Introducing custom furniture for New Yorkers on a budget

By Lucy Cohen Blatter | December 17, 2014 - 2:59PM

A point comes in every New Yorker's life when he outgrows his Ikea furniture. Sometimes it happens before a move, when a dream of starting over sets in; sometimes it happens after a move, when that Billy bookcase makes its last trip down a flight of stairs. Either way, this rite of passage is inevitably followed by the realization that "real" furniture is damn expensive.

That's where new startup Interior Define hopes to step in, Business Insider reports. The furniture maker specializes in customizing items—sofas, love seats and chairs specifically—that cost, on average about $1,700, targeting customers who no longer want to outfit their apartments with the cheap stuff but can't quite spring for the designer brands.

You can pick the size, shape, color, fabric, filling and frame, and have the piece delivered in eight to 12 weeks (there's also a one-year return policy in case you're not the design maven you thought you were).

The cheapest option is a fabric chair for $600 and the most expensive—a leather sectional—is $3,500. In 2015, the company plans to start selling accessories, too, including pillows, throw blankets, and rugs.

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