Ditch the particleboard with fine, vintage furniture from OCModern.net

PHOTO by ROSHEILA ROBLES

If the arrival of the IKEA catalog is cause for celebration at your home, then you also know how problematic all that cute, affordable furniture can be. Never mind the whole assembly thing—when the bulk of your furniture is made from soft, particleboard “wood,” you resign yourself to the fact that the coffee table and dining room chairs won’t make it through more than a move or two. But this article isn’t about the Swedish furniture giant—it’s about what happens when we outgrow IKEA, when we decide we want to plunk down some cash and invest in something more sturdy, more classy—a “piece,” if you’re ready to admit that’s where you’re at in your life: investing, purchasing nice things, making commitments.

“We get a lot of customers coming in who say, ‘We’re buying grown-up furniture,’” says Josh Zimber, who runs the vintage furniture website OCModern.net with his wife, Laurie, out of their Long Beach home/showroom. “They’re in their late twenties or thirties and are ready to invest in a piece.” There’s that word again—“piece”—and if it sort of makes you cringe, that’s OK. I did, too. But a tour of the Zimbers’ residence changed all that. It’s a huge property (six-plus different rooms—maybe even seven or eight; I lost count, and Laurie couldn’t remember, either) that Josh says began as a small tract home but gradually expanded with each new addition by the home’s previous owner. And the place could be a museum—is a museum, actually, with full sets of furniture (an expansive selection of dining tables, Eames chairs, couches, desks, teak wall-units, sconces, lamps and decorations that, Josh vaguely says, they purchase from “around the states” and “private parties” ) filling each room (which, by the way, all have a fireplace!) It’s breathtaking. But to hear Josh and Laurie talk about the furniture, mostly Danish/Mid Century modern stuff from the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s—with a healthy mix of just plain interesting items, like a set of six handmade metal chairs—is like trailing behind two docents. Entering a small sun room with two chairs and a gorgeous, quaint stone coffee table, Laurie rapidly (and excitedly) rattles off a bio of the maker, Roger Capron. Like Laurie, Capron hailed from France, and the designs of plants that mark the top of the table are all “signature vegetation from the south of France.” And lest you become so enamored with the place you forget you’re there to buy stuff, Josh jumps in with the price—$495—quickly adding that the same table would run up to $3000 in LA. “We’re LA’s best-kept secret,” boasts Laurie.

All of their customers find them through the Internet, or through world of mouth (and then through the Internet). Since the Zimbers have no storefront, OCModern.net is the portal through which you access their inventory, via pictures and descriptions. If a customer is interested in something, Josh says, he’ll deliver even more detailed descriptions over the phone, pointing out every crack, scratch and chip. Since they don’t refurbish furniture (in most cases), the pieces are sold as-is, which (in addition to an obviously low overhead) is how they help keep their prices affordable. From there, a customer can either make an appointment to come visit the house, or purchase the product sight-unseen, as many customers in LA—and as far as New York and France—choose to do. For local buyers, the Zimbers have a delivery van.

Still skeptical? Understandable. Josh and Laurie have dealt with their fair share of dishonest vendors, too.

“We would never buy anything that we wouldn’t put in our house,” says Laurie, walking into the living room. But, considering that this is their home—even if it doubles as their showroom—is it ever difficult to part with such beautiful things? The quick answer, in unison: No. “If it’s here too long, it’s bizarre,” says Laurie. “If we can’t sell it, we can’t live.”

OCMODERN.NET JOSH AND LAURIE ZIMBER | PRIVATE RESIDENCE | LONG BEACH | 714.580.8645 | OCMODERN@HOTMAIL.COM | BY APPOINTMENT ONLY

Tags: cliff may, furniture, Long Beach, midcentury, modern, oc modern, ocmodern.net