in the first week, it stayed in the sitting position all the time. Other people I’ve worked with have left theirs in the standing position all the time. In an office full of them, I can’t remember a single person who adjusted their desk on a regular basis. I’m sure these people exist, but they seem rare.
You don’t have to use a standing position for the height-adjustability to be useful. For example my sitting desk height is lower than the standard desk height.
The Vitsoe shelving is the goal for my office, but the initial cost is just so high. I know it will last me the rest of my life, and I should just have bought it when I first wanted it 15 years ago.
The chairs in front of the desk might be a pair of Vitsoe 620 Chair Programme.
I wouldn't say comparable, but I built my desk with HomeDepot "Everbuilt" shelving system. I coveted the vistoe 606 system forever, but the price was just way too much. The system from HomeDepot looks 80% as good and is 90% cheaper. It doesn't have the pullout shelves, but I put some cabinets with rollers underneath, so everything moves out of the way and it's a truly "floating".
This is exactly what I was looking for in the original post. For those who think this is expensive but spend most of your waking hours at a desk, think of it as an investment in yourself.
Well, Fatih Arslan uses quite a lot more premium of the premium tools. I once stumbled on his website, on the topic of Fountain Pens (I think). I subscribed to his feed since. Leica for photography, 3D prints pretty interesting items, etc. He spends time and definitely have a taste and can afford some premium product for “ordinary use.”
There are various materials to choose from, personally I like the linoleum version. If USM furniture is good value for money is another question everyone has to answer for themselves.
How is this shelving any better than what you can buy from say IKEA?
I've got wooden IKEA shelves in my shed and they take serious abuse of big heavy tools, lawn mowers, car batteries, paint cans etc being non-carefully put/clattered away and they're holding up 100% after years. I can't imagine any normal shelves needing to be "well made" to support a few magazines and a toy model Porsche?
Or is this just a "because I am rich and want you to know how rich I am" type thing?
I have a study furnished solely with IKEA furniture. Billy bookshelves, Galant tables, a wall shelf, etc.
Tables are really well made. So are the bookshelves. They are sturdy, high quality and withstand to abuse.
There are high quality items, and there are fine and high quality items. What he uses the latter.
Take an example. He uses fountain pens (so do I). Montblanc inks, a Lamy 2000. They are not expensive for what they are, yet they are fine instruments. They are made with care. I have tons of inks, yet Montblanc and a couple of brands really stand out in reliability, writing comfort and color quality. Same for L2000. It’s a very understated but a completely handmade thing, with great attention to detail. It’s even too much pen for that money.
The furniture he uses are the same. Understated, yet fine. It’s not there to make a statement, but to be enjoyed by their owner. I share the same sentiment. I do not buy anything to impress anyone, but to enjoy.
Nobody, sans my wife sees my most prized possessions. I got them to use and enjoy, that’s all.
I couldn't resist reading this in Patrick Bateman's voice!
1 reply →
I'm pretty sure a $700 desk lamp is a statement.
6 replies →
I cannot tell if this is sarcasm or real. It reads like an article from "McSweeney’s Internet Tendency". It gets even better if you read it with a syrupy deep (American) southern accent, similar to Fred Brooks (author of "The Mythical Man-Month"). The only thing missing from this reply is telling us about your "understated, yet fine" wrist watch (no doubt: Swiss), obscure Porsche car model, and high-fidelity surround sound system (with obligatory record player).
For anyone else curious, I Googled about the LAMY 2000 Fountain Pen. It has a retail price over 250 USD. You can buy excellent Japanese single-use pens for less than 1 USD.
And yet, you needed to come to the Internet and tell us all about them.
5 replies →
This is a philosophical question that goes back millennia. It just comes down to what sparks joy for you, and how much do you value that.
I have an Eames lounger. It was absurdly expensive and doesn’t even have a recline lever. But, it sparks joy. I like how it looks, I find it comfortable.
When I was a student I went to a furniture store with a friend and I sat in this chair, not knowing who Eames was or the price tag, and I loved immediately. It felt like sitting in a cloud. When I saw the price tag I said if I ever make it I’m buying this chair.
I worked a long time to buy it and it represents a non tangible journey to me.
But I also feel like an ass, because it was absurdly expensive and a total luxury and people are going hungry every day. My mom would slap my head if she knew what I paid.
Oh my goodness! Who could ever pay that much for something they use every day!
Anyway, back to my folding chair, Vision Pro, and Mac Studio 512GB. ;)
1 reply →
I mean, you can say that about any luxury good right? It just looks nice and makes you feel good.
IKEA doesn't actually make any modular wall shelves like that anymore, after discontinuing the SVALNÄS. For a wall mounted shelf on a budget you could go for the Elfa system or the Fasttrack one.
Well precisely - shelves feels especially like a solved problem where basically the cheapest tat you can buy (IKEA) is totally fine and solid and long lasting. Need something more hardcore? Then you're probably not in the "shelves on my living room" context, but probably need something more suited for an industrial setting.
It was a genuine question about what makes these any better (...or not). Like do they have some amazing non-obvious feature? Something that no other shelf has? Something that IKEA shelves fail to do?
Of course it could be a performative thing (as I was suggesting) in the same way that someone pays $150 for a t-shirt because it has a logo on it and they want people to know. There is a sucker born every minute as they say.
1 reply →
But those don't even look good. Like, I thought it was some IKEA series that I didn't knew, just raw aluminum profiles + some uninteresting shelving
Yeah it looks different.
It's a bit snobby, both shelving and the desk.
Now when I checked his website in little bit more detail I get that feeling more and more. Looks like someone who brags about a lot of things he owns and cannot shut up about it.
I suspect it might be more like:
personally my setup is on iteration <n> of keyboard, mouse, desk, monitor, computer, wrist rest, etc etc etc etc
Lol. I just love things man. What a rude comment. You even don’t know me :) Check my x.com/fatih account for more. I don’t withhold the things that bring me joy.
This thread is full of cynical and bitter takes.
I think it reflects on the current state of things. I wonder if people look at this kind of fancy stuff and associate with a life that is ever more out of reach, instead of something to aspire to.
That’s a rude and terrible thing to say about someone you don’t know. I guess hiding behind anonymity gives people courage.
How is it "rude" and "terrible" (dramatic much?) to infer a loose profile from someone based on what they willingly decide to share with the world? Maybe parent is wrong, but that's their perception of the author based on what they put out there.
1 reply →
Don't forget the $700 desk lamp.
To anyone hesitant on the price of the Vitsoe system I just have to say I’ve had mine for two years now and can confidently say that nothing else compares. It’s truly well made. Feels like it will be around much longer than I am, and still look the part.
I’ve been toying with the idea of getting some for years. It seems they really push the idea of it being with the buyer for life, and it being able to grow and adapt with your life and different places they will live.
This is in stark contrast to many of the cheaper options. I know a lot of people who throw their IKEA stuff away when they move and buy new stuff for every place they live. IKEA stuff doesn’t always old up will to moves (depending on what it is) and when it’s cheap, people treat it like fast fashion and want a change.
Over the course of a life, this could mean something like Vitsoe shelves could be the more economical option and lead to significantly less waste.
I’m actually in need of some shelves. I’ve been debating going the 606 route, but have been struggling to decide where they’d go. I don’t have an obvious solution. I saw they have a service to help people design their layout. Did you use that, and is there already an expectation that you have some idea what you want?
[dead]
I think there's an untapped market for really cool office furniture.
The shelving isn't that attention grabbing (looks like double-track wall shelving)
but the cabinet with drawers, that is cool.
I think we should have lots more office cabinets with drawers so things can be in plain sight. super-functional shallow metal ball-bearing drawers like tool chest drawers. I think it would be organized and productive.
The closest IKEA equivalent is the IVAR.
Between IVAR and now this 606, I actually don’t know any other non-garage-oriented “universal” shelving systems where you can like mix and match drawers, shelves, tables, etc.
I have IVAR in my office and it’s great.
Before the Vitsoe, I had an Elvarli from IKEA.
A non-height-adjustable desk is not a dream setup.
It depends on the person. Last time I had a height adjustable desk, once the novelty wore off in the first week, it stayed in the sitting position all the time. Other people I’ve worked with have left theirs in the standing position all the time. In an office full of them, I can’t remember a single person who adjusted their desk on a regular basis. I’m sure these people exist, but they seem rare.
You don’t have to use a standing position for the height-adjustability to be useful. For example my sitting desk height is lower than the standard desk height.
Yeah, and those desk with metal bar under the edges are a pain. Always in obstructing my legs and movements. They are sturdy and very nice to look at.
I very much prefer adjustable height desks.
Indeed. I once had an office desk with an HPL top only 12 mm thick, that was the dream.
The Vitsoe shelving is the goal for my office, but the initial cost is just so high. I know it will last me the rest of my life, and I should just have bought it when I first wanted it 15 years ago.
The chairs in front of the desk might be a pair of Vitsoe 620 Chair Programme.
I mean if you like look of some raw profiles on the wall with plain white shelving, not sure why you want to pay extra for it
I’m curious what the dimensions of the desk are for him to have space for a computer and reading space
Well, you can approximate it with crude measurements.
Using the photo under the "Rethinking the desk" heading we see an Apple Studio monitor on one side.
On my monitor/browser/resolution/etc the desk is 157mm wide in that image and the monitor is 48mm wide.
The Apple specs say that monitor is 623mm wide.
So that would make the desk roughly 623*157/48 = 2037mm long.
That makes sense, his computer setup is relatively small compared to the analog side.
I wrote it in the blog post, it's 200x75cm
Are there compatible alternatives to this shelving without the price tag?
I wouldn't say comparable, but I built my desk with HomeDepot "Everbuilt" shelving system. I coveted the vistoe 606 system forever, but the price was just way too much. The system from HomeDepot looks 80% as good and is 90% cheaper. It doesn't have the pullout shelves, but I put some cabinets with rollers underneath, so everything moves out of the way and it's a truly "floating".
search Reglraum ON-WALL. Few options, recently purchased the wood one with black frame. It's great quality and a fraction of the price of Vitsœ
Regalraum ON-WALL: https://www.regalraum.com/en/shelving-units/on-wall-office-s...
Home Depot vertical rails and shelves serve me just as well.
That's exactly what I did. It really doesn't look bad and is super cheap.
https://ibb.co/Kj6vYL0v
Perhaps buying it second hand
The product website says it's more expensive second hand.
Any twin slot shelving might be what you're after.
This is exactly what I was looking for in the original post. For those who think this is expensive but spend most of your waking hours at a desk, think of it as an investment in yourself.
Well, Fatih Arslan uses quite a lot more premium of the premium tools. I once stumbled on his website, on the topic of Fountain Pens (I think). I subscribed to his feed since. Leica for photography, 3D prints pretty interesting items, etc. He spends time and definitely have a taste and can afford some premium product for “ordinary use.”
Yeah, the first thing I thought when I saw the photos: Damn, this guy is rich.
2,000$ and the desk description has "laminate" in it?
There are various materials to choose from, personally I like the linoleum version. If USM furniture is good value for money is another question everyone has to answer for themselves.
Its just designer furniture, like any other Velben good.
A designer couch made entirely of foam can cost you 10k just because there is a name on it.
You're paying for the distinctive style and to show others your wealth or taste.
This is $895 and is maple-topped: https://www.uline.com/Product/Detail/H-1222-MAP/Industrial-P...
Much above that and you might as well get custom-made stuff.
desk is horribly overpriced. But the universal shelving is something I can dig. Reminds me of my closet though.
I can see the shelves, kind of, but seriously, $2000 for a simple table seems very hard to justify.