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Furniture Shoppiing in Bogotá

Some of the problems first: Colombians typically have smaller butts than the rest of the world. Chairs and other seating have small areas in which to put your butt. That said, it is very easy to have things custom made here. If you like the style of some item, but it is too small for you or other members of your family, enquire about a custom size. We found the shops can usually get anything they want out of the manufactures . . .if you don´t mind waiting. Very little is in stock typically, so if you find something you like, it will be made to order, and often that wait is no different than the wait for custom made. We have found a couple of stores offering stock items ready for delivery, but I hesitate to recomend them since their prices are often two or three times higher for a similar item custom made for you. Also, it is apparent that what you are paying for in these type of stores is the fact that they have to keep a lot on the shelf ready for delivery. We know from experience, that this is not a cheap concern.
So what does one do? There are several alternatives available, but I highly recomend that you buy Colombian, since any imported item is going to naturally cost more. Besides, Colombian made furniture, is of very high quality if you look around. We furnished our house with two custom made bedroom sets, a dining room set, a living room set with a massive sectional couch in Argentine leather, a sideboard and 4 bedside chests as well as 2 chests of drawers all in a very fine wood called Cebola, which is like a cross between Cherry and Walnut. Also 5 lamps were included, and the total cost was less than $5,000 USD. WE actually made money doing it because we had sold all our US furniture at auction before we left, and after replacing it here, we still had money left over.
That said, Colombians like their furniture to be a bit on the decorative side, with lots of color changes, and carved wood etc. However, you can find, if you look, shops that specialize in modern styling with less frufru added on.
There are two furniture districts in the city I know of, (there may be others) one in the 70´s to the west of the Autopistá norte. We looked here but found nothing that appealed to our taste. My take on this district is that the furniture is sort of rude in style. Lots of thick plank stuff like what was once called “hippy” style in the US. That´s not to say it isn´t well made, because it is, it just is more down and dirty utilitarian. Prices in this district can be very reasonable, but expect to wait several weeks for delivery while the items you buy are made.
The second district is west of Carrera 30 on Primero de Mayo. The stores along this stretch of road, are diverse, and you can find everything from the aforementioned “hippy” stuff, to modern designer furniture. There are also a number of stores selling the typical Colombian preference furniture. Plus there are even a few speciality shops selling children´s furniture.
Of course the big Almacines in the malls also sell furniture, but again you will pay through the nose for the imports, and likely not be buying the best quality that is available. Colombian furniture manufacturers don´t seem to have discovered venirs over woodpulp yet. And wood is relatively inexpensive here, and so beautiful.
To the north again, you will find little shops selling what I would call “art” furniture. I haven´t priced anything there, because frankly, I didn care for the “art”. For example, a 6 foot tall floor lamp that looked like a fish trap made out of bamboo strips woven together with sisal fibers. Ugggleee! But there are accessory shops up there that might offer just what you are looking for.
Used furniture does exist here contra to what I´ve seen posted on PBH in the past. There is even a district where used furniture shops are concentrated. They are along Calle 80 west of Autopistá norte. Haven´t been there yet, but plan to check them out soon. We did find a small used furniture shop on Avenada Caracas in the low 40´s, and bought a good quality computer desk, a rolling chair, and a living room set that included a small sofa, and two matching chairs, over stuffed to Colombian standards, but covered in a very high quality sturdy woven floral fabric. The pieces were not exceptionally run down, and with a little elbow grease have cleaned up nicely. Priscilla has laid claim to the chairs. We also got two matching rocking chairs (for our old age), with padded seats and backs. Total price including delivery was $450.000. pesos or at the time about $180. USD. Believe it or not, this was $40,000 pesos less than the imported, compressed, woodpulp, computer desk we were considering at Carrefor. So it pays to shop around.
A word about flea markets. We have looked at the fleamarket on Septema and calle 24, but the furniture available there, is usually refinished and stripped of any charm it may have once had. In terms of accessories, there are some fine buys there, but we have also found that Papaya abounds in the hearts of the fleas. For one example, I was interested in a small antique child´s shoe mold a dealer had in a pile of general junk. I asked the price, and watched her calculate everything about me (gringo, interested in the object, possibly rich, etc.) before saying she had to have $60.000 pesos for the mold. I put it back in the pile, and started to walk away. She shouted after me asking what I thought it was worth. I said $5.000 pesos, she said $10.000. I said no thanks. Five thousand would have been generous.
What I haven´t seen here is a lot of antiques. I know they are available, because I see them occassionally in homes, and I know there is a district with a few shops to the north again, but I have no info on their quality or cost factors. We´d love to have a few genuine colonial pieces if they are reasonable. Anyone with ideas about this they will be welcomed.
Apparently, there is another flea market somewhere to the south in the city, but I haven´t been able to get the details on it. Anyone out there know anything about it?

By LaloG on Jan 17, 2005, 12:08 in Friendly Talkzone.

ixent (☼Travelguide writer) says on Jan 17, 2005, 14:57:

Small Butts? Are you sure it's not the other way round, ie that people from certain other countries have bigger buts than "the rest of the world"?

0 funny, 0 helpful.

santiBOG says on Jan 17, 2005, 16:20:

Puntalarga Small town in Boyaca with lots of furniture factories. For those who decorate with a rustic look it's perfect. It's inexpensive. You do have to figure out how to bring the goods back to Bogota though.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

kernow62 says on Jan 17, 2005, 22:03:

Very diplomatic ixent.

Yes Americans have fat asses.

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