Interior Design Ideas

Modern Interior Design for the Price Point

July 12, 2026

I knew that the furniture industry was in for a shake up when a friend, who could afford any $6,000. sofa, allowed as how she just bought two white silk sofas for $40. each at a yard sale. The year? 1992. This was before Internet shopping, before swap meets, before E Bay and before Craigslist. We were in a recession then too, however it pales when compared to the state of our current economic climate. Her subtle message was that it was OK to shop in the alternate marketplace, and she showed no upper middle class pride in sharing her sources.

Fast forward to 2009. In the last week, here in Santa Barbara, I noticed that a storefront housing a contemporary furniture store now stands empty, and that Thomasville Furniture is closing it’s State Street location. However, down in Santa Monica, CB2, the younger sibling of parent retailer Crate and Barrel, has opened to much press and buyer enthusiasm.

And somewhere along in the last 15 years the visionary folks at Williams-Sonoma decided that they had to design product for several price points. Seven years ago they opened West Elm, which has become their fastest growing division.

These retail giants, along with Ikea are solidly in the “cost is a factor in design decisions” court, according to David Keeps of the LA Times Home Section, in his recent article “Modern is Making its Move”. In it Keeps notes, “It doesn’t seem premature to say it: For some consumers, modern is quickly becoming the new traditional.” Perhaps greater exposure gives modern design greater appeal but I suspect that it’s also because consumers just want to pay less for their furniture. I believe that young consumers who are used to ever smaller electronics, smaller wardrobes, smaller apartments and a serious interest in shopping the alternate marketplaces of the web just want the simplicity of modern design. Their employment situations are more fluid and they don’t want to be bogged down by heavy, hard to care for, too precious to relax around, possessions. They want a shopping experience which is open 24/7, and are willing to assemble a piece of furniture on their time, rather than miss half a workday waiting on a furniture delivery.

The high end furniture manufacturers , both modern and traditional, seem to be laying low, sticking with their core price point, paring down their lines and bringing fewer new designs into production. I’m sure they’re hoping that this recession will pass and their method of marketing through designer showrooms to the top 5% of the consuming public will be justified once more.

If I were they, I wouldn’t waste a day waiting for that hoped for outcome. I’d start designing some new pieces which get to the market quickly, using sustainable materials and at a lower price point. Designer “loss leaders” so to speak. If the vendors are counting on their “salesmen”, (the decorators touting the benefits of the higher priced products) they should better educate them. And maybe they should think about online showrooms. If GM is going to sell cars on E Bay, then maybe the design industry should sell product there too.

So my questions are these. Are we loving modern design because it’s affordable or because of the design? And are we hiring interior designers because they are the gate keepers of the product, or because of their ideas and service?

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Posted in: Design Trends